Reverse Auctions in Federal Procurement: Strategies for Contractors
The reverse auction is a tool used in procurement where the role of buyer and seller are reversed: The buyer posts a contract on an online reverse auction site, suppliers enter bids, and the government selects the company that has offered to perform the work for the lowest price. Price is the only criteria evaluated and companies compete for contracts by lowering the prices of the goods and services they offer.
Reverse auctions have been widely hailed by procurement officials, agency higher-ups and the White House as a promising way to find savings in procurement. As a result, the majority of federal government agencies are now using reverse auctions. Where they were once only used for basic services and commodities, reverse auctions are now being expanded to procure more complex technology goods and services. For example, on February 2 the FCC announced its plans to hold a reverse auction starting September 27, 2012 to attain the Mobility Fund Phase I national broadband, a $300 million contract including a service component.
This trend has huge implications for contractors. Companies new to the system will find that reverse auctions differ significantly from the traditional proposal process and that they require new strategies for success.
Learning Objectives
- Understand how the reverse auction process works
- Learn the functions and features of different reverse auction platforms
- Identify what kind of procurements are being done through reverse auctions
- Explain the potential benefits of reverse auctions for contractors and suppliers
- Learn strategies for pricing in reverse auctions
- Understand considerations for buyers in choosing a reverse auction system
- See case studies of companies locating, bidding and tracking reverse auctions
- And much, much more!
Who Will Benefit?
This webinar is a must-attend event for contractors, suppliers, executives and marketing personnel interested in selling to the government through reverse auctions. Others who will benefit are federal and local government agency procurement officials interested in reducing the cost of doing business, as well as saving money when purchasing commodities and/or services.
Meet Your Presenter
Richard Bazaco is the founder of eFederal Systems, an IT consulting and reverse-auctions technology provider based in Washington, D.C. Rick draws experience from his time serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as a rifleman in Vietnam, where he was wounded in a land-mine explosion. Rick holds Service Disabled Veteran Small Business status as a business owner and contractor to the Federal government. Following his service, Rick worked at IBM’s Federal Systems Division as a computer programmer where he worked on the U.S. Space Shuttle Program and developed the programs that opened and closed the payload doors allowing the Shuttle to deploy satellites. He was also a member of the development team that worked to build the Next Gen Air Traffic Control System for the FAA.
