The Office of General Services, New York State Procurement administers all statewide contracts for use of all government entities across the state, including state agencies, local governments, educational institutions and other entities. Each year the state of New York purchases over $5 billion worth of supplies and services that range from office supplies to specialized labor. New York is actively seeking new business and encourages all vendors to become suppliers to the state, providing excellent avenues to businesses of all sizes to take advantage of the abundant government contracting opportunities.
Registering to Do Business with the State of New York
Before getting started doing business with the State of New York, vendors must first register with the NY State Vendor File administered by the Office of the State Comptroller. Vendors are issued a ten-digit vendor number required by all state purchasing offices for procurement purposes. Registration also creates an eSupplier account with complete address and contact information, and provides a way for businesses to track payment information for invoices as well as receive electronic payments.
Finding Bid Opportunities
There are plenty of places to search for New York state bid opportunities. Businesses should first go and register to receive solicitation opportunities notifications from the OGS Online Bidder Notification Service. The system allows business owners to create a profile with product and service classification codes that generate notifications of bid opportunities, updates and other information matching a business’ specialized field.
Furthermore, businesses should frequently check the Online Bid Calendar which is a listing of all solicitations and a forecast of future selling opportunities. Business owners will also benefit from regularly checking the New York State Contract Reporter, the official publication of procurement activity for agencies, public authorities and public benefit corporations.
As part of the state’s procurement process to ensure fair, open and transparent competition among vendors, the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) allows business owners, or any other public entity or person, to request records of how the state government spends money through public procurement, i.e., purchasing information. Used effectively, vendors can gain insight on business opportunities by researching past government purchases and identifying niche selling opportunities.
Set-Aside Awards
The state of New York encourages participation from all types of businesses and has set-aside a portion of its available prime contracts for minority-owned business enterprises (MBE) and women-owned business enterprises (WBE). Getting certified as an MBE or WBE places qualified vendors in a statewide Directory of Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises that is used by contracting state agencies and prime contractors as the primary source for identifying suppliers.
The advantages for these certified businesses include being able to market their products and services to as a candidate for set-aside awards, access to loan and bonding programs, and technical assistance programs for small business. The Empire State Development, Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development handles all certification and renewals for the state of New York. In addition to issuing certification, the NYS MWBE website also provides resources, reports, and bid opportunity information.
Conclusion
Businesses just getting started in government contracting shouldn’t ignore the wealth of opportunities available in doing business at the state level. Often times, state and local contracts are easier to understand and less cumbersome than federal contracts. To become successful and competitive in the government market, business owners should devote as much time and resources as possible researching all opportunities. Doing the proper due diligence will certainly go a long way in government contracting and might just be the difference between winning or losing government business.
