Want to build your customer base, enter a $40 billion marketplace, and make your products and services easily accessible to the largest pool of buyers in the world?

Federal GSA Schedules and Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program COSTARS provide streamlined buying processes for government buyers to obtain products and services through registered vendors at pre-negotiated prices. It’s the easy and preferred way of doing business for government buyers, with unprecedented speed, limited competition, and avoidance of a public bid process that averages 270 days and at least one large tree’s worth of paper work.

If your business fits into one of the following categories, you absolutely need to consider getting your business into these programs.

Public Buildings Service:

• Lease
• Construction
• Building Services
• Security Services

Technology Service:

• Telecommunications Services and Equipment
• Network Services
• Information Technology Solutions

Supply Service

• Office Equipment and Supplies
• Paper Products
• Scientific Equipment
• Paints and Chemicals
• Automated Data Processing Equipment and Services (Software, Training and Integration)
• Motor Vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, ambulances, etc.)
• Furniture (office and household)
• Hand Tools and Appliances
• Office Furnishings
• Services (EEO, Travel and Transportation, Organizational Management, Federal Management, Financial Management, Temporary Clerical Support, Conference Planning, Temporary Professional Support, Health Care Cost Recovery, Asset Management)

This introductory workshop will teach you enough about these two purchasing programs to get you started in becoming an approved vendor. The JARI PTAC can help you the rest of the way with no-cost technical assistance to complete your successful applications.

The U.S. General Services Administration is the federal government’s procurement powerhouse. They help other federal agencies acquire billions of dollars worth of space, products, and services they need.

Workshop Leader (9AM to Noon): Ms. Helena Koch, Procurement Analyst for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of Small Business Utilization. Ms. Koch will discuss the GSA Schedules Program and the process involved in becoming an approved GSA vendor.

COSTARS is PA’s version of GSA schedules and provides opportunities for hundreds of businesses of all sizes in all locations, to compete for millions of dollars of Pennsylvania and local government business.

Workshop Leader (1PM to 4PM): Mr. Tim Fulkerson, Director, Marketing & Constituent Relations for PA DGS. Mr. Fulkerson will discuss the COSTARS Program and the process involved in becoming an approved COSTARS vendor.

To register, send the attached registration form to Ms. Nancy McCreadie at nmccreadie@jari.com or to JARI, 245 Market Street, Suite 200, Johnstown, PA 15901. Make checks payable to JARI in the amount of $35 per registered attendee. All fees are non-refundable after July 24, 2009, and any registrant that fails to cancel by that date will be liable and invoiced for the $35 fee.

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