GOVERNMENT CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

Government Contract Negotiation Consultants & Services

As in any negotiation, the more prepared the negotiator is, the better chance they have in reaching an equitable result. For the contractor in the Federal Contract negotiations, this means becoming familiar not only with the position of the other party in the negotiation but knowing the rules and regulations that govern the agreement. There is an entire section of the FAR (Part 15) that covers contracting by negotiation. Certainly a contractor can read the FAR and try to understand the implications of all of these requirements. The other choice is to hire someone that has specific experience in implementing these guidelines and that have actually performed negotiations under these rules. Experience here is a big factor—and that is where ReliAscent's government contract consultants  can help.

There are many places where the government will want to negotiate with with contractor:

  • The initial price
  • The deliverables
  • The delivery date
  • change orders

The government will negotiate all sole source acquisitions (FAR 15.002).  They will also negotiate most of the competitive acquisitions as well in order to provide the best value to the government.  There are instances where the contract is not negotiated.  

For instance, commercial commodity items generally are considered to be the “best value” as they  already are priced in accordance with market conditions.  When the contractor obtains the GSA schedule, the pricing is negotiated at the time of the issuance of the Schedule.  Then the government procurement specialist is allowed to purchase products &/or services in accordance to these pre-negotiated prices that are on the GSA site.  The contractor does not have to do any further negotiation and can then sell to the government at that price.   It is important that you have an expert government contract negotiator on your side.  One that understands how the process works and can prepare a negotiation strategy up front that will result in a win-win result for both parties.