THE BLUEPRINT TO

GOVERNMENT
CONTRACTING

Contents
Using Government
Recognized Criteria

How Many Contracts were

Awarded the Previous Year

Understanding Agency Buying

Patterns

The Competitive Landscape

Whats Your Piece of the

Government Pie

Review Active Solicitations

10

Advanced Market Research

12

Summary/Blueprint Checklist

15

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 1

Using Government
Recognized Criteria.
The road to government contracts seems complicated, even to the seasoned
professional government contractor. It does not have to be that way.
GovPurchase has simplified government contracting business development in
this new E-Book, The Blueprint to Government Contracting. This is government
contracting business development explained honestly and simply.

Capabilities statements are necessary in

government contracting, but understanding
NAICS codes and properly identifying your
companys capabilities in this fashion is
critical. Learn more about the NAICS codes
you are using and understand the differences
and the value having the right NAICS codes
can deliver. Reminder: For sales and marketing
purposes, do not use too many NAICS codes
that represent various industries unless these
are core capabilities of your company. Once you
have identified your perspective NAICS codes, review
the description of each code to better understand the
subtleties and slight differences between NAICS codes.

NAICS

Description of Key IT NAICS Codes

541511

Custom Computer Programming Services

541512

Computer Systems Design Services

541513

Computer Facilities Management Services

541519

Other Computer Related Services

GovPurchase helps you identify your companys online profile

to perfectly define your firm and attract the best
opportunities that match your capabilities.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 2

Know how many

contracts were awarded
the previous fiscal year
Many contractors often ignore or underestimate the
value of historical data.
Government spending is budgeted on an annual basis. The fiscal year ends on
September 30th. Knowing how many contracts were awarded the previous fiscal
year, in a particular NAICS code, is the next step in the Blueprint to
Government Contracting. This number will be proportionate to the budget
approved by congress. From a contractors perspective these budgets do not vary
much from year to year. Therefore knowing the number of contracts awarded in the
previous fiscal year is the clearest sign of the number of contracts that will be
awarded during this current fiscal year.
NAICS

Name

Awards
2014

541511

Custom Computer Programming Services

9254

541512

Computer Systems Design Services

9574

541513

Computer Facilities Management Services

2884

541519

Other Computer Related Services

33978

GovPurchase provides you with the number of contracts,

in the previous fiscal year, per NAICS code, making it
possible for you to begin the forecasting process.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 3

Understanding Agency
Buying Patterns
Knowing which agencies, and sub-agencies, spent
money in the past gives you the best indication of which
ones will spend money in the future.
The next step in the Blueprint to Government Contracting is knowing the
number of agencies, the sub-agencies, and which departments inside of the
agencies awarded contracts in your industry in the last fiscal year. This
information helps you identify which agencies you should target, during the
current and future fiscal years. Also this information assists you in creating or
enhancing your Agency Profiles.
NAICS

Name

Awards
2014

Contracting Agencies

541511

Custom Computer Programming Services

9254

146

541512

Computer Systems Design Services

9574

145

541513

Computer Facilities Management Services

2884

120

541519

Other Computer Related Services

33978

157

View next page for Top 15 Contracting Agencies in NAICS 541511 for 2014

GovPurchase provides you with the number of contracts,

in the previous fiscal year, per NAICS code, making it
possible for you to begin the forecasting process.

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 3

Understanding Agency
Buying Patterns
2014 Top Contracting Agencies in 541511
Rank

Agency

Sub-Agency

# of Contracts
Awarded in 2014

DEPT OF DEFENSE

Army

812

DEPT OF DEFENSE

Navy

585

DEPT OF DEFENSE

Air Force

513

7
8
9
10

11
12
13

VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT VETERANS AFFAIRS,

OF
DEPARTMENT OF
NATIONAL
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
INSTITUTES OF
DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH
NATIONAL
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
SPACE
ADMINISTRATION
BUREAU OF LAND
INTERIOR, DEPARTMENT OF THE
MANAGEMENT
INTERNAL REVENUE
TREASURY, DEPARTMENT OF THE
SERVICE
TRANSPORTATION, DEPARTMENT FEDERAL AVIATION
OF
ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL OCEANIC
COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF
AND ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
CENTERS FOR
DEPARTMENT OF
DISEASE CONTROL
FEDERAL BUREAU
JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF
OF INVESTIGATION
STATE,
STATE, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT OF

507

267

203

188
181
175
144

141
134
132

14

AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF

FOREST SERVICE

120

15

HOMELAND SECURITY,
DEPARTMENT OF

Coast Guard

111

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 4

The Competitive
Landscape
Step three of The Blueprint to Government Contracting is understanding the
incumbent contractors and the competitive landscape. This includes knowing who
already does business in any given NAICS code, and other details regarding the companies.
90% of government contracts already exist (well talk more about this later), so you want to
know who holds the current contract. Having complete information on the incumbents helps
you identify potential competitors, but amazingly, the same information assists you in
identifying potential teaming partners and commercial customers.

NAICS

Name

Awards
2014

Contracting Agencies

Current Vendors

541511

Custom Computer Programming Services

9254

146

3701

541512

Computer Systems Design Services

9574

145

2339

541513

Computer Facilities Management Services

2884

120

882

541519

Other Computer Related Services

33978

157

4157

View next page for top 20 Contractors in NAICS 541512 for 2014

Depending on the situation, understanding who is really a

competitor, teaming partner or potential commercial customer, what
they do, and how they do it, makes the seemingly blurry government
contracting business development picture much clearer.

With GovPurchase, you can research every government prime and

subcontractor instantly to determine every government contract theyve
had, dollar amounts, with which agencies, and the buyers contact
information. Set aside status, including entry and exit dates. Annual
revenue, number of employees and much more.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 4

The Competitive
Landscape
2014 Top 20 Contractors in NAICS 541512
Rank

Cage

Company

2014 Award Total

17038

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC.

$599,957,923.18

1U305

HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES, LLC

$584,833,148.90

6R517

SRA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

$542,772,267.19

1ZD18

ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES LLC

$368,731,384.71

1U3R1

SYSTEMS MADE SIMPLE, INC.

$313,624,443.26

4X260

LOCKHEED MARTIN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS, INC.

$286,374,263.06

1TTG5

DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP

$280,240,525.95

4W798

UNISYS CORPORATION

$261,230,516.02

6XWA8

SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL

CORPORATION

$215,061,959.37

10

3BXY7

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

$210,586,528.82

11

77609

LOCKHEED MARTIN SERVICES, INC.

$208,882,149.04

12

32143

NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION

$202,711,116.18

13

5UTE0

LEIDOS, INC.

$192,175,988.36

14

1VXZ9

NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INC

$183,352,175.67

15

1E7A5

ACTIONET, INC.

$180,216,666.64

16

0T5L1

LEIDOS, INC.

$176,205,602.88

17

3BDL8

DIGITAL MANAGEMENT INC.

$171,783,995.27

18

2AA68

HARRIS CORPORATION

$171,616,658.50

19

3YVK7

CGI FEDERAL INC.

$171,511,461.93

20

1TPV6

QUALITY SOFTWARE SERVICES, INC.

$165,490,694.62

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 5

Whats Your Piece of the

Government Pie
Knowing how big your market is will determine
how many resources you will need to capture
potential opportunities, and what you should
expect as far as potential returns on your
investment of time, money, and resources. Step
four in the Blueprint to
Government
Contracting is knowing the volume, or dollar
amounts, the government spends in your
NAICS codes.

This is relevant to the previous steps:

Identifying your government
criteria
Knowing the number of
contracts,
Number of agencies, and
Most importantly, the current
vendors.

NAICS

Name

Awards
2014

Contracting
Agencies

Current
Vendors

Awarded
Dollars

541511

Custom Computer Programming Services

9254

146

3701

$5,153,170,302.30

541512

Computer Systems Design Services

9574

145

2339

$14,384,222,331.07

541513

Computer Facilities Management Services

2884

120

882

$3,279,679,072.86

541519

Other Computer Related Services

33978

157

4157

$12,506,210,884.68

Knowing the actual dollars spent is the best indication of the

competitiveness of the NAICS. This step is where you may begin
to notice gaps, potential pain points, and other niches your
company is capable of filling.
GovPurchase gives you all dollar amounts by: Task order, NAICS, keyword,
agency, vendor, state, zip, set aside status and more. This allows you to
further pinpoint where your best opportunities for business reside.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

Step 6

Review Active
Solicitations
Now that we have built a solid foundation
on where we should invest our time
regarding government contracting business
development, this is the time to review
active solicitations. You need to know
what the government is actively looking for
right now.

How many potential opportunities are

there in the market for you to bid on,
based on your unique company
profile? While there are literally tens of
thousands of open solicitations
available, your focus should be on only
those opportunities that fit your
companys unique capabilities.

NAICS

Name

Awards
2014

Contracting Current
Agencies Vendors

Awarded
Dollars

541511

Custom Computer Programming

Services

9254

146

3701

$5,153,170,302.30

541512

Computer Systems Design

Services

9574

145

2339

$14,384,222,331.07

541513

Computer Facilities Management

Services

2884

120

882

$3,279,679,072.86

541519 Other Computer Related Services

33978

157

4157

$12,506,210,884.68

Active
Solicitations
76
82
35
119

GovPurchase has more open solicitations than any other single source.
Every federal open solicitation (not just FedBizOpps), every open
solicitation from all fifty states, as well as open solicitation from over
5,000 cities and counties. We ensure that you do not miss opportunities
because of lack of awareness. Our daily emails work together with your
well-crafted profile to provide your company with accurate
opportunities every day.

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

10

Step 6

Review Active
Solicitations
At this point, you have enough intelligence to quickly
review active solicitations and better understand the real time
landscape, while making accurate bid/no bid decisions. You now
have more assurance that you will not become a victim of the
most common mistake in government contracting business

development;

becoming overwhelmed by the number of

open solicitations available and not
understanding where or how to begin.
You are now in a position
to

review

current

government needs and

perhaps respond to the
appropriate RFPs, but
the next step in the
Blueprint to Government
Contracting
the

real

gives

you

key

to

government contracting
business
Advanced

development,
Market

Research.

11

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

11

Step 7

Advanced Market
Research
Here is the key in the Blueprint to Government Contracting: 90% of all
government contracts that appear on government contracting bid sites
(FedBizOpps, TACOM, MICOM, NECO, ASFI, DIBBS, etc) are based upon
work currently being done by another company, and are renewed, reissued, recompeted, or otherwise re-advertised.
This is the origin of what most people think of as open solicitations. The ability to
obtain enough information about Expiring Contracts, far enough in advance, to
determine opportunities that are coming out before they are released is the
key to Government Contracting. Key information required is:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

What is the contract?

What is the contract number?
Is the contract on GSA Schedule?
What are the individual tasks orders?
What agency awarded the contract?
Which facility is the point of performance location?
Who is the current vendor?
a. Do they have any set aside status? Is it expiring?
8. What is the dollar amount of the contract and the
individual task orders?
9. When was the contract awarded?
10. Most importantly, on what date does the contract end?

The Blueprint to Government Contracting

12

Step 7

Advanced Market
Research
Armed with this, and the information from the previous steps, we can develop our
pipeline and determine how far in advance we should begin to plan for certain
Expiring Contracts.
Expiring Contracts
Awards Contracting Current
2014
Agencies Vendors

Awarded
Dollars

NAICS

Name

541511

Custom
Computer
Programming
Services

9254

146

3701

$5,153,170,302.30

541512

Computer
Systems
Design
Services

9574

145

2339

$14,384,222,331.07

2884

120

882

$3,279,679,072.86

977
231
$4,316,569,138 $1,161,003,964

129
$876,529,707

121
$273,011,172

33978

157

4157

$12,506,210,884.68

12815
3005
1807
1220
$8,883,623,802 $3,806,102,484 $3,391,156,159 $1,173,867,248

821
$745,530,192

Computer
Facilities
541513
Management
Services

541519

Other
Computer
Related
Services

2015

2016

3378
889
$4,867,559,180 $2,315,140,553

2017

541
$891,840,128

2018

379
$527,574,651

2019

287
$293,193,821

3341
1070
803
527
401
$11,158,973,187 $5,138,972,029 $5,344,885,385 $3,519,977,058 $2,468,205,767

261
$645,691,332

GovPurchase is the only company that provides you with all Expiring Contract information on
one page. This makes GovPurchase the most easy to use, and efficient method to determine
what people in which agencies have money to spend now and in the future.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

13

Once you complete your

research and begin to determine
which opportunities you should
pursue, long before they are made
public, there is one more vital
piece of information required:

Up to 65% of government
purchases are not
advertised online.

The names, phone

numbers, email
addresses, physical
addresses, and possibly
recent purchases of the
buyer.
GovPurchase has the most accurate
contact information for all government
buyers including: names, phone
numbers,
fax
numbers,
email
addresses, physical addresses, previous
purchases and more

Savvy Contractors know how to use this information to consistently beat their
competition. GovPurchase is the only company that has this and more, all in one location.
Also, with our unprecedented training and ongoing support, we show companies how to
use this vital information to get in front of the buyers well in advance of an opportunity
being published, if it is ever published at all.
Also, this information helps you determine if you should be prime or a subcontractor in
any given situation. If you determine you should be a subcontractor, you are already familiar
with the prime contractor because of your previous research.
Every contractors goal is to win government contracts, and you should be constantly
reviewing open solicitations for opportunities that fit your companys capabilities. However,
to truly get the edge in government contracting, you need to develop a pipeline of
opportunities, so that you know which contracts are coming up before theyre active. Having
a pipeline of contracts lined up years in advance will help you:
Forecast future sales
Focus on specific opportunities by agency, dollar amount, etc.
Build necessary relationships with contracting and end-user staff up front
Develop internal capabilities and resources to be prepared in advance
Cultivate the necessary relationships with potential partners, primes, and subs in advance
Create an action plan for pursuing upcoming opportunities, so you are prepared when
they hit the street
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

14

In summary, when pursuing government contracts, prior research

is mandatory to ensure your success. Here is your Blueprint
Checklist:

Identify the correct NAICS codes for your core

capabilities,
See how many contracts were awarded in your
NAICS code,
Get to know agencies who awarded those
contracts,
Research the competition in your industry,
Know how much money was spent,
Review active solicitations that fit your capabilities,
and

Perform the advanced market research that is your

ultimate key to The Blueprint of Government
Contracting.
In the past, only large prime contractors understood these steps
and had the resources required to perform this valuable research
and business development activity.
Now, with GovPurchase, you have the same capability to perform
the research and business development activity as a billion dollar
company. This is because GovPurchase is the worlds largest
database on government contracting. Thousands of small, medium
and large businesses leverage GovPurchase to win billions of
dollars in prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming opportunities and
commercial business development.
The Blueprint to Government Contracting

15

Comprehensive Market Intelligence

Discover Opportunities Before they are Released

Access the Largest Government

Contracting Database
The Largest Number of Federal, State and Local bids available online

High Quality, High Profit Opportunities

Department of Defense ~ Army ~ Navy ~ Air Force ~ NASA
Plus 80,000 other buying agencies

Billion Dollar Contracts

Everything Needed to Win More Government Contracts
Federal, State and Local

CONTACT US FOR
MORE
INFORMATION

REQUEST A DEMO
OF GOVPURCHASE

GovPurchase
8401 Colesville Road, 3rd Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
P. 1.302.741.4446
[email protected]

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The Blueprint to Government Contracting

16