FPDS: A Guide to Competitive Intelligence

This event qualifies for 5.5 CLPs

Are you using the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) information in your business, marketing, and proposal development? It is a free real-time database serving the government acquisition community and is recognized as the authoritative source of contract information that is updated daily. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) establishes FPDS as the official reporting tool and repository for Federal procurement transactions.

Our FPDS: A Guide to Competitive Intelligence course is a dynamic one-day introduction for those engaged in the Federal Marketplace or seeking to enter the Federal Marketplace. The course provides an overview of FPDS reporting requirements by Federal agencies, what transactions are required to be reported, and what is and is not available through FPDS. The course also covers the distinct advantages of using FPDS vs. USAspending.gov, and how you can use these databases to boost your federal sales.

The class is both lecture and hands-on training. Therefore, participants are required to bring a laptop computer to class with WiFi Internet connectivity capability for use in creating their own accounts in FPDS and to participate in class exercises and create reports. WiFi access is provided by Centre.

But What’s In It for Me?

While agencies are required by Federal Law to publish Forecasts of Contracting Opportunities, not all forecasts are robust or contain actual procurements to be re-competed. To truly know where procurement opportunities are, you have to know where, with whom, and how the Government spends its money – especially when multi-year contracts are involved and are ready to expire.
Why waste marketing or business development dollars targeting agencies where opportunities do not exist? Data from FPDS allows you to focus your efforts in areas that offer the greatest potential returns on your investment. You can learn to identify every transaction reported Government-wide on a specific Product/Service Code to identify new opportunity sources for previous and current contracts, including their expiration dates.

You’ll Learn How To:

Find out who buys what, how they buy, and whether these procurements are conducted through the Federal Supply Schedules Program, Other Government Agency Contracts, or on the open market
Identify when your competitors’ contracts will expire or when other contracts in your commercial line of endeavor are due to expire and be re-competed
Find out if set-asides are used in acquiring the products and services you offer and if you can qualify
Create individual FPDS accounts and run reports using the valuable and powerful ad hoc reporting capabilities of FPDS
Focus and target your marketing efforts to areas that offer the best potential return for your investment

What’s Included?

Breakfast
Light Refreshments
Course materials (including a copy of the Government’s most recent Product/Service Code (PSC) Manual and the FPDS Data Dictionary for download)

Speaker and Presenter Information

Wayne Simpson, CFCM, CSCM

Consultant

Wayne Simpson is retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after 38 years of federal service. He served as the Executive Assistant to VA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics where he was the primary staff advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary, who serves concurrently as VA’s Senior Procurement Executive and Debarring Official. Wayne’s federal experience is significant and provides him with a unique combination of skill sets, knowledge, and insight into acquisition operations and procurement opportunities. He also has a keen understanding of the interrelation of federal contracting and small business programs and the challenges presented by their often competing interests.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Demonstrated expertise in pre-solicitation, pre-award, and post-award areas of Federal contracting.
Significant knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation.
Demonstrative small business advocate, subject matter expert in the Veterans First Contracting Program at VA.
Significant knowledge of the Federal Supply Schedule Program, compliance and contract administration issues.
Subject matter expert on Federal small business programs, and their often competing interests in the conduct of Federal acquisitions.
Analytical capabilities in reviewing contract documents and developing courses of action necessary for contract administration issues and compliance.
Expertise in all facets of Federal subcontracting requirements and program execution and administration.
Significant experience and expertise in working with Federal Procurement Data System–Next Generation (FPDS-NG).