Course Work Sample: General Services Administration

Response to Question One

General Services Administration (GSA) requires all applicants to submit an offer in response to the relevant GSA Schedule Solicitation. The organization rewards tenders and contracts to vendors offering commercial items at reasonable and fair prices. The contracting officers perform a pivotal role in comparing the prices and discounts offered by the company with those from the government to ensure they are reasonable and fair. The most favored customer pricing strategy is the mostly used approach to award the contractor (Korsak, 2008). GSA directs all offerors to provide adequate commercial lists and disclose information regarding the discounting/pricing techniques.

GSA has been installing strategies to move towards electronic submission and to eliminate traditional classic paper work. Bidders should send their application through eOffer/Mod system. eOffer/Mod system provides an interactive platform for contractors. As one of the security measures, GSA has installed the latest authentication technology to increase data integrity and digital signature. Moreover, the contractors can find the training guides on the system. The electronic submission process involves various steps. First, the contractor should read the solicitation and follow outlined instructions. Second, he/she should provide the required information in the most appropriate format. Thirdly, the offeror should submit a commercial price list with the correct Special Item Number (SIN) and Commercial Sales Practice Format (CSP-1). Lastly, it is vital to state the pricing and discounting method (Beale, 2014).

The current GSA process has more advantages for both the service provider and GSA. The electronic submission process is more advantageous than the classic paper method. First, the former saves money and time, thus, increasing efficiency and effectiveness. In particular, classic paper solicitations are expensive because the organization should hire a carrier such as UPS or FedEx to deliver the letter. As a result, it increases the chances of losing the mail or delivering it late. Secondly, electronic submissions are more secure to use than classic paper method because copies can be retained in the system for reference. Thirdly, almost all departments in the United States have implemented electronic submission systems to reduce cost and increase operational efficiency.

Response to the Second Question

I believe that my company has a chance of having its bid accepted as a much larger company such as Boeing due to several reasons. Many corporations and state organizations in the US have increasingly been awarding contracts to smaller firms. To a large extent, the shift is due to the enactment of the Small Business Jobs Act which allows small enterprises to access contracting opportunities. Current statistics indicate that GSA is increasingly considering Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) when granting supply requests (Beale, 2014). For instance, in 2015, approximately 14% of the contract holders were small business owners. Moreover, SDVOSBs supplied commercial items and services worth $2.5 billion to local, federal, and state agencies in 2015. Furthermore, GSA has been selling items such as hardware superstone, furniture and travel services among others to SDVOSBs (Korsak, 2008). Hence, it appears that the organization may continue to engage in business with SDVOSBs more in the future. In fact, under the One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS), I am confident that my company will receive the opportunity to supply small remote control aircrafts capable of long sustained flights. Since GSA is looking for more opportunities to increase the participation of small business owners into the bidding process, my firm would be predisposed to benefit from the OASIS program. Although Boeing is one of the largest firms in the aircraft manufacturing industry, my company has the capacity to provide excellent services for complex professional products such as aircrafts.

Although one would argue that Boeing may quote lower prices and offering better discounting margins than my company due to large economies of scale, GSA considers many other factors that are relevant in the long-term. For instance, the department does not only check the cost-effectiveness of a project, but also the efficiency and the possibility of achieving skills transfer across different federal government agencies. Importantly, GSA aims at creating a pool of suppliers who have the capacity to offer best-in class solutions for federal departments (Parker, 2016). In specific terms, my company would beat larger corporations such as Boeing because it intends to provide a solution by offering small aircraft that can perform well over long distances. Contrary to Boeing complex planes, which are big in size, my company supplies items that are fit for government-wide use. Currently, the OASIS program appears as an avenue for GSA to minimize the costs of performing tender analysis for candidates (Beale, 2014). In basic terms, all small businesses listed under the GSA program have been pre-qualified. Therefore, I believe that my business would be listed under the program, as GSA continues to search for reliable firms that offer complex solutions to the agencies (Korsak, 2008). Besides, many federal departments and agencies have Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) which work to increase the opportunities of incorporating small firms as vendors of the organization. Moreover, GSA provides training for small vendors to educate them on the most appropriate areas to apply in. Therefore, my organization will work collaboratively with GSA to create adequate chances for consideration.

Response to Question Three

Contract negotiation is an important aspect in improving the procurement outcome since it reduces uncertainties, costs, and risks. I will negotiate with GSA on the special terms of the contract. In particular, I will allow the organization to pay using a flexible schedule. In addition, I will offer the organization flexible acceptance criteria for various milestones. Moreover, my company will ensure that GSA receives constant supply of information and content reports on a regular basis. Importantly, I will negotiate on the basis of cost, delivery, and quality incentives. Although Boeing can outperform my company in the above aspects, I believe that a small company with a short supply chain has the capability of managing quality, costs, and delivery schedules better than a large one (Parker, 2016). The quality assurance department in my company can focus on major areas of operation compared to Boeing since the latter produces aircraft on large scale. With regards to personnel management, I will structure the negotiation process on the basis of subcontracting arrangements and focal points. In other words, I will outline the specific parts that I intend to sub-contract to ensure that GSA verifies the credibility of the organization in advance.

Response to Question Four

Some of the main customers to GSA include federal agencies and officials since it purchases items for the departments in a cost-effective and timely manner. In particular, federal officials rely on airplanes and private jets to travel to different parts of the country. Additionally, government agencies use passenger air transportation to accomplish official tasks and duties. Also, they move materials, equipment, and cargo. Another main category of the most valued customers is the executive branch. For instance, the President, Vice President, and Cabinet representatives move to different locations using government aircraft. The military is the third category of customers for GSA with regards to the aircraft purchasing (Korsak, 2008). Executive personnel and officials at the federal level account for the largest purchase of planes in the US. Primarily, this is because they engage in important activities to secure, safeguard, deliver services, and implement government policies. Therefore, my company will create value for those customers due to several reasons. First, I will sell small-size aircraft that have the ability to travel over long distances. Thus, they will reduce the cost of transportation and parking.

Notably, large planes such as those manufactured by Boeing consume relatively higher amounts of fuel compared to smaller ones due to the small engine capacity. Hence, my company will help both the executives and federal officials to save a significant amount of taxpayers money. Instead of using big aircraft to tour remote locations and to transport a small team, the individuals will save on time and cost when using our remote controlled planes to capture real-time experiences in the field (Parker, 2016). Most importantly, the police department will benefit largely from the small remote controlled aircraft since they it will enable them to view locations of interest and make appropriate judgment at reduced cost. Moreover, for individuals who conduct other pivotal applications in the government such as mapping, scientific experimentation, inspection calibration, and research and development will use my small planes to perform their activities (Beale, 2014). Therefore, I will create value for the clients by creating effective utilization strategies for government resources.

One of the major implications is that my company will be required to draft catalogues that contain recommendations and requirements for specific operations. In other words, my company will outline the most effective utilization strategies for the small remote controlled aircraft. What is more, the purchase of the small planes will compel the government agencies and departments to install additional supportive infrastructure for the new development. Although some of the organizations have sophisticated technology, there is a need for the introduction of new components that are compatible with the new one.

Response to Question Five

Small enterprises such as -Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) can administer a contract more effectively than a large one (Parker, 2016). Notably, SDVOSB involve a limited number of workers as compared to the big ones. Thus, it is easier to manage a small workforce than a large one. However, both large and small businesses may subcontract some of the services to third parties to increase efficiency and achieve pre-determined objectives. Additionally, both entities have the right personnel to complete certain tasks as required by the contracting firm. On the contrary, large firms have the skills and competence required to handle costly projects compared to smaller organizations. In fact, the government can only allocate a project to a small firm after considering its financial position. For instance, Boeing can administrate projects worth billions because it has the financial capability.

Response to Question 6

Small businesses wishing to market their products and services to the federal government should consider the customers (procurers, end users, and influencers) first before embarking in the promotional strategy. There are different methods of reaching to the government. For instance, the company can use Small Business Administration (SBA) Procurement Marketing, mailing lists, association and forums, conferences, government publications, and GSA expos to market their products and services to the government (Beale, 2014). However, the best marketing approaches for my company would be to partner with GSA, use conferences and publications because they are cost-effective and appropriate for the aircraft business. As for the publication advertising, I will promote the products through Federal Times and Government Executive magazines.

Through them, my company will subscribe in order...