The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) offices across the nation now offer no cost RFID training, assistance, and one-on-one counseling to DoD suppliers and small businesses.

DoD suppliers and small businesses can gain much benefit by contacting their local PTAC counselors to provide guidance and education on:

• RFID 101
• DoD Policy & Implementation Strategy
• Tag Data/Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)
• Compliance Options

Additional information regarding PTAC and the additional services they provide can be found at: www.dla.mil/db/procurem.htm

The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP)

Who Is PTAC?
Ninety-three Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) form a nationwide network of dedicated procurement professionals working to support and extend DLA’s mission of providing the best value goods and services to America’s Armed Forces and other government agencies. PTACs are the bridge between buyer and supplier, bringing to bear both their knowledge of government contracting and of the capabilities of contractors to maximize fast, reliable service to our government with better quality and at lower costs.

Background
The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) was established by the FY 1985 Defense Authorization Act in order to increase the number of qualified federal suppliers and to support local and regional efforts to bring federal contracting dollars into their struggling economies. Initial funding of $2 million was provided in the FY 1986 Defense Appropriations Act, which funded approximately 15 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) in a handful of states. The program was specifically reauthorized and funded by Congress each year thereafter and quickly grew to nearly nationwide coverage. In FY 1999, the program was included in Department of Defense’s budget request for the first time, as it has in every year since.

PTAC Mission:

To maximize the number of capable U.S. companies participating in the government marketplace by:

1. Providing businesses nationwide with an understanding of the requirements and guidelines of government contracting and the marketing know-how they need to obtain and successfully perform under federal, state, and local government contracts, and
2. Supporting government agencies in reaching and working with the suppliers they need.
   

PTAC Goals:

- To maximize support for the warfighter by improving supplier accessibility and supply chain management.

- To support our overall national security by ensuring a broad base of capable suppliers for the defense industry and other agencies, enhancing competition and ensuring that government agencies realize the best value for their procurement dollars.

- To improve local economies by helping US businesses successfully compete for government contracts, thereby creating and retaining jobs and bringing other economic benefits to states and local communities.

- To support government agency efforts to meet their mandated small business goals for contracting dollars.

Who PTAC’s Serve

- PTAC’s serve businesses needing assistance to participate in the government marketplace. The vast majority of PTAC clients are small businesses, including small disadvantaged, minority-owned, woman-owned or veteran-owned businesses - businesses that cannot afford the full-time marketing, procurement and lobbying staff so common among large government contractors.


- PTAC’s serve government acquisitions personnel by

• Connecting them with qualified suppliers for specialized goods and services, allowing quick and effective response to agency needs.
• Connecting them with small disadvantaged, minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and HUBzone certified businesses to help them reach their procurement goals.
• Thoroughly training businesses in the methods, requirements and regulations of government procurement, thereby minimizing supply chain costs.
• Working as an intermediary with suppliers to resolve contract problems and improve contract performance.

What PTAC Accomplishes
During the 2002 award cycle*, PTACs across the country held 199,130 counseling sessions with over 56,300 active clients. PTAC sponsored 2,182 outreach events – conferences and seminars ranging from general information on basic contracting requirements, to those covering specific topics or agencies, to large events featuring multiple agencies and large prime contractors. Over 256,196 people attended events sponsored or supported by PTACs during this reporting period.

Results of PTAC Efforts:
Awards for the 2002 cycle totaled $10.876 billion (creating/retaining 354,445 jobs). These contract awards represent an increased number of suppliers for the Department of Defense and other government agencies, resulting in greater competition, higher quality goods and services at lower costs, and a more prudent expenditure of taxpayer dollars.

This program also increases the number of qualified small, 8(a), woman-owned, veteran-owned small and Hub-Zone contractors, allowing agencies to make progress in meeting their procurement goals.

Return on Investment:
FY 02 funding for the PTAP (the basis for the 2002 cycle awards) was $18.573 million. Consequently, the $10.876 billion in contracts awarded to PTAC clients represents a return of $585 in contract awards for every federal dollar spent on the program.* The 2002 cycle covers programs operating from the fall of 2002 until the fall of 2003.