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As a value added reseller in an IT field, the kinds of B2B opportunities available can be diverse. If your business has been consistently successful at high volume delivery and completion of large scale B2B contracts, your organization may fall onto the radar for government contracts.
Key Takeaways:
In order to become a viable candidate, businesses must exhibit fluid yet discreet communication skills, the ability to optimize and mitigate risks and ensure efficiency and effectiveness with delivery.
For your organization to meet the requirements of a government contract, breaking down the terms is critical. Different contracts have different terms for fulfilment and these terms are often rigid and non-negotiable.
CEC-NG Federal Government contracts are a part of government issued IT contracts within the United States. This contract in particular covers an end-to-end IT equipment and maintenance solution.
Is Government contracting worth it? If your business is able to meet the clauses of the contract without extending beyond capabilities your organization is ready. We explore the relationship between CEC-NG contracts and how VARStreet offers a competitive advantage in this blog.
What is a CEC-NG Contract?
CEC-NG or Commodity Enterprise Contract – Next Generation cover business IT requirements with efficiency and proficiency in mind. The Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Information and Technology set up the contractual agreements to ensure IT hardware is sourced correctly and with intent for further optimization.
The hardware consisting of project fulfilment include client gadgets (e.g. workstations), stockpiling clusters/apparatuses, organizing machines (switches), portable tablets and security stages.
If any auxiliary equipment, programming or administrations are needed to ensure all procured devices are only value adding to an organization this is included within the contract. The Department of Veteran Affairs may also choose to procure comprehensive end-to-end IT solutions through CEC-NG contracts.
In order to bid for the contract, B2B businesses must offer the highest quality, practical and effective IT solutions and services. Organizations are able to guarantee consistency with delivery of IT equipment on a business frontier.
Additionally they must be able to set up all the required equipment with a strategy that isolates expense and time management inefficiencies. Creating a framework that works to incorporate existing equipment but advances the abilities of the contracting agency is a must.
The VA’s (Department of Veteran Affairs) objective is to ensure the design of IT systems in use can be upgraded if necessary and alterations made at a moment’s notice. The CEC-NG can include clauses that allow for progressions and updates.
What is VARStreet?
VARStreet is a business management platform offering B2B resellers the opportunity to enhance their online presence with government contracting in mind. VARStreet’s flexible building features allow businesses to cater their storefronts and procurement flows to meet government purchasing requirements. GovEd VARS are able to build and customize as needed.
The platform has previously been used to support public sector contracts in FED and SLED vertices e.g. DHS, FirstSource IIl, Netcents2, SEWP-V, Eagle, ITES contracts, ECS contracts and more.
Government bodies are slowly developing further requirements for consideration including web-based catalogs, eCommerce abilities, reporting customized specifically to a contract, PunchOut systems and others. The team of professionals behind VARStreet offer;
- The ability to stay compliant with requirements including offering contract catalogs, contract pricing, RPF responses and compliance, EPEAT and 508.
- Over 20 years of experience with contract management software for GovEd VARS.
- Professional services pooled together for customization based on your business and contract needs.
- A strong support team with dedicated members on standby to provide guidance with RFI, RFQ and RFP requirements.
An easy to use space for professional B2B building, VARStreet offers a number of features and options for GovEd VARs to choose from.
Procuring CEC-NG Contracts with VARStreet
VARStreet offers a number of features specific to GovEd VAR requirements;
- Contract elements such as CLIN numbers and contract numbers can be added for each SKU within the digital catalog.
- All IT requirements including software, hardware and services can have distinct catalogs but be hosted within the same online portal.
- Contract terms and conditions along with any other contract documents can be uploaded to the eCommerce portal for complete clarity.
- Aggregated or custom contracts are available for contract holders to expand on their catalog offerings.
- VARStreet helps businesses deduce whether open-market items can be sold under the contract attained or worked towards.
- Easy to add and remove contractual pricing, discounts and rebate offers.
- Pricing and catalog configuration contingent on login used and support of level 3 credit card processing.
A unique feature VARStreet offers is the ability to customize specific areas of the purchasing experience. The ability to make minor and major changes helps keep businesses compliant with the regulations required to close CEC-NG contracts.
Offering a comprehensive end-to-end solution supporting existing framework while maintaining alternatives and substitutes can be a tedious task. VARStreet aims to simplify the back end as far as possible while remaining compliant with contract closing requirements.
Having worked with past CEC contract holders, VARStreet is able to maintain compliance specifications and requirements based on the contract won. The objective is to offer more efficient ways of executing their contract and the management required. VARStreet assists CEC-NG contract winners with creating an eCommerce portal that can be updated with ease.
Pro Tip:
• You should design each CEC-NG digital catalog around CLIN structures and contract-specific sub-stores so audits, pricing changes, and engineering change proposals can be answered in minutes instead of through manual spreadsheet reconciliations.
eCommerce Storefronts
VARstreet offers an entirely customizable eCommerce building platform to include branding of the contract holding company as well as the ability to edit according to contract requirements.
The “Store-within-a-Store” feature allows for multiple product catalogs to be stored within one unified space. Editing these sub-stores to hold distinct configurations, products and pricing is an easy task with VARStreet.
The platform also allows you to manage multiple contracts within a single portal for ease of access. As each contract has different terms for fulfilment, businesses are able to introduce a custom aesthetic for each contract page within the same site.
If the eCommerce platform requires online store registration and purchase restrictions, these can be added in e.g. only domains ending in .gov or .edu are able to access the portal. VARStreet focuses on helping businesses create stores that move the purchasing process along fluidly. Purchasing for both contract and open-market items can be hosted on the platform.
Contractor Hosting Portals
VARStreet provides cloud based virtual portals with the specific product catalog required to fulfil a CEC-NG contract. The portal offers in depth information and product specifications to even include changes in IT Hardware Commodity products. This feature was instituted as a result of the Government32 approved Engineering Change Proposals.
The Contractor-Hosted Portal can also be used as a DO Tracking System. This includes delivery and maintenance of the IT commodity products. Additionally the Contractor-Hosted Portal will be secured with measures detailed in the CEC-NG security requirements to minimize access to only government officials who hold valid credentials.
VARStreet assists contractors with providing virtual copies of the catalog to be submitted to the ITSM marketplace for consideration. Finally contract holders will be able to list terms, conditions, policy and procedural information outlining installation, warranties (and variations), technical support, software support and issues that occur post delivery.
Compliance and Integration with PunchOut systems and Bidding
Compliance information such as EPEAT, 508 and the Green initiative are available via VARStreet. Their PunchOut system allows businesses to create a separate purchasing portal with exclusive discounts, products and bundles based on the client catered to.
The system redirects the purchasing agency back to the main checkout page to consolidate their order keeping invoices for the backend team central to one location. This PunchOut system is compatible with a number of procurement systems including;
VARStreet helps businesses maintain compliance with government auditing for pricing, delivery and procurement. The flawless integration ability with accounting ERP and CRM systems make VARStreet easy to integrate into pre-existing software frameworks.
The platform also offers a Bid Support Program that allows for strong support across all stages of the bidding process. Companies are kept in regulation with contract regulations and requirements with regards to your online catalog inclusive of both the eCommerce storefront and Punchout Systems.
VARStreet aims to maximize the investment into the software in terms of both finances and effort.
Sales Quotation
VARStreet aims to offer a straightforward process to build government contract quotations. The platform assists with the setup of contract tax and freight exemptions where applicable. It supports government P-Card and PO ordering and allows for technical refreshing during the quotation process.
Reports
An essential part of understanding the success of a venture, VARStreet allows for monthly progress reports, weekly shipment and delivery reports, reports detailing warranties offered to the government (including individual DOs) and monthly EPEAT. The EPEAT reports offer details about products delivered and the corresponding EPEAT rating of said products.
There are a number of custom reporting options to help businesses stay in compliance along with the ability to create reports based on contract requirements.
Pro Tip:
• You should treat the contractor-hosted portal and VARStreet reporting layer as a shared source of truth with your VA program office by agreeing upfront on KPIs, EPEAT thresholds, and DO tracking views that will be used to evaluate contract performance.
Conclusion
With the wide repertoire of features offered specifically for GovEd VARs, B2B businesses have room to curate eCommerce portals compliant with clauses of government contracts. The customization options let businesses keep their identity while helping them understand the need to adjust and accommodate different requirements.
Building with VARStreet helps organizations gain a competitive edge within the competitive marketplace of government tenders. Make a strong impression with impressive follow through using the VARStreet platform.
