Federal Contracting Basics

Richard E. Zimmerman has over 25 years of experience as a contracts professional both in Government and the private sector. In addition to his career service as an Army Infantry officer, Mr. Zimmerman held the positions of Contracting Officer, Procurement Analyst, and Procurement Inspector for the Army Inspector General’s worldwide examination of Commercial Activities (A-76) issues. While assign to Defense Logistics Agency, he managed the efforts of a CACO and ACO for a major defense contractor as well as an in-plant QA section. Mr. Zimmerman performed duties as Logistics Staff Officer for Her Majesty’s Forces (United Kingdom), where he managed the procurement and financial programs for material handling equipment and locomotives urgently needed for OP GRANBY/DESERTSTORM/SHIELD as an exchange officer with the British Army. In his final Army assignment, he coordinated the efforts of a diverse staff of top level Army procurement professionals to respond to numerous complex issues in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Procurement).

After leaving the Army, Mr. Zimmerman became an acquisition trainer and training developer for a small business in Fairfax, VA. His excellent background in FAR, Agency supplements and their application over the procurement lifecycle made him a critical resource for PMs, prime contractors and subcontractors. Mr. Zimmerman has a strong background in service contracts to include Statements of Objectives, Performance Work Statements, Performance Assessment Plans and Sourcing. He developed courseware that explained the significant shifts in federal procurement resulting from watershed procurement legislation such as the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Clinger-Cohen Act, especially in the areas of performance-based acquisition, best-value procurement and commercial acquisition. Mr. Zimmerman managed the delivery of courses such as the Training for the Improved Procurement of Services series and Managing Performance Based Contracts to numerous Government customers in DoD, Veteran Affairs and Treasury as well as private sector audiences. His management responsibilities included the logistics of courseware printing and shipping, trainer availability, travel, and course ware quality control.