Doing business with the government is not like doing business with typical businesses. Transparency, accountability and fairness are the hallmarks of spending by a government agency, so there are procedures and processes to follow.
Finding out where your business fits in the state and local government purchasing market can be difficult task. The New Hampshire state and local government purchasing market is a $1 billion industry and a variety of goods and services are bought each year.
And we mean variety.
It can range from something as simple as bundles of camp wood to be sold at our state parks or as a large as a new dormitory at a state university.
Mark Manganiello is an intern with NH-PTAP and helped organize the New Hampshire State and Local Vendor Fair July 11.
So how can you find out more about doing business with the government? Come to the New Hampshire State and Local Vendor Fair from 8 am to noon at the Arthur D. Kehas Criminal Justice Training Facility here in Concord.
Over 60 people from state agencies and municipalities will be on hand to help you determine if your product or services are of interest to the state and local governments. If you already know your business is marketable to state and local governments, then this event is useful to get information on where the market is heading, changes in the process, update contact information and to let state and local officials know about your company.
The businesses attending this event range from those that are extremely experienced in working with state and local governments and some businesses that are still novices to the market. Those attending will have one-on-one interaction with government employees and get to the bottom of two questions everyone entering the state and local market should ask — Who is buying what and how do they buy it?
Businesses need this information so they can offer the best value in their sales to the government and to insure a competitive bid process. Government needs to distribute this information to make their procedures and purchasing as transparent as possible.
We’ll see you on July 11. Please take a moment to register here. Bring lots of business cards and let the matchmaking begin.
Mark Manganiello
Intern