Government Procurement

At BG Consulting we have strong experience in bidding government contracts.

In some cases the bidding has been made directly to the governments. We have submitted bids in almost all countries in Latin America.

In other cases the bidding has been made directly to the multilateral agency. Specifically, we have worked for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the Foreign Investment Advisory Services of the World Bank, the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Andean Development Corporation and Inter-American Center for Tax Administration.

In other cases the bid has been submitted to the United States of America Government, either directly, as subcontractors or as beneficiary of macro contracts with the General Services Administration, GSA.

We initiated our business getting projects from governments and multilateral agencies. Our chase started well before the projects were advertised. Through our network of contacts we had access to legal information that positioned us competitively to win the projects.

We planned a long term strategy which included developing reputation through small projects and partnering with larger firms.

a. Intelligence Gathering.

i. To bid for a government project, intelligence is crucial. The sooner that intelligence is gathered the better. Within multilateral agencies, the projects have cycles. We search on regular basis all projects at the first phase, that is when they are first presented within the relevant agency, but have not been transferred to the executing agency for implementation.

Usually, there is a period of more than 12 months between the time the project is first designed until the project is ready for procurement. At the first phase we gather information pertaining:
· Content,
· Components,
· Size,
· Timing,
· Who will execute,
· How,
· Who is counterpart in country,
· Bidding process.

ii. We talk to the person in charge of designing the project in the relevant multilateral agency. We also talk to the counterpart in the local governments. Some times, the latter is useful in order to shape the demand.

iii. Through direct communication with the relevant officers we compile information that is useful to prepare a winning bid.

In order to fulfill this objective, we provide the client with a monthly report of new projects. Upon discussion with the client certain projects are chosen. On subsequent reports, information is given on the projects chosen and it is discussed with the client. If new projects are found and are chosen by the client a new cycle is started.

b. Develop procurement strategy.

· Procurement strategies can be developed for short or long terms. The latter have proved to be much more successful.
· Occasionally, companies need to have a previous registration with the multilateral entity or with the government in order to be able to bid.
· As part of our services we design the strategy with the client and advise the client of the registrations needed.
· Likewise, quite regularly, companies need to have previous experience in similar projects in order to successfully compete. These qualifications, commonly known as “quals” can be built over time through small projects or through subcontracting mechanisms.
· Even if the client counts with “quals” and registrations it might not have all the requirements needed to successfully bid. In those cases, identification of the partners with whom a bid could be presented is crucial. And we assist clients on that search.
· In other cases, clients might not be aware that the U.S. Government has different contractual mechanisms, one of which can be the Indefinite Quantity Contracts which last for several years and are a source of permanent projects. If clients are interested we can also provide information on what is needed in order to apply for those contracts.

c. Proposal strategy.

· When a request for proposal has been released, the client should already have enough information to present a bid. However, the details of the services required are usually known when the request for proposal is made public. For example, the project might be for $ 10 million but the request for proposal might be only for one portion of $ 500,000.oo and the services might be required for 5 months.
· Usually, the request for proposal contains the criteria for evaluation. Once those are known, the client might need or want to partner with another firm. In some cases, it might be required or it might be advisable to include a local partner. We provide assistance in that regard.
· Planning the timing for submitting the proposal might be tricky. We can also assist in planning the different stages for preparing the proposal.
· The methodology is an important part of the proposal. Although we will not be experts in the area on which the bid is about we can have access to information that indicates that certain documents are important for purposes of preparing the proposal or that they should be analyzed for that purpose.
· In those cases, as part of our services, we instruct the client.
· Likewise, the financial proposal can be shaped in a winning or in a losing way. We work closely with the financial team of the client to make sure that the financial proposal is in tune with the industry standards, the possible budget of the contracting entity and the internal circumstances of the client.
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