Global, multibillion dollar hyperscale technology and cloud services provider enters federal marketplace, secures GSA Schedule contract

Client background and need

A Fortune 100, hyperscale technology and cloud services provider engaged Baker Tilly to conduct an assessment of its ability to provide services in the federal marketplace through resellers. Baker Tilly conducted an onsite visit to interview employees and gain a deeper understanding of its business, its offerings, its pricing, its accounting and billing practices, its systems, its compliance functions and other important functional areas. Baker Tilly prepared a report identifying key compliance requirements and gaps that the company needed to address.

Baker Tilly's solution-driven approach

The company decided to move forward, and Baker Tilly assisted the company with preparing documentation necessary to support its intention to resell its services to federal prime contractors. Baker Tilly continued to support the company in the coming years with support related to its pricing and other compliance obligations as a federal subcontractor. After operating in this capacity for several years, the company decided that it wanted to explore operating as a prime contractor, and possibly holding its own General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule contract. Baker Tilly again assessed the company’s business, highlighting additional requirements and gaps the company would need to address.

As Baker Tilly and the company worked together to address gaps, we also supported the company with the preparation of a GSA Schedule proposal. Baker Tilly worked with the company to prepare administrative, technical and pricing proposal volumes. Due to some unique pricing and billing constructs associated with the company’s business, Baker Tilly also proactively reached out to GSA leadership to prepare GSA and company resources for completing the proposal package and negotiating key contract terms and conditions. This resulted in meetings with both GSA and the GSA Office of Inspector General to ensure the contract was established in a manner that would allow the company to operate successfully, and also to ensure that the company would be positioned to meet all of its compliance obligations. Baker Tilly assisted the company with submitting and negotiating its GSA offer, with the company ultimately being awarded a GSA Schedule contract.

The accomplished results

In the years that followed our initial engagement, Baker Tilly assisted the company with annual contract maintenance activities (and continues to do so). Baker Tilly has also assisted this company with a variety of other activities, including the addition of training, professional services and other offerings to its GSA Schedule contract.

We also helped the company to perform a broad assessment of its professional services business and to determine its ability to enter into other types of federal contracts. To do this, we gained a deeper understanding of this part of the business, compared it against compliance requirements associated with other federal contract types, identified potential gaps and made recommendations for steps that could be taken to enhance systems, policies and controls.

We also provided assistance related to other large federal procurements, including support on the development of small business subcontracting plans, the development of policy and compliance manuals, the development of supply chain risk management (SCRM) plans and an overall assessment of company-wide supply chain risk management activities. More than after our first engagement we continue to support this client with a variety of federal contract-related services.