Procurement Law Overview, Part One

Solicitation Elements

The federal government's basic procurement or acquisition process involves an agency identifying the goods and services it needs also known as the agency's requirements, determining the most appropriate method for purchasing these items, and carrying out the acquisition. Although this process is simple in theory, any given procurement can be complex, involving a multitude of decisions and actions (Halchin, 2006).

One process that is involved is that of solicitation. In the basic federal procurement process, acquisition personnel determine what goods and services they need and then post a solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Interested companies prepare their offers in response to the solicitation, and, in accordance with applicable provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), agency personnel evaluate the offers. Another type of procurement opportunity for a company is to serve as a subcontractor for a government contractor. To be eligible...
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