There are several third party companies that are a clearing-house for posted federal bids, and can greatly automate the process. Almost all services offer a free version of their service, but free trials are only to showcase the paid service and are not a practical option.

As a service to my readers and customers, I am pulling together information and commentary on the top bidding services.

Free Registration, 6 months for $389, 12 months for $499
BidSync sections their bids by region and agency. With the paid service, called BidLync, with a number of beneficial services. BidLync offers Customer Relationship Management software (CRM), links to the agency pages for bids, Email notifications, and an unlimited number of users. BidSync also has automation services for government buyers.

Free Trial, Quotes Upon Request
GovEdge pulls bid data from FedBizOpps, state and local websites and makes the information very easy to manage. Features allow users to build and organize sales territories, receive automatic notification of new opportunities, and access competitor information. Input also offers support and training for paid customers.

Free Trial, Single User for $19/month
Bidspeed  is web-based software that manages federal opportunities by holding all documents in one place, offering follow-up reminders, and keeping notes on projects. Bidspeed offeres direct integration with FBO, but does not mention Agency, State or local government opportunity integration. No long term contract required.

Offered Free from the Federal Government
FBO is the major place that third party services gather their opportunities from. If you spend some time to learn the filtering, you can receive interval emails to notify you of prospective projects for your company. It is good practice to look out for signs that a project is "claimed," where a company is already a heavy favorite, and the purchasing agent is only going through the legal process as a formality.

Various Packages, $41/month for federal, State & Local
Their most popular package notifies you of the most recently released bid opportunities from Federal, State, City and County governments as well as special agencies. Their focus is on being the best at gathering the bids, and organizing the information by either industry or region.

5 Free Leads, Custom Pricing for Regions/Industries
With the Onvia Online Database you will receive daily notification of government, commercial, and residential project opportunities and leads related to your business. Annual subscriptions are based on geographic region and are fully customized to ensure that the information you receive is timely, some training included.

Free Bids Account, $39/month, $97/quarter, $350/year
Their Free Bids Account gives you access to federal government bids updated daily. Our Paid Bids Account gives you access to the federal government bids plus all the state and local government bids. They also allow you to search the database of bids.

Free Market Analysis, No Prices Posted
BidNet' s specialty is tracking government buying and planning at the local, state, and federal level. Much like Onvia, BidNet creates custom profiles and email alerts, which contain the opportunities which match a company's specific needs. BidNet services offer a function to identify which agencies are buyers of your products or services.

This was definitely an interesting project. I highly recommend using some form of a bid matching service, even if you just use the free FBO notifications. State and Local opportunities might be helpful, and if you are interested in them these services can save a good deal of time and grief. Services that include organizational features are interesting, because they weren't around a few years ago. Keeping track of the projects you have bid on is a real value-add. Hope you find this helpful, and please post your thoughts and opinions.

“Domestic end product” means—

(1) An unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the United States; or

(2) An end product manufactured in the United States, if the cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all its components (see below). Components of foreign origin of the same class or kind as those that the agency determines are not mined, produced, or manufactured in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality are treated as domestic. Scrap generated, collected, and prepared for processing in the United States is considered domestic.

“Cost of components” means—

(1) For components purchased by the contractor, the acquisition cost, including transportation costs to the place of incorporation into the end product or construction material (whether or not such costs are paid to a domestic firm), and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free entry certificate is issued); or

(2) For components manufactured by the contractor, all costs associated with the manufacture of the component, including transportation costs as described in paragraph (1) of this definition, plus allocable overhead costs, but excluding profit. Cost of components does not include any costs associated with the manufacture of the end product.

In short, over 50% of the cost in the manufacturing process must be in incurred in the United States. If you are looking to offer your products to the federal government, then you will want to get a GSA Contract, and offer your products on your schedule. We advise that you look into any modifications or amendments to the law before taking action on the information provided in this blog post.

Martha Johnson ushered in a new era at the U.S. General Services Administration on February 16 during a live town hall at GSA headquarters in Washington, DC, that was also webcast to agency employees nationwide.

During the event, Johnson challenged GSA’s work force to stay focused on key initiatives, such as greening the government and putting Americans back to work. She took several questions from the audience as well as answered emailed questions from employees around the country.

Johnson is GSA’s first permanent administrator in more than two years. No stranger to the agency, she served as GSA Chief of Staff from 1997 to 2001.

Johnson was sworn in remotely during a crippling winter storm, and her Agency-wide objectives will highlight talent, innovation, customer intimacy, and cost-effectiveness.

In many ways 2009 was a difficult year that could not end fast enough. This holds true for government contractors in the IT products and services industry. There was a 21% drop in federal spending on IT compared to 2009, after 3 years of procurement  increases.

There are two possible explanations for these statistics. The first explanation is the most obvious, we are in a horrendous recession. However, with trillions of dollars available for stimulus spending, there should not have been a dip. The second explanation is that there was a change in executive office, therefore many top level positions changed leaders as well. This slows down any spending and/or budgeting activity because things are unsettled.

With the combination of these two explanations, we may be looking at the largest year in federal IT spending in history. Especially because President Obama has stated publicly that a major objective of his is the improvement and updating of government technology infrastructure.

Stimulus and modernization dollars are expected to drive many federal purchases this year as well. The Department of Defense has some big procurement plans  for the Air Force’s Expeditionary Combat Support System in the tune of around $350 million. The Army’s Warfighter Information Network is earmarked at $1 Billion to develop and  install a Mobile, tactical communications system for delivering video, data, imagery, and voice services.

There are hundreds of GSA Contract holding small businesses in California, who put a large marketing investment and focus on the federal government. And their foresight has given them a large advantage over their competitors in a time where many small businesses are folding from lack of work.

It has been calculated that over 400,000 jobs have been created from government contracting in 2009. If 11.3% of federal spending has been in California, then over 45,000 people have remained employed in California by working for federal contractors.

Now is the time for many California businesses to consider finding their way into the federal market. From couriers to staffing companies to electricians to security integrators, there are opportunities in federal contracting. Moreover, the Obama administrations use of recovery funds to finance federal projects is a key strategy to keep Americans Employed.

Powers-King came to GSA from the Department of Transportation where she oversaw a variety of high profile information technology programs. Some of the positions Powers-King held at DOT were an executive in the  Federal Aviation Administration, and Director of Information Technology and Deputy CIO at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

She joined GSA in 2007 as the Director of GWACs and IT Schedule Programs in the Integrated Technology Service. Powers-King has over 25 years of experience managing information technology programs in government. She is directly  responsible for around 4,700 IT Schedule 70 contracts that compile $16.4B in business volume in Fiscal Years 08-09.

"MCR has partnered with American University in Washington, D.C., to create a Senior Program Manager Certificate Program that provides government acquisition executives with leadership training and technical skills for successful integrated program management."

The Federal Procurement Certification will begin in February 2010. The classes will cost $9000 for six 4-day courses. It appears as though the program is targeting experienced procurement officers, and will ultimately give them the skill set to move into higher-level, executive positions within industry or the military.

In few words, Neil F. Albert, President and CEO of MCR, hinted that there may be a worry that federal procurement executives may be in mass exodus to retirement. Though, this is not confirmed.