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Tips for Finding Free Bid Leads from Indiana Cities and Towns Some
PICC clients use our low-cost electronic bid-matching service which uses customized keywords and numbers to provide a daily e-mail of bid leads all around the United States and even some international sites. However, if you are only interested in bidding on supplies and services in Indiana, here is a free way to find bid leads using the Internet.
Start your search by going to http://www.citiesandtowns.org. This website is maintained by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, a not-for-profit organization which offers education and information and also represents municipalities before Indiana lawmakers.
Next, click on “Cities and Towns,” the third button bar down on the left-hand side of the page. It will open to a list of Indiana cities and towns. If the city or town is in blue and is underlined, you can click on the word and go directly to their website.
Clicking on “South Bend” will bring up the official South Bend Government website. On this home page it is easy to find open solicitations. Just click on the “City Public Bids” bar on the left-hand side. You will find construction, vehicle, equipment, and miscellaneous bids, along with links to required forms and other bidder information.
Sometimes you must search a bit after you click on the city or town name. For example, click on “Fort Wayne” and you will go to the City of Fort Wayne’s official website. A quick look at the home page does not show any department or word that looks promising. By entering keywords such as “purchasing department” or “current request for quotes” or “bids” in the site search engine, you will usually find the page you want.
The Fort Wayne Purchasing Department is tucked away under Finance and Administration. By placing your cursor on the button bar Finance and Administration,” you will see “Purchasing Department” pop up to the right. Click on that to go the Purchasing Department Home Page. This page has links to current Invitations to Bid and Request for Quotes. “Bookmark” or make this page a “Favorite,” so you can find it easily the next time you search.
Let’s try another. Click on “Anderson” and scroll down to “Department Directory.” By clicking there, you will find the Purchasing Department. Once at that page, click on the blue “Current Bids and RFP’s.”
Some smaller cities and towns do not list their open solicitations but often give a contact
and phone number. By giving the person a phone call and sending them your company’s information, you may be added to the next bidder’s mailing list when your product or services is needed. Better yet, you might make a sale you never would have found any other way!
DSCC Training, Knowledge, & Opportunities (TKO) Seminars for 2006
If you sell items that are regularly purchased by the Defense Supply Center, Columbus, Ohio, you will greatly benefit by going to one of their free, two-day seminars. The Small Business Counseling Center presents excellent and informative material in small classes held each month. The next session is January 24-25, 2006. Click on this link to see the complete schedule for 2006: http://www.dscc.dla.mil/news/events/tko/.
Each TKO seminar is a hands-on learning event. Attendees use a DSCC-provided computer as the various presenters teach topics such as how to find relevant open bids; how to bid using the DSCC Internet Bid Board System called DIBBS; how to handle packaging requirements; and what goes on during a pre-award survey. For a complete agenda, click on this link: http://www.dscc.dla.mil/downloads/tko/2005tkoagenda.pdf
Your only costs for this valuable training are your transportation, motel, and food expenses. The actual two days of training are free, but most PICC clients come back grateful for what they learned and often say that they would have paid for it. Why not schedule a seminar for your company?
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
Each newsletter we feature one of our valued PICC clients. This time we focus on Briljent, LCC which recently received the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award as part of the 2005 Indiana Entrepreneurial Awards of Distinction. The awards were presented by Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is part of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Briljent also was a finalist in the Growth category.
According to John Guingrich, Vice President of Government Solutions at Briljent, “the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award honors companies for risk-taking and for persevering through lessons learned.” Briljent has been in headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana since 1998 and recently added an expanded office in Indianapolis.
Briljent LLC, is a certified woman-owned business that provides key services to national trade associations, governmental agencies and corporate clients in the areas of technical writing and documentation, curriculum design, learning assessments, staff augmentation and training facilitation. In 2003, Briljent capitalized on an opportunity made available through new state legislation allowing them to build relationships, knowledge and contracts at the state level. This strategy resulted in nearly 40 contracts in two years.
After a two-year focused effort, Briljent also became certified as an 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business with the U.S. Small Business Administration in June 2004. These designations are part of Briljent’s strategic business plan, granting the firm the ability to be considered for various federal contracts, a strategy that is expected to bring tremendous growth to the organization.
Briljent’s Owner and CEO, Kathy Carrier comments, “This award is a reflection of our dedicated and talented staff, and our drive for results. It is particularly rewarding because I am an IU alumni and also because so few women take risks such as the one we took when we started the firm." More information on Briljent can be found at www.briljent.com.
Sign Up for the Next PICC Workshop on December 14th
Partners in Contracting Corporation cordially invites you to attend and learn the proper techniques necessary in putting together a successful bid package that will increase your government contracting success! The seminar will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm at the PICC office in Portage. The following topics will be covered in the workshop to assist in successfully completing a government let bid package:
- Solidify your positioning in the government bidding marketplace
- Learn the proper procedures of successfully composing and securing a government contract
- Learn from an expert in best contracting procedures from both the public and private sector
- Disseminate the differences between, RFP’s, RFQ’s and IFB’s
- Learning how to designate what is necessary to properly complete a government bid package
- Learn the best practices of how to properly complete Certifications and Representations
And more…
Former PICC counselor, Rich Shields, will be presenting the methodical procedures necessary to ensure success when bidding on government contracts.
About the presenter
Rich Shields has successfully contracted and helped assist companies bidding on several government contracting bid packages. Rich has been successful in the private sector securing over $2.5 million in government contracts on the federal, state and local levels. Rich is a certified AGMAS Procurement Technical Assistant, and has been instrumental in helping businesses succeed in the government contracting marketplace.
Fee: $ 50.00 per person/company. Only $25.00 per person for extra company representation
Please contact Dennis Terry for details, picc@piccorp.org
Indiana’s Government Procurement Conference On May 22, 2006 Partners in Contracting Corporation, Northwest Indiana Minority Business Committee, Indiana Small Business Development Center, Northwest Indiana minority business Opportunity Committee and the Northwest Indiana Chambers of Commerce Executive Directors Association will be hosting the 10th semi-annual Government Procurement Conference. This conference provides Indiana companies the opportunity to meet with government agencies, DOD Prime Contractors, state agencies and the Indiana gaming Casinos. In addition, there will be workshops and seminars on a myriad of topics that provides crucial information to government contractors and subcontractors.
The program will start Monday evening with a networking reception sponsored by Horseshoe Casino and Northern Indiana Public Service Company at the Horseshoe Casino. The tentative schedule for the 10th semi-annual Procurement Conference is as follows:
Date: Tuesday May 23, 2006
7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 8:45 am Welcome / Opening Remarks
9:00 a.m. Networking and Workshops begin
12:00 p.m. Lunch& Keynote Speaker
1:30 p.m. Networking and Workshops begin
4:00 p.m. Conference Conclusion- Networking
Location: Radisson Hotel and Conference Center Merrillville, Indiana.
Cost: $85 per person. Price includes admission to all exhibits, workshops and meals. Mark your Calendars now, and more details pertaining to this “must attend” procurement conference will be e-mailed to you as well as being posted on the PICC website,www.piccorp.org in the near future. |
