When there is a war or some natural disaster, you hear about certain very large companies that are awarded "no-bid" contracts. If you don’t do a lot of sales to government, you many not know how the process works, and may be convinced that the fix is in. There is no doubt that when there are millions and even billions on the line, that the power of connections and lobbyists can not be denied; but for the smaller purchases, a little guy can still get some justice.

In general, most municipal buyer try to be very fair serve both their customers, (the end user, who is the government worker who actually uses what is purchased) and the tax payer by getting the best value possible. Intentionally or by lack of knowledge, there are sometimes public bids that are restrictive, and deny competition. There are sole source bids and bids that are restrictive due to specifications, geography, preferences, etc.

Most "Sole Source" bids make common sense. If they had previously purchased a product from XYZ Company, they will of course need parts and service from that company. If they want to purchase something that is very exclusive, and there are no suitable substitutes, then a sole source purchase is warranted.

Specifications are where you can most often find your company shut out. I love the bids that swear they are fair and competitive; they will accept any buyer, as long as they are within 23 miles of the delivery location. What? Where did they get that number? Is their cousin Wilbur exactly 23 miles away? You see fishy restrictions like this fairly often. Some agencies require that you have a local sales license. Some want you to have local service, or to provide training for products that are very simple to work with.

For the most part, buyers do not write the specs on their bids. If you are familiar with your competition, you can often read a specification and know whose literature it was copied from. That usually does not mean that you cannot propose an alternate; but depending on how strictly they evaluate the responses, you may find it difficult to "exactly" match your competitor’s spec. It may or may not be by design; but every once and awhile, you will come across a bid that has reference part numbers that are very unfamiliar. You google them, and find out after exhaustive research that the part numbers are numbers that have been assigned by a distributor, and are meant to keep you from knowing the manufacture’s part numbers. Very hard to match a spec with a competitor who is actively trying to shut you out.

I have been doing government bidding for almost 10 years now, and NO, it is not always fair. For the most part it is, and if you spend too much time worrying about lost opportunities, you will be miserable. Luckily, if you get the short end of the stick, there will always be another bid on the horizon. I have seen bidders spend endless time and resources to fight a battle that can not be won. If you can somehow take your potential customer to court and force them to buy from you, you can be certain that the next time they write a spec, it will be airtight, and you will never be able to do business with them ever again.