The first three articles published in this series provided information on where to review U.S. opportunities, who the key players are, the rules of the road, and how to register to do business with the U.S. Government.

Now it’s time to focus on that flipside that opportunity so often presents – the challenges!

There are many obstacles and delays that can impact a contract award before it happens, or even after it happens! All of these barriers must be overcome to succeed.

The dreaded bid appeal

A scenario that I’ve seen happen to Canadian companies is the following:

You are jumping up and down because it has been announced that your company has been awarded a U.S. Government contract. A few days later you get the bad news that the award is being appealed by a competitor. What do you do?

You should fight it by hiring a U.S. lawyer who is experienced in this type of case. If you don’t know any, call the Trade Commissioner Service at the Canadian Embassy in Washington and ask them to connect you to a few lawyers who specialize in these appeals.

Once connected, you can discuss your situation with them and settle on the right lawyer for you, based on experience and price.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for the U.S. Congress. It has various functions, one of which is to adjudicate bid protests. If you search for “Canada” on the “Bid Protest Decisions” search engine, you will find Canadian companies that have gone through the bid protest experience.

The main hurdles you could face

Some of the obstacles that you may discover very quickly in attempting to win a U.S. government contract are:

1. The Buy American Act of 1933; (See Buy American and Defense Contracts)
2. Small Business Set-Asides, Small Business Act of 1953;
3. Buy America Act – Transit (not the same as Item 1.);
4. Buy America Act – Highways;
5. Buy American -Airports;
6. DFARS Part 225; and
7. DFARS Part 225.7002 Berry Amendment.

It is extremely important to understand the comprehensive list of barriers and helpful hints to address them, whenever possible, by using the resources of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.

Once at the site, note the “Other Key Information” box on the right hand side of the page. It is suggested that you review all the information contained under the specific headings. Actually, the whole page contains a wealth of important information you need to know.

Getting the help you need

Both buyers and sellers need help! The challenge is in connecting the right two organizations, so they can help each other. There are always obstacles or constant challenges, some big and some small, that must be overcome to succeed.

Regardless of where your company is located in Canada, help is available to you. Companies need opportunities, and financing and good networking will eventually get you the first two.

In Canada, we are fortunate to have local, regional and national associations in most industries, especially in the aerospace and defence fields. A list of some of these organizations is available on the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada web site. Also see WCDIA.

All of the associations have experience in dealing with the same obstacles you might be facing today; networking is key to getting help. Most likely, someone or some company has already experienced the same challenge you are now facing.

Canadian Trade Commissioners are your friends

Help is always available from the Canadian TCS. If you don’t know whom to contact first, try the Defence and Trade Sections at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

They have direct contact with key DoD players who are always willing to listen and help if they can. A call from the Pentagon to a U.S. unit or base can certainly help to open doors for Canadian companies.

If you see an opportunity on FBO.gov, but the bid package is classified, it may be releasable to Canada.

Contact the Industrial Security Directorate to see how they can request it if you have the appropriate level of security clearance. Also, don’t be afraid to contact the Canadian manager at the Joint Certification Office if you are trying to visit a U.S. base and running into difficulty.

Remember, experience says that in dealing with U.S. Government organizations, if they want what you have, they will find a way to buy it!

Further Reading

Some interesting web sites that may be beneficial are:

1. General Services Administration (GSA schedules-another need to know-maybe)
2. Navy League of the United States (Large trade show)
3. Association of the United States Army (Large trade show)
4. U.S. Commercial Service Canada (Offices in Canada)
5. export.gov  (List of Canadian events U.S. companies are attending in Canada)

The post Overcoming the biggest hurdles in gaining export contracts with the U.S. Government appeared first on Trade Ready.

For those looking to initiate business with the U.S. federal government, my aim is to lay aside some of the mysteries around the U.S. federal contracting process by introducing a few terms that are tossed around in a conversation, but perhaps not well understood, such as FAR, DFARS, FCT and GSA.

This article will also point to a few important websites that will be useful for Canadians in the pursuit of exporting to our closest neighbour and biggest trading partner.

The first and second articles published in this series provided information on where to review U.S. opportunities, and how to register to do business with the U.S. Government. Let’s hope that this piece will provide sufficient knowledge to put the “big picture” in context, enabling you and your team to move ahead in selling to the U.S. Government.

Discover the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its cohorts

The FAR is the manual of U.S. Government contracting. You can find it, you can learn it, you can use it and you can understand it if you work at it, but you can’t possibly memorize it! Note that the FAR consists of 53 parts, which are further divided into detailed subparts.

Above and beyond the FAR, some U.S. Government departments and agencies have supplemental regulations. In the case of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), it has the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). These specific regulations are based upon DoD policy and/or U.S. law.

A complement to the DFARS is the Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI). The PGI will help you to understand the DFARS. The Office of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) is the DoD authority for contracting and procurement policy.

Agreements between friends

As a Canadian company and a potential supplier to both DoD and NASA, you need to be aware of two important agreements between Canada and the United States of America: the Defence Production Sharing Agreement (DPSA) and the Defence Development Sharing Agreement (DDSA).

The DPSA is administered by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), while the DDSA is managed by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly named Industry Canada).

The DPSA was signed in 1956, and the DDSA in 1963. In 1985,the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP) office was activated in Battle Creek to support both agreements by allowing Canadian and American companies access to controlled unclassified technical information belonging to DoD and DND (Department of National Defence) on a need-to-know basis. By the way, a hybrid JCP website also exists in a transition state during an update to new Defense Logistics Agency web pages; you can try either site to see what works best for your browser.

The legal authority in Canada for the JCP is the Technical Data Control Regulations enacted under the umbrella of the Defence Production Act.

A contract award by a U.S. Government agency to your company will contain clauses that come from the FAR, and maybe even supplemental regulations. In the case of a contract award from DoD, it will contain clauses from the FAR and the DFARs as well.

Some special clauses directly relating to Canada are those in the DFARS which identify CCC. For example, DFARS 225.870 is one which stipulates that awards over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) (currently $150,000 U.S.) must go through CCC. Can you find the FAR that identifies the SAT level(s)? Hint, look at FAR 13.000 Policy.

If a DoD contracting office wants to award a contract to your company over the SAT, DoD will award it to CCC, who in turn will create a domestic contract for your company, provided it passes CCC’s due diligence (managerial, technical and financial) process. In turn, CCC gives DoD a sovereign guarantee on the terms and conditions of the contract. Are you keeping up with all of these acronyms?

If a contract is under the SAT dollar level, DoD can award it to your company directly or ask one of its sub-contractors to purchase it for them. They also have the option of making a credit card transaction.

Pay attention to security

In the U.S. Government environment, Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential are the security levels of protection that may be required in the performance of classified contractual work.

Security requirements in an awarded U.S. contract to CCC are converted into the Canadian equivalent using a Canadian Security Requirements Check List (SRCL).

If a contract contains a classified security requirement, no contract can be awarded to the company until the company itself, and appropriate staff, have been identified as having the required level of facility and personnel security clearances.

Such clearances are issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (formerly Public Works and Government Services) Industrial Security Directorate. Obtaining security clearances for classified projects can take a considerable amount of time to process.

Readers need to review the Industrial Security Manual to understand that security is everybody’s business. Also, note that if your company is required to have certain U.S. defense articles as part of the contract, you will have to apply to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and appoint a Designated Official as part of the process.

By the way, DFARS dealing with cybersecurity are very topical within the U.S. defence milieu and will remain so because of the threat environment. It is recommended you review the presentation found at the link in this paragraph.

What happens when a Canadian supplier receives an unclassified contract with cybersecurity DFARS identified and the end buyer is the U.S. Government? In this situation, if the CCC is the Canadian prime contractor, the company should contact the CCC contracting officer for assistance.

In turn, the CCC would most likely discuss the question with Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Industrial Security Directorate to develop the appropriate policy and guidance. You should expect to see cybersecurity clauses called out in any contract you receive indirectly or directly from DoD.

Finally, if a CCC contract award requires you to have Communications Security (COMSEC) equipment and keying material, you must work with CCC and the Industrial Security Directorate to obtain the required security clearance level for the contract. Then, be sponsored for a private sector COMSEC account.

Research your competition and customers

Who is the competition? Who is buying what? If you don’t know, it’s absolutely crucial that you find the answers to these questions.

Remember to use USASpending.gov and fbo.gov to do your research as well. You can use Subscribe Now to see daily listings of high value DoD awarded contracts from the main DoD web site. Use USASpending.gov by inserting a company name into the Search Site box found on the right hand side near the top of the page. You can also use the Advanced Data Search.

When you use fbo.gov, go to “Opportunities List,” click on “Advanced Search,” and select “Archived Documents” on the right hand side. Next, go to “Opportunity/Procurement Type” and check “Award Notice”.

As another avenue, try searching the FBO Opportunities List for “BAA” without the quotes. You will be surprised what you find.

Another DoD program you can use to search for opportunities is the annual Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) program. Once at the site, click on “Help” to discover what the program is all about this year. Also, review the DND web site dealing with international programs that can help you in dealing with the U.S., or even NATO.

In FBO, many awards from the Defense Logistics Agency show Canadian suppliers. Review the DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) to view and submit secure quotes on DLA items of supply. TIP: If you enter DLA into the Keyword/Solicitation # box at FBO.gov you will see a comprehensive listing of DIBBS requirements without going to the actual DIBBS website. JCP certification is required to obtain access to the secure C-Folders part of the DIBBS web site. Once at DIBBS, you will get a consent banner – click “OK”. At the actual site see the “DIBBS Notices” at the bottom of the page for important information.

Training, Knowledge, and Opportunities (TKO) seminars have been scheduled for 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. They should be of interest to companies supplying parts to DLA or who want to do so. The JCP Directly Arranged Visit process should enable you to attend the event. Contact the Canadian Representative if problems arise with access to the seminars.

The opportunity to sell to the U.S. Federal Government is a profitable one that is accessible to exporters both large and small, and now is a great time to start the process.

Doing your homework and getting to know the players, regulations and hurdles you may face on the way will be key to your success in tapping in to this market.

In the next article, we will be talking about the biggest challenges you will meet on your way to achieving a contract to sell to the U.S. Government and how you can overcome them.

The post Rules of the road: the key players, rules and obstacles you need to know to sell to the U.S. Government appeared first on Trade Ready.

Registering to do business with the U.S. Government opens a new world of opportunities for your company. As I mentioned in the first article in this series, before any importer or exporter can take on a new market, they need to do extensive research to ensure their product or service is a match with the buyer’s needs.

The good news is that U.S. Government procurement represents a wealth of opportunities for Canadian exporters who are enterprising enough to do the legwork.

And, the even better news is that a U.S. Government-wide resource exists, providing details on all proposed procurement actions and contract awards over U.S. $25,000: the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website.

The previous article explained the purpose of FBO and its value to Canadian companies. It also mentioned that you can look at FBO opportunities, but not access the respective bid documents until you are registered at the site.

Thus, it is necessary to register at FBO.

1.  First, get familiar with the registration process

In order to conduct business with the U.S. Government, your company must register at both the System for Award Management and the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) websites. There is no fee to register at either site.

The U.S. contracting officer uses the SAM website to award contracts and review companies’ business profiles in SAM. Your SAM registration must be current and active to be eligible, and your company must not be under any form of U.S. debarment action that could preclude eligibility.

For those who have done their research as suggested in the previous article, it’s now time to put your efforts into practice before registering on the two sites.

2. Obtain your Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

In order to commence either registration process, you first need to obtain a Canadian-issued DUNS number. A DUNS number is a nine digit ID assigned to your company at a physical location. It can be obtained free of charge from Dun & Bradstreet. You may already have one assigned to your company; try searching now.

3. Request a NATO Commercial and Government Entity Code (NCage Code)

An NCage Code is a five position code that is used by NATO countries, including Canada, as well as a whole range of countries that have a similar logistics codification system for logistical data exchange between countries.

In Canada, the Department of National Defence (DND) issues NCage Codes for Canadian companies. American companies and organizations are issued Cage Codes by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency.

Not sure if you already have an NCage Code? You can search the NATO Codification website to determine if your company has an existing NCage Code. It’s best to search by company name, city, and country. You can also use the U.S. CAGE Search & Inquiry (CSI) website. Please note the just-mentioned website is relatively new and you should become familiar with its content. Clicking the “About” heading at that website brings you to a new web page with a list of questions on the left-hand side. One question of significance, especially if you are a manufacturer, is the second last question.

If you don’t have a NCage Code, simply download and complete the NATO Cage Code Request Form and send it by email to the Canadian Commercial Corporation at ncage@ccc.ca. The CCC will, in turn, request a NATO Cage Code from DND on your behalf. Also, if your company manufactures in Canada be sure to clearly indicate that on your NCage Code Request Form before submitting it to CCC.

Remember if you save the form with Adobe Acrobat Reader it should save as a fillable PDF.

4. Don’t forget the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes

When completing the NATO Cage Code Request Form, you will need to know and enter the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, which can be found at Statistics Canada.

Also, see page 3 of the NATO Cage Code Request Form for help. Using the Advanced Search Keywords or SOL search box found under the Advanced Search Tab at FBO.gov is quite useful as well. With respect to the latter, try inserting “radar and satellite”, without quotation marks, into the search box, then look at the opportunities that appear after you hit enter.

Select one or two that may match your manufacturing or repair capabilities and then look at the respective NAICS codes at the bottom of the right-hand green column. You can try this several times until you believe you have the appropriate NAICS code.

Compare the NAICS codes you find with the same codes at the Statistics Canada link before completing the NATO Cage Code Request Form.

5. Become certified at the Joint Certification Program

If your company intends to bid on U.S. defence opportunities, you will need to obtain certification from the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP) in order to download controlled unclassified documents that may be part of the technical data package.

Please ensure your DD Form 2345 is properly completed. You will need your NCage Code before submitting your JCP application to the Joint Certification Office in Battle Creek, Michigan. Don’t forget to include the supporting documentation – the address is located at the top of DD Form 2345. You will need to send it by Canada Post or courier, not email.

The requirement for JCP certification only exists if you wish to download unclassified controlled technical documents disclosing military critical technology with military or space applications.

Technical documents are usually required if you are bidding on an unclassified U.S. defence opportunity with controlled unclassified technical data packages. Some U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) solicitations may require JCP certification before you can download the controlled technical documents too.

By the way, JCP certification can also be used for unclassified Directly Arranged Visits (DAV) to U.S. military establishments. Contact the Canadian Representative if you are having any challenges arranging DAVs. It is better to obtain JCP certification now rather than later; there is no cost for it!

Canadian companies should also review the Controlled Goods Program to determine if it is applicable to their respective situations. Please note Government of Canada procurement opportunities can require JCP certification as identified in Part 5 b of a Security Requirements Check List (SRCL).

6. Time to register at SAM and FBO

You now know how to obtain:

1. A Canadian Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number for your company’s physical location;
2. The appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for your company;
3. A Canadian issued NCage Code; and
4. Certification under the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program.

You’re encouraged to complete the above actions as soon as possible. You’ll need your NCage Code before you submit your JCP certification request (DD Form 2345) Ensure you use the latest form from the JCP website.

Also, take the time to view the YouTube video about the Joint Certification Program.

At every step of the way, those responding to your request will need to verify your information.

For example, once you obtain a NCage Code in Canada it will take time to migrate throughout overall NATO Cage Code and the U.S. Cage Code systems. It is necessary for the JCP office to see your Canadian assigned NATO Cage Code in the U.S. Cage Code system before they can match it with what you listed on your company’s DD Form 2345.  When you go to register in SAM your Canadian assigned NATO Cage Code will be matched with the information you provided on your SAM registration.

Tips for registering at SAM

Once you have your DUNS number and NCage Code you can register at SAM and FBO. However, before starting the SAM registration process, review important tips at Google.com by searching for: “Quick Start Guide For New Foreign Registrations”. Once registered at SAM continue to FBO and finalize the registration process.

Save and Secure

Don’t forget to save and secure any passwords and Personal Identification Numbers you used or obtained in registering at the SAM and FBO websites. Also, ensure you keep your registrations active.

Until the next time

In the next article in this series, I will answer the question: “What contract clauses does the U.S. Government use?”

The U.S. marketplace is a lucrative opportunity for Canadian companies. However, as identified above, your company must first register at both the Federal Business Opportunities and the System for Award Management websites.

The time to register is worth the effort! And the time to do it is now, because not all solicitations are won by big companies. Yes, Canadian companies can win!

The post Canadian exporters: here’s how to register to do business with the U.S. Government appeared first on Trade Ready.

Why haven’t they tried?

Perhaps it’s a lack of knowledge about the market south of the border. It could be for financial reasons, or that people don’t know where to start or worry it will take too long.

Other concerns are that people don’t know who to contact for help, or consider the U.S. too far to go for business. Maybe they are simply afraid that the U.S. government would never buy from a small Canadian company (not true).

An understanding of how to discover what the U.S. government is looking to purchase will help to alleviate the misconceptions about selling to “Uncle Sam.”

One-stop-shop for U.S. government market research

In attempting to sell a product or service, it is always necessary to determine who needs it, and what problem it will solve for the buyer.

In the domain of U.S. government procurement, there is an easy way to determine what they want to buy.

A single U.S. government-wide resource exists for information on proposed procurement actions and contract awards over U.S. $25,000: the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. You may even find a few procurement actions under $25,000.

There is no cost to use the FBO website, but you must register if you want to take full advantage of the site.

Exploring the FBO website is easier than you might think. Most likely, the first item that will catch your attention is the large number of active federal (meaning U.S. government) opportunities.

Resist the urge to immediately dive in to search for opportunities. First, ensure that you have some basic knowledge of the web site’s functions and terms of use.

Start by clicking on the Privacy sub-heading which is listed in the lower portion of web page’s banner. It’s important to understand the Privacy and Security statement as it ensures that you are aware how your personal information could be used. Other U.S. government websites have similar information included in their respective online privacy policies.

Go to the Getting Started section in the top menu and learn the FBO details. Several short business training videos can be found in this section as well as a Vendor User Guide. They provide answers to most of the questions that users may have while using the website.

More than 100 agencies are looking for solutions

Now take a look at the website’s Agencies section. It’s a listing of more than 100 government agencies, including two that are not U.S. federal agencies, which place their solicitations and award notices on FBO.

Did you find the two that are non-U.S.?

While on the Agencies page, try searching for the Department of the Navy and observe that it lists over 390 locations, with more than 31,000 notices.

By the way, the navy procurement notices are the same notices that are on the FBO Opportunities web pages. For administrative reasons, such information is included on the individual departmental procurement websites as well.

The Agencies listing can be a very useful research tool in drilling down to explore opportunities when the potential buyer’s location is known.

Next, quickly have a peek at the General Info page. From there, move on to the Home and the Opportunities pages. Both can be searched for procurement opportunities – which is the reason you are on the FBO site in the first place!

Opportunities are at your fingertips

The Home page is a quick and easy location to start a simple search for procurement opportunities. Insert a keyword like “wireless” into the Keyword/Solicitation search box and hit enter. This will identify some type of procurement activity associated with the keyword used.

It will also move the search to the Opportunities page at the same time. On the Opportunities page you will find an advanced search capability too.

Product and NAICS codes are listed which can be used in an advanced search mode to provide greater refinement for the user.

The Opportunities section is where you will spend most of your time searching while using the FBO site.

The Keyword/Solicitation search box is your principal instrument to search for solicitations.

In order to become familiar with searching for procurement opportunities, try searching again using a word from your company’s product line or search for “Canada”.

You may be surprised to see what results you return! You can select a few of the opportunities by clicking on the individual blue links, then press “Ctrl-F” and insert “Canada” into that search box. This will help you find Canada in the solicitation if it is there.

The ability to use the Home and Keyword/Solicitation search boxes is your key to success in finding opportunities appropriate for your company.

A tip: use of the Return to Opportunities List tab will save you lots of anguish in returning to the list of solicitations when you search the listings.

It is important to note the detail under the General Information column on the right-hand side of a solicitation, as it has a lot of significant information. It should always be reviewed to see if anything is listed under Set Aside. “Set asides” are social-economic opportunities specifically for U.S. small businesses.

Please note that foreign companies, including Canadian, are not considered small businesses under U.S. law. Therefore, Canadian companies cannot normally bid on solicitations that are set aside for U.S. SME’s.

The NAICS and Classification Codes that are included in this column can be used to identify similar non-Set Aside search opportunities for like products using the Home or Opportunities pages. See the Advanced Search Tab on the Opportunities page.

The above information provides a company with an opportunity to identify where U.S. government procurement opportunities can be found without registering for an account on the FBO website. However, as noted above, to take full advantage of the functionality of the site you will need to register for it.

Note that registering only at the FBO website will not allow you to bid on U.S. government opportunities. However, it will achieve one of the three steps that must be completed in order to bid.

The next article in dealing with U.S. government procurement will explain the full registration process you will need to undergo in order to bid. I recommend you take a look at the NCage, DUNS, and the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program.

In the meantime, start searching the FBO site for opportunities!

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