Find news and information for the executive corporate security director, CSO, facility manager and assets protection manager on issues of policy, products, incidents, risk management, threat assessments and preparedness.
Issue link: http://sdi.epubxp.com/i/209760
desk or bookshelf would drive both the government purchasing agents and office supply vendors crazy; so, instead the Feds issue a BPA that states publicly that they may buy an indefinite amount of a certain product or service (whether desks or video monitoring systems). The bidder tells the government what it will provide for each and every instance that the service is needed, including delivery terms, guarantees, installation costs or discounts. The winner takes all — once the BPA is awarded, there is no longer any competition. Securityhunter, for example, has a $500 million sole award contract. While that is a mind-boggling figure for a small integrator, keep in mind that there are no orders behind it. The BPA is simply the right for program managers or facilities managers who need physical or logical security to order from Securityhunter. As local federal agencies incur security needs, they check for BPAs on file, and the integrator is in business. For Securityhunter, that has meant projects in Hawaii, Guantanamo, Florida, Texas and New York. Bids are not always awarded on "low price." There are some that are awarded on "best value," Jernigan notes. Holmes agrees: "While prices should also be reasonable for the effort, typically in today's environment 'best value' proposals carry a lot of weight," Holmes says. Good references and a good history of past performance can give an integrator an edge, Holmes adds. He says it is important that the proposal or quote should indicate to the evaluators that an integrator has a good grasp of the effort. "The proposal should offer a simple- to-understand solution," he says. In fact, overly complicated proposals and solutions that require a lot of effort to evaluate will typically get shuffled to the bottom of the pile or immediately eliminated. There are two major types of government contracts. Both can provide a security integrator a good piece of revenue, but it is important to understand the differences: • ID/IQ contracts (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity) essentially provide for an indefinite quantity of some security service during a fixed period of time. With ID/IQs, a program manager has available money to spend on specific needs. • GWAC contracts (Government-Wide Acquisition contracts) are multi-agency or multi-department contracts available for bid, Cotter explains. www.SecurityInfoWatch.com | SD&I; | November 2013 25