RDG Consulting, Inc.

Total Contract Management Solution

This popular choice gives the client the option to outsource the entire contracting process — basically, the cradle-to-grave approach. It includes:

Developing a government pricing strategy
Submitting and negotiating a proposal
Managing the contract after award

Most companies are simply not staffed to effectively and efficiently manage the cumbersome federal contracting process. Choosing this option in no way diminishes the company’s involvement in the decision-making process; rather, it enhances the profitability of their overall objective for seeking a federal contract in the first place.

We provide these services by leveraging the expertise of RDG Consulting, Inc. to streamline the application, disclosure and negotiation phases of the project while maximizing the margins on the products being offered to the government.

Please refer to Bob Grimm's article "GSA Contracts: Are You Giving Uncle Sam Your Lowest Price?" for more information about total contract management. The article, available via a link from this brochure, was published in the May 2001 issue of Contract Management magazine, published by the National Contract Management Association.

Sample Project

Superior Manufacturing
Problem: The company wanted to sell its product to the federal market but did not know how or where to begin the process

Solution: RDG Consulting, Inc., presented to the company both the costs and benefits of having its own FSS contract:

We discussed the company’s goals and objectives.
We identified the competition and learned that none of the client's competitors had a FSS contract.
The company had neither resident expertise nor interest in learning how to manage a FSS contract, so outsourcing was the natural choice. RDG Consulting, Inc., performed the cradle-to-grave processes aimed at winning an award.

Results: The proposal process began shortly after our meeting, and within less than one week the proposal was finalized and submitted to GSA. Superior Manufacturing was awarded a FSS contract 46 days after proposal submission at 100% of the proposed prices.

Tailored Project Development

Sometimes clients want to bring in a consultant to assist and guide them through the process of developing and submitting a FSS proposal, hoping to get it done quickly, correctly and with minimum staff disruption.

In such a case, the company has an employee who is willing and able to manage the contract after award but who has never been involved in the front end of the process and is overwhelmed by all the requirements.

RDG Consulting, Inc., has performed tailored project services for several clients and has had excellent results. In all cases, the price offered to the government was greater than what the company thought it could justify. They were happy to maintain respectable margins on their federal business.

Sample Project

ConMed Corporation
Problem: The client, a health care products company, had enjoyed a FSS contract for a number of years. The contract was due to expire in a few months, and they wanted to renew it, make significant revisions to it and continue to manage it on their own. The responsible person was extremely busy and did not have the time to learn about the process and do it himself without a significant opportunity cost to the company.

Solution: The client called RDG Consulting, Inc., in to guide them through the process. Within two weeks, we:

Conducted an analysis of six product lines covering approximately 2,000 part numbers
Developed a pricing strategy that included the identification of an appropriate Basis of Award customer
Revised, updated and restructured the entire proposal

Results: A completely revised proposal was organized and submitted to the contracting officer on time. The company assumed responsibility for contract negotiation (with limited guidance) and subsequent contract management and administration functions.

Contract Compliance or Training

Unlike commercial acquisition, the government has its own set of unique rules called the Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR.

The FAR is a challenging and ever-changing maze of requirements that have evolved in order to protect the "taxpayer’s" interests relative to spending of public funds. Understanding these requirements is very important to becoming an effective player in the federal marketplace.

RDG Consulting, Inc., concentrates on the federal procurement of commercial products and has presented seminars and customized training programs for companies and trade organizations that are new to the federal procurement arena or that simply need a refresher course.

Sample Project

Multistate Manufacturers Trade Association
Problem: The association’s board of directors had learned of some member companies' inability to understand and compete in the federal marketplace.

Solution: The association commissioned RDG Consulting, Inc., to develop a grassroots-level training program that would explain the complex federal bureaucracy in layman’s terms.

Result: RDG Consulting, Inc., developed a full-day seminar, comprised of more than 140 slides and a binder with 31 tabs, which offered practical advice and tips on how to develop the government market. The seminar, titled, "Contracting, Marketing and Selling to the Federal Government: Cutting the Red Tape," covered topics that included:

The government landscape
Contracting with the federal government
Simplifying the federal selling process
Identifying government customers (customized to the audience)
Marketing opportunities (customized to the audience)
Competitive intelligence (somewhat customized)