Seven Steps to Success: Jump Start Government Contract Series (Part 4)

In his March 26th blog post titled “Like It Or Not, In Procurement You Have To Choose Your Friends Carefully,” Next Level Purchasing’s Charles Dominick related the story of the latest scandal in public sector procurement in which the executive director of the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority’s “close ties” with one of the companies currently under contract has drawn significant fire. While I had commented that we only have to consider the furor surrounding the Congressional investigation into the Toyota accelerator problem, in which the Japanese automaker was being called before a committee that in actual fact has the largest ownership stake in one of its main competitors (GM) regarding the mere appearance of impropriety, the truth is that people tend to do business with someone they know, like and trust. This raises the question, is or should transparency be more focused on exclusion (re not doing business with friends even if said friends may have the best value offering), or on disclosure (I am doing business with friends and here are my reasons)? By the way, you can access Charles’ main company page and blog at www.NextLevelPurchasing.com. Against this backdrop, understanding the nature of the competitive bid process within the public sector is perhaps the best starting point in terms of gauging the boundaries of transparent accessibility and maximized opportunity. Enter Washington-based expert author Judy Bradt, who has enabled more than 6,000 clients to win in excess of $300 million in government contracts through her Seven Steps to Success: Jump Start Government Contract Series. In Part 4 of the series, we will be talking about the true nature of competition within the realms of public sector procurement, and what you can do to "Win True Preference" status as a supplier.