Plan Now for the 2019 Buying Seasons

The Fed and SLED year-end buying seasons are long past, and the holidays are almost here. During this time, when the government seems to be on a long-term hiatus, most of us are in a state of cleanup, self-reflection, and planning for 2019. Here’s why you should use this slow period to develop a 2019 business plan.

Why a business plan is critical

At our Red, White & You and Red, White & You on The Road events, we evangelized the importance of developing a business plan to capture strategy and provide a road map, not just for your business/employees, but also for your vendor partners. It’s a critical stage that many people overlook because the markets are so big, and they don’t see the necessity.

However, the size of the Fed and SLED markets is precisely why you must develop a plan to obtain the laser focus you need to be successful. A scatter-gun approach may get you some low-hanging fruit, but not the long-term, large-solution plays you’ll need to grow your business.

What should go in your business plan

A business plan should detail your strengths and weaknesses, target customers/agencies/sub-agencies, short-term and long-term goals, and the specific investments needed to achieve those goals. It should also include the critical partnerships you’ll need to develop with vendors, your peers, and SYNNEX.

Finally, a contract-capture strategy is critical in this market since over 80% of public-sector procurement runs through a contract. So, while it’s important to have access to contracts, it’s more important to have access to the right contracts while keeping in mind that contracts create a bandwidth issue almost immediately. Your planning goal is to target mission-critical contracts you pursue directly as a prime, and then partner with other primes to gain access to less-critical contracts.

Tactical vs. strategic

You also need to stripe out the tactical versus the strategic efforts, i.e., short-term activities versus long-term. For example, detailing out the specific industry events you should sponsor/attend is a tactical move. Determining which procurement contracts to pursue is a strategic investment.  SYNNEX offers numerous events in both Fed and SLED throughout the year and across the country. In 2019, Our premier public-sector event, Red, White & You, will be held in Greenville, SC, which is always a big draw for our customers because of the vibrant day and night life in our downtown area.

We can help

The SYNNEX GOVSolv team is here and ready to assist with your planning. We want to make sure you have everything you need to make 2019 a successful year. Besides our network of 12 distribution facilities nationwide, we also offer an ISO 9001 certified full-service integration facility in South Haven, MS, as well as a scaleable contract manufacturing option.

We have the resources to support your public-sector business with a dedicated sales team, contract management support, business development personnel, technical support, and a Diversity Alliance Program. Our Manila-based Contracts Bid Desk is well-positioned to provide full-service coverage from 8 am EST to 8 pm EST Monday through Friday. Use the e-mails listed below to ensure a timely response:

 Click here to view GSA pricing.

You may reach the following people at 1-800-456-4822, or at the email addresses listed below.