Sharing the wealth: Procurement fair seeks to match small businesses with big opportunities - Memphis Commercial Appeal

Photo by Mike Brown

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen sponsored a procurement fair Monday at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis.

Small business can mean big dollars, at least for savvy entrepreneurs who bid on and win lucrative government contracts.

To help local small-business owners capitalize on the process, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen on Monday sponsored a procurement fair at the FedEx Institute of Technology to explain the process. More than 150 area entrepreneurs were on hand for the public forum.

Photo by Mike Brown

Leslie Shankman-Cohn (left) and Jill Hertz, with Jill Hertz Interior Design, were among more than 150 entrepreneurs at the fair.

In addition, representatives from nine federal agencies discussed offerings and options available to small-business owners who are interested in becoming government vendors.

"The federal footprint and its potential impact on small businesses is significant," said Eric Terrell, customer service director at the U.S. General Services Administration. "The government spends more than $600 billion every year on goods and services. How can you not tap into that?"

Saundra Jackson, state deputy director for the U.S. Small Business Administration, agreed.

"The government buys everything from paper clips to armored tanks, so there's a good chance that whatever goods or services you're selling, the government buys it," Jackson said. "Nearly 25 percent of the government's purchasing is targeted to small firms, so we encourage owners to learn the system and become involved in it."

The problem many small-business owners face is not knowing what's out there, Cohen said.

For example, fewer than 50 vendors in Memphis have secured government contracts to provide IT services, but thousands of those contracts are awarded every year. Other needs include food vending services, office furnishings and floor coverings, facilities maintenance and management, and advertising and integrated marketing solutions.

Monday's event followed the recent announcement that Memphis will be home to the state's first Minority Development Business Agency center -- funded by a $1 million federal grant to be paid out over four years -- that is set to open in about six weeks. It will be housed Downtown at the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum's small-business incubator at 158 Madison.

Minority and female business owners are encouraged to contact MMBCC leaders at (901) 525-6512 to learn more about accessing government contracts, said Luke Yancy III, president and CEO of the MMBCC. And all small-business owners should contact the local SBA office at (901) 526-9300, Jackson added, to find out about its free programs and how to work with federal agencies.

"Small businesses are the heart of our economy and of our middle class," Cohen said. "It's important to move forward and help those businesses grow and this is one way we're trying to do that."

-- James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA's startupmemphis.com

Federal Agency contacts for small business owners

Dept. of Energy: energy.gov

Dept. of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov

Dept. of Transportation: www.dot.gov

General Services Administration: gsa.gov

Minority Business Development Agency: www.mbda.gov

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: www.nga.mil

Small Business Administration: sba.gov

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: usace.army.mil

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External public procurement initiative - guide

21 March 2012
by eub2 -- last modified 21 March 2012

The European Commission is proposing to improve business opportunities for EU firms in procurement markets. The main objective of the initiative is to help open worldwide public procurement markets and to ensure European businesses have fair access to them. The proposal also aims to ensure that all companies (both European and non-European firms) are on an equal footing when it comes to competing for business in the EU's lucrative public procurement market.

1. What is public procurement?

Public procurement is about how public authorities spend public money when buying goods, works or services on the market. This can range from buying IT equipment, providing water treatment services to building a hospital or a road.

Public procurement rules establish specific procedures to ensure that public purchases are transparent and fair. Solid public procurement rules guarantee sound competition and mean that public authorities get the best value for European taxpayers' money.

2. Why do public procurement rules matter?

Public expenditure makes up a significant part of national economies: 10-25% of GDP. In the EU, the public purchase of goods and services corresponds to 19% of GDP.

The value of tenders advertised across the EU is approximately €420 billion per year (in 2010). This figure represents those purchases which are subject to EU-wide harmonised rules, as they are above the respective thresholds stipulated in the EU public procurement directives. Other contracts are subject to principles of non-discrimination and equal treatment of the EU Treaty.

Public procurement contracts constitute considerable international business opportunities for European companies, in particular in sectors where the EU industry is highly competitive. This stimulates a competitive European industry, creating jobs and sustainable economic growth.

EU companies successfully bid for international procurement contracts in many sectors, including

public transport,railway equipmentconstruction services and equipmentIT servicesmedical equipment,energy generationwater treatment and environment management.

3. What needs to change?

The EU procurement market is one of the most open in the world, but European businesses, while facing competition in the single market, cannot always get equal access to procurement markets outside the EU. Many countries are reluctant to open their procurement markets to international competition. This limits business opportunities for EU companies in these markets.

Furthermore, in the context of the wider economic crisis, some countries have introduced protectionist measures relating to procurement contracts which have hit EU companies. Examples of these measures are Buy America, Buy Brazil, Buy China, domestic preferences in Turkey, Russia, certain States in Australia, etc.

4. What is the European Commission proposing?

The goal of this new policy is to provide the Commission with a tool to engage non-EU countries in negotiations to further open their procurement markets. The policy also responds to European industry's complaints that they face unfair competition from foreign companies in the EU market.

Concretely, the Commission aims to:
Set the terms of access to the EU's public procurement market by companies, goods and services from outside the EU

    Provide the EU with a tool to increase leverage when negotiating access to public procurement markets of other trading partners

    Improve the opportunities for EU businesses to compete for public procurement contracts outside the European Union;

    Create a level playing field for public procurement within the European internal market by ensuring that EU companies and non-EU companies will compete for public contracts on an equal footing.

    At the same time, the Commission confirms the EU's openness in procurement and the EU's international commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and bilateral trade agreements remain unaffected.

HOW DOES THE EXISTING SITUATION WORK?

5. What are the existing tools available to the EU to ensure, transparent and non-discriminatory access to procurement abroad?

The EU's efforts to overcome the existing trade barriers are twofold:

    As a party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the EU actively negotiates with accession candidates, with the view to transforming the GPA into a multilateral Agreement. The political agreement on the revision of the GPA from last December (IP/11/1556) was indeed a step in right direction.

    Additionally, the EU concludes Free Trade Agreements which include procurement chapters. Such chapters are already included in trade agreements with Mexico, Korea, Switzerland, Colombia, Peru and Chile. The EU is currently negotiating agreements with Canada, Singapore, India, Malaysia and MERCOSUR.

In cases where important trading partners profit from the general openness of the EU but have no intention of offering the same treatment, the EU will - thanks to this initiative - be equipped with a tool to encourage these partners to accede to the GPA or to negotiate a mutually beneficial agreements on procurement.

6. What restrictions can the EU currently impose on bids from third countries?

Currently there are only two specific cases where the EU can be closed to foreign bidders from third countries. They are:

    In the utilities sector (e.g. telecommunications, post, water, energy) - the Utilities Directive (2004/17/EC) contains provisions allowing contracting entities to reject foreign goods, not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. Additionally, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations, in cases of equivalent offers. In those cases, under existing rules, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender. In practice, this possibility has only rarely been used.

    In the area of defence where a recital in the defence procurement directive (2009/81/EC) confirms it is up to Member States to decide whether their contracting authorities can accept bids from third countries or not.

In all other cases, the EU's markets are de facto fully open even when the EU does not have access to a third country's market.

Recently, a number of Member States have started to restrict access to their tenders for procurement not covered by an EU commitment. This is leading to potential fragmentation of the internal market and a potentially legally uncertain situation. It is a further reason why the current situation needs to change.

HOW WILL THE PROPOSAL WORK IN PRACTICE?

7. What is the mechanism to be used?

The proposed instrument will be based on the following elements:

(1) Contracting authorities will be permitted to reject tenders or contracts of an estimated value of €5 million or above and consisting of more than 50% of goods or services not subject to the EU's international procurement commitments. The contracting authorities will need to notify the Commission about their intention to reject them. The Commission will have two months time (which can be prolonged for another two months) to assess the existence of substantial reciprocity in the country in question and whether or not to approve such an exclusion.

Below the threshold, EU markets remain free, and no discrimination against foreign biddes is allowed (de minimis).

(2) In the event of repeated and serious discrimination against European suppliers in other countries, the following mechanism could be used:

At EU level, the Commission will have the power to conduct investigations into possible discriminatory procurement practices in the foreign country concerned and to start consultations with the country concerned to solve those market access problems and to take, if necessary, measures restricting the access to the EU's market. The restrictive measures would be targetted, for example excluding tenders originating in a non-EU country from a particular sector or imposing a price penalty on the non-EU bids.

The combination of the two elements allows us to set conditions for fair competition on the EU procurement market and equips us with a leverage tool for negotiation for more opening of foreign procurement markets.

Additionally, when public authorities intend to accept tenders that are "abnormally low" they should inform the other tenderers of their intention and explain why they accept it, so as to increase the transparency of the procedure. A tender is deemed abnormally low when the price charged to the contracting authorities appears to be too low in relation to the goods or services offered ("an offer that is too good to be true"). If there is full transparency, any abuse of the system is much less likely.

8. How will the Commission decide to exclude certain goods or services from EU procurement bids?

The Commission will base its decision to approve or not the exclusion by a contracting authority/entity of a third country's goods or services or to launch consultations with a third country on the existence of "substantial reciprocity". The Commission would assess this according to the following parameters:

    The degree to which public procurement laws of the country concerned ensure transparency in line with international standards in the field of public procurement and preclude any discrimination against EU goods, services and economic operators.

    The degree to which public authorities and/or individual procuring entities of the non-EU country maintain or adopt discriminatory practices against EU goods, services and economic operators.

When the assessment shows that EU suppliers, goods or services are subject to serious and persistent discrimination in foreign markets, the Commission will presume that a lack of substantial reciprocity exists in the country concerned.

In practice, not a single good or service can be excluded from procurement without the Commission's approval.

9.How will the nationality of the bidder or the origin of the good/service be determined?

It is only possible to consider excluding third country bidders by the contracting authorities or via the Commission driven mechanism when the treatment of non-EU country goods and services is harmonised throughout the European Union. Common rules will help contracting authorities define whether goods and services from non-EU countries are covered by the international commitments of the EU in the area of public procurement.

For this purpose rules of origin for both goods and services are defined in the draft Regulation as follows:

    For goods, their origin will be determined in accordance with the non-preferential rules of the Community Customs Code which lays down legislation applicable for the import and export of goods between the EU and non-EU countries.

    The origin of services is based on the origin of service providers, in accordance with the EU Treaties and the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services that handles the modes of supply for cross-border services: for services provided by a natural person, the origin will be determined by the country of which the person is a national or where the person has a right of permanent residence.

    For services provided by a legal person (a company) without a commercial presence within the EU (a branch), the origin will be defined by the country where the legal person is constituted and in the territory in which it is engaged in substantive business operations; for example a service directly offered by a foreign company (Chinese, American) will be considered foreign (Chinese, American).

    For services provided by a legal person with a commercial presence within the EU, the origin will be the Member State where the person is established and in which territory it is engaged in substantive business operations (i.e. it has a direct and effective link with the economy of that Member State). For example: a service offered by an EU subsidiary of a foreign company will be considered as European, as long as the subsidiary has substantive business operations in the EU. This excludes post box companies that would be set up for the purpose of the tender and that otherwise have no business operation in the EU.

IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL GLOBALLY

10. Is this initiative protectionist?

No. It is not the EU which has a closed market; it is third countries which have closed markets. The initiative confirms that the EU public procurement market is fundamentally open.

A protectionist approach would suggest the EU was trying to protect its own industries. That is not what we want to do. European companies don't need protecting but they do need to be able to compete in global markets.

A protectionist policy would also entail closure for closure's sake. But the new set of measures is designed to help expand business opportunities within the EU and open foreign markets for EU firms. So its ethos is about market opening, not market closing

11. Will the EU procurement market now be closed automatically to foreign bidders?

No. The proposal does not contain any automatic closures of the EU procurement market. The objective of the proposal is not to close down the EU's market to foreign bidders. Any restrictive measure affecting the current openness of the EU's public procurement market will only be adopted, if appropriate, at the last stage of one of the outlined procedures, either at the contracting authority level or following a Commission investigation and consultation with the third country concerned. This means all possible avenues will have been explored to agree mutually beneficial openness with the country in question before any restrictive measure is imposed.

When adopted, restrictive measures will be proportionate to the restrictive procurement practices to which they respond.

They will be targeted vis-à-vis a specific country and could be limited to a particular industrial sector. Restrictions could also consist of, rather than a closure of a part of the EU's procurement market, in subjecting tenders made up of goods or services originating in the country in question to a mandatory price penalty. The price penalty in question would be determined by the Commission.

12. Is the European Commission targeting any particular country?

This instrument will create leverage for negotiating further market access and more symmetry and fair treatment for European companies in the EU and third-country public procurement markets. This new policy is therefore aimed at all countries that do not open public procurement markets as much as the EU has to their own suppliers and in which EU companies are regularly subject to serious discriminations.

The answer to question 17 provides facts and figures comparing third-country companies' access to EU markets with European companies' access to third-country public procurement markets.

13. Will this initiative affect the EU's international commitments in the area of procurement?

No. This initiative will have no impact on the procurement that the EU has opened to third-country parties in the framework of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or its bilateral/regional trade agreement. The Commission stands by its international commitments.

On the contrary, GPA or trade agreement partners should be reassured as this legislative initiative will clarify the EU's international commitments. This will eliminate the risks of misinformation or divergent interpretations by contracting authorities.

14. Will this initiative have an impact on the on-going bilateral negotiations with important trading partners?

No, negotiations to include comprehensive public procurement chapters (both in terms of procedural rules and market access commitments) will continue and will not be impacted by the adoption of this new policy.

15. Is there not a risk that other trading partners will retaliate by adopting similar measures?

This is not a protectionist policy from the EU.

It is compliant with the EU's international procurement commitments and its objective is not to affect the current level of access to the EU's public procurement market by our trading partners. The EU is simply giving itself the possibility of using powers it already has, and which are used already by its main trading partners.

16. Will this initiative have an impact on trade with the least-developed countries (LDCs)?

No. In light of the EU's overall policy with regard to LDCs, the draft Regulation proposes to treat goods and services from these countries as EU goods and services.

COSTS AND BENEFITS OF THIS PROPOSAL

17. What are the costs and benefits of this proposal?

    Procurement markets represent a substantial part of the EU's and other trading partners' economies.

    In most countries, total government spending accounts for 15-20% of GDP.

    In the EU, total government spending amounts to around 19% of GDP.

    In theory, European companies could access up to €1 000 billion worldwide procurement per year.

    However - not all public procurement is open to foreign bidders: there are agreed international thresholds which determine public procurement which can be opened to foreign competition.

    In line with this, the figure for the public procurement market potentially open to foreign bidders in the United States is €556.25 billion and in Japan €96,4 billion (2007 figures).

    For the EU, the equivalent value of tenders advertised across the EU is approximately €420 billion per year (2010 figures). This figure represents those purchases which are subject to EU-wide harmonised rules, as they are above the respective thresholds stipulated in the EU public procurement directives, which are the same thresholds as the agreed international thresholds

    Currently, (under the 1994 GPA), €352 billion of the €420 billion EU public procurement is open to bidders from member countries of the WTO Agreement on government procurement (GPA) making the EU the most open trading partner in the world. Nearly 85% of the EU's public procurement market is open.

    This contrasts with the situation in many third countries who are reluctant to open their procurement markets to international competition or to open those markets further than what they have already done: the value of US procurement offered to foreign bidders is currently just €178 billion of the €556.25 billion (i.e. only 32% of its market is open) and €27 billion of the €96.4 billion (i.e. only 28% of its market is open) for Japan.

    The EU's public procurement market is therefore potentially open.

    China is a different case as it has not signed up to any international agreement. The Chinese public procurement market is potentially open to foreign bidders according to the agreed international thresholds (if they were to sign up to a bilateral agreement or to join the GPA) worth €83 billion (2007 figure) and is growing rapidly. EU companies only manage to access a fraction of that market.

    Because of the restrictions applied worldwide and the fact that most public procurement still remains national, only €10 billion of EU exports (0.08% of EU GDP) currently find their way in global procurement markets, whereas an estimated €12 billion of further (additional) EU exports remain unrealised due to restrictions.

    The EU is the biggest exporter in the world and we benefit from free and fair trade around the world. More than 20 million jobs are dependant on Europe's exports and trade is an essential element in the economic recovery.

18. Will this initiative create red tape?

No, if a contracting authority wants to use the option of rejecting tenders or contracts from third country suppliers, it can do so only for cases with an estimated value of €5 million or above. The objective of this threshold is to ensure only big projects are captured by these provisions.

Furthermore, contracting authorities who wish to restrict bids which include foreign goods or services will simply need to signal this intention in the contract notice which they must in any case publish, in line with existing EU Public Procurement Directives.

If the contracting authority receives bids that that could be subject to an exclusion, they can then decide to notify the Commission of their intention to exclude a particular tender offer. There is no obligation to go down the exclusion route: it is a decision for the contracting authority.

So that administrative burdens are reduced as much as possible for the contracting authorities if they choose the exclusion route, standard forms will be used for the notifications and all correspondence will be done by electronic means.

19. What happens next?

The proposal for a Regulation will now be passed to the Council and the European Parliament and adopted following the ordinary legislative procedure. It requires qualified majority voting in the Council.

The Commission hopes that the proposal could come into effect in the second half of 2013.

Further information:

Trade policy relating to procurement

Internal market policy relating to procurement

Source: European Commission

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Search Tool gives access to government procurement database. - ThomasNet Industrial News Room

Seattle-based Company Launches New Database Search Tool 'Onvia Navigator' and Shows Solid First-Quarter Results

SEATTLE, May 4 / -- In groundbreaking news for companies nationwide wishing to bolster their sales to government, clients of Onvia (NASDAQ:ONVI) can now direct their own research using Onvia Dominion(TM), Onvia's unparalleled government business sales intelligence database, in tandem with Onvia Navigator, the Seattle-based company's new, state-of-the art search tool. The move by Onvia to make its entire proprietary database -- consisting of millions of government procurement records gathered over five years -- directly searchable, customizable, and readily accessible with a cutting-edge search tool comes as welcome news to the company's 16,400 clients.

Onvia Dominion, a "gold mine" of qualified government contracting intelligence and hard-to-find historical data, is recognized by companies throughout the U.S. as the industry's leading government procurement database. The proprietary, ever-expanding database currently contains over 2.7 million categorized and linked procurement records, across 71,000 purchasing offices, representing 292,000 buyers, and connecting more than 181,000 companies. The breadth and depth of government contracting opportunities and intelligence, contact information, and logistical details for current and historical purchases within the Onvia Dominion database is unequalled - even within government itself. Onvia's reputation for providing cohesive, critical government business intelligence continues to grow, as companies see bottom- line success through researching competitors, exploring new or emerging markets, working to identify potential partners, or building sales pipelines for renewing annual contracts.

The millions of records within the Onvia Dominion database now are directly searchable online through Onvia Navigator, Onvia's new search tool which went live on April 3rd of this year. Onvia Navigator allows user-driven access to Onvia Dominion; it enables users to focus their research by rapidly drilling down into search results, and narrowing their research by groups such as industry, procurement type, contract location, agency, and contract value. Unlimited access to the database allows clients to find information critical to making business decisions that would otherwise be difficult-to-impossible to access without an extensive network of business contacts, a historical archive of government purchasing transactions, and a substantial investment of time and resources.

Prior to Onvia Dominion, companies often were simply unable to find the difficult-to-locate opportunities and necessary strategic intelligence they were seeking. When they were able to locate these opportunities, companies had to meticulously build, archive and sift through government contract information themselves -- missing out on countless opportunities, limiting their scope, and often locating opportunities too late and wasting precious hours of research time in the process.

Businesses nationwide have been quick to reap the rewards offered by Onvia Dominion and Onvia Navigator, such as Dunn Lumber, a Seattle-based, family- owned building materials chain founded in 1907.

"In under one year since subscribing to Onvia, we've increased our government contracts-related business using intelligence from the Dominion Database from $100,000 annually to nearly $3 million," according to Kelly Fox, Dunn Lumber's Store Manager. "In such a short timeframe we've won sizable government contracts and dozens of smaller contracts, as well.

"The Dominion Database and Onvia Navigator have added up to the solution we needed to proactively find the important intelligence we needed and secure contracts," Fox added. "In particular, Onvia Navigator is user-friendly, and it easily lets us customize and tailor our searches of Onvia's database for the many pieces of information we need, such as really solid leads, contact information, and contracts awarded annually. It's also definitely trimmed down on the amount of hours we spend researching; what used to take us 20 hours now takes us only three. We have so much more time now for other areas of our business, such as store management and personnel issues."

The Onvia Navigator search solution is the most recent in a host of user solutions that optimize the valuable intelligence that makes up the Dominion Database. In addition to Onvia Navigator, for example, clients also may easily research owners, buyers, vendors, and project histories for specific government procurement opportunities through Onvia Business Builder. Additionally, the popular Onvia Guide delivers leads and other important procurement data from thousands of federal, state, local and education agencies daily.

"There are literally millions of pieces of valuable data in the Onvia Dominion database that can translate into concrete government contracts for U.S. businesses," noted Onvia CEO Mike Pickett. "There's a reason so many businesses today are teaming with Onvia. What we're doing is different from any other company in the industry. We're offering a way for companies to 'mine' this incredibly large database of government procurement opportunities, which gives them an enormous advantage. They can now very easily tailor their searches for qualified leads, contract information, valuable business-to- business opportunities, even research their competitors -- and save an impressive amount of time in the process. All told, we're offering hundreds of millions of dollars in government contract opportunities for businesses today through our Onvia Dominion database. And that number is just waiting to be capitalized on by our clients."

On the financial front, Onvia has reported first-quarter results and metrics, showing 12 percent growth in annual contract value growth and 7 percent in revenue over the prior year. "Our results clearly reflect that Onvia recognized an unserved market need, and we are strategically tackling that opportunity," according to Pickett. "Companies nationwide were demanding more organized access to all of the government procurement intelligence and opportunities that exist today, and Onvia has been able to provide the solutions they've needed, plain and simple. Our results this quarter are a solid reflection of this dynamic."

About Onvia

Onvia (NASDAQ:ONVI) helps companies identify and win government business across such diverse markets as architecture, engineering, construction, IT/telecom, consulting services, operations and maintenance, office equipment, transportation and medical equipment. More than 16,600 Onvia clients across the United States enjoy significant competitive advantage through access to Onvia's Dominion(TM) database, the most comprehensive source of actionable government procurement intelligence available. With ever-expanding coverage of more than 71,000 federal, state and local purchasing entities, Onvia delivers timely, in-depth information and insight on requests for proposals and quotes, agencies, decision-makers, vendors and project histories to help companies focus their sales resources on the best opportunities and convert them into awards. Onvia was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

CONTACT: Jen Beltz of Infotech Strategies, +1-207-899-2750, jbeltz@itstrategies.com

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NAWBO Chicago Invites Entrepreneurs to Pursue Procurement Opportunities - PR.com

NAWBO Chicago Invites Entrepreneurs to Pursue Procurement Opportunities
NAWBO Chicago invites small business owners to attend a diversity and procurement event, "Work Your Diversity. Procurement is Smart Business" on February 21, 2012, at the offices of the Small Business Advocacy Council, 20 S. Clark St., 14th floor, Chicago.
Chicago, IL, February 10, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Getting certified as a Women-Owned Business, Minority-Owned Business and/or Small Business Enterprise can result in greater business development opportunities to eligible small businesses. That’s why the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, in partnership with the Small Business Advocacy Council, Women’s Business Development Center and Federation of Women Contractors, invites entrepreneurs to register for “Work Your Diversity. Procurement is Smart Business,” on February 21, 2012, in downtown Chicago.

“We see this as an opportunity to educate entrepreneurs about the business development opportunities and markets they may not be aware of,” said Julie Savitt, Director-Diversity, NAWBO Chicago. “The panelists – all of whom represent potential buyers -- will discuss the products and services their organizations or entities buy.”

The panelists will be public and private sector diversity or procurement officials, such as:
· Frieda Curry, Director of the Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Women's Business Development Center
· Carlos Gutierrez, Outreach Manager, Illinois Department of Central Management Services - Business Enterprise Program
· E. LaVerne Hall, Director of Cook County Contract Compliance
· Victoria Wright, MS Ed., Training & Development Analyst, City of Chicago Office of Compliance
· Brian Montgomery, Manager-Supplier Diversity, Procurement Sourcing, NICOR Gas
· Rosalyn Putman, Lead Business Development Specialist, U.S. Small Business Administration
· Nadia Quarles, Assistant Vice President-Diversity, University of Chicago

In addition to learning how to leverage procurement as a growth strategy, business owners also will have the opportunity to network with procurement officials and diverse business owners. Procurement officials from the University of Chicago and Illinois Tollway Authority have been invited to attend, as well as members of Illinois' Hispanic, Black, Asian American and Gay & Lesbian chambers of commerce.

“Work Your Diversity. Procurement is Smart Business” will be held on February 21, 2012, from 8am to 10:30am, at the offices of the Small Business Advocacy Council, 20 S. Clark St., 14th floor, Chicago. To register, visit http://www.nawbochicago.org.

About NAWBO Chicago
For more than 30 years, NAWBO Chicago, a 501(c)6 professional organization, has led the way in providing and promoting growth and development opportunities for women-owned business enterprises. Through excellence in vision, leadership, and continuous outreach to the diverse community of women entrepreneurs, NAWBO Chicago strengthens the wealth-creating capacity of our members and promotes economic development; creates innovative and effective changes in the business culture; builds strategic alliances, coalitions, and affiliations; and transforms public policy and influences opinion makers. To learn more about NAWBO Chicago, visit http://www.nawbochicago.org.

###

NAWBO-Chicago
Sylvia Alston
847-341-6846
Contact
nawbochicago.org

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Global Packaging Industry Survey 2012: Trends and Opportunities in Packaging, Budget Allocation, Procurement and NPD

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Global Packaging Industry Survey 2012: Trends and Opportunities in Packaging, Budget Allocation, Procurement and NPD

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0763117/Global-Packaging-Industry-Survey-2012-Trends-and-Opportunities-in-Packaging-Budget-Allocation-Procurement-and-NPD.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Packaging

Synopsis

• The report is based on primary surveys conducted by Canadean accessing its B2B panels comprised of senior business decision makers. The opinions and forward looking statements of 264 industry executives are captured in our in-depth survey, of which 59% represent directors, C-level executives and departmental heads.

• The geographical Scope of the research is global – drawing on the activity and expectations of leading industry players across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East.

• The report analyzes key innovative trends and key advantages of new packaging

The report also analyzes budget allocation for new packaging and expenditure of packaging R&D, focus categories of product development activity and critical factors that influence supplier selection.

• Key topics covered include category-specific investment outlooks, market-specific growth opportunities, investment opportunities and principal challenges associated with the development and implementation of new packaging solutions.

• In this report, buyers identify their new product development budgets; along with the implementation of essential factors that influence supplier selection.

• The report provides qualitative analysis of key industry opportunities and threats and also contains the full survey results.

Summary

"Global Packaging Industry Survey 2012: Trends and Opportunities in Packaging, Budget Allocation, Procurement and NPD" is a new report by Canadean that analyzes how companies in the packaging industry are devising strategies for new product development. The report contains in-depth analysis on the principal drivers and challenges of new product development along with market-specific growth opportunities associated with the implementation of new packaging solutions. It also benchmarks key packaging techniques and customized packaging solutions expected to be implemented across the global packaging industry. This report qualitatively examines budget allocation for new product development and also analyzes procurement strategies and practices being undertaken by key organizations; category-specific investment outlooks; and investment opportunities available for leading purchase decision makers.

Scope

The report features the opinions of packaging industry respondents related to the following:

• Trends in packaging

• Advantages of new packaging

• Key drivers of sustainable packaging

• Chief barriers of innovative packaging

• Sustainable packaging materials

• Packaging techniques to ensure product safety and customized packaging solutions implementation outlook

• Allocation of budgets to new packaging solutions and changes expected in expenditure of packaging R&D

• Focus category of product development activity

• Factors driving new product development

• Likelihood of new product launch by companies

• New product development phrases

Reasons To Buy

• Drive revenues by understanding future new product development investment areas and growth regions.

• Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by identifying buyer product development and R&D budgets.

• Better promote your business by focusing on factors driving new product development and offering customized solutions as per the needs of customers.

• Uncover the trends in packaging, key product development challenges and opportunities

• Benchmark key product development initiatives with key industry leaders and identify major trends that affect the industry.

• Secure stronger customer relationships by understanding the leading business concerns and changing strategies of buyers.

Key Highlights

• Reduced manufacturing costs, minimize material use and environmental and regulatory compliance, are key advantages of developing new packaging in the packaging industry.

• Survey results show that 54% and 48% of packaged goods manufacturers and packaging converters expect to allocate less than 10% of their procurement budgets for new packaging solutions over the next 12 months.

• Ease-of-use, low-price, protective and durability factors are critical driving criteria for new product development.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 What is this report about?

1.2 Definitions

1.3 Methodology

1) Online Survey

2) Secondary Research

3) Data Analysis and Report Writing

4) Quality Control

A) Templates

B) QC Process

1.4 Profile of Survey Respondents

1.4.1 Profile of buyer respondents

1.4.2 Profile of supplier respondents

2 Executive Summary

3 Trends in Packaging Products

3.1 Trends in Packaging

3.1.1 Trends in packaging – buyers

3.1.2 Trends in packaging – suppliers

3.1.3 Trends in packaging – region

3.1.4 Trends in packaging – turnover

3.2 Advantages of New Packaging

3.2.1 Advantages of new packaging – buyers

3.2.2 Advantages of new packaging – suppliers

3.2.3 Advantages of new packaging – region

3.2.4 Advantages of new packaging – turnover

3.3 Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging

3.3.1 Key drivers of sustainable packaging – buyers

3.3.2 Key drivers of sustainable packaging – suppliers

3.3.3 Key drivers of sustainable packaging – region

3.3.4 Key drivers of sustainable packaging – turnover

3.4 Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging

3.4.1 Chief barriers of innovative packaging – buyers

3.4.2 Chief barriers of innovative packaging – suppliers

3.4.3 Chief barriers of innovative packaging – region

3.4.4 Chief barriers of innovative packaging – turnover

3.5 Sustainable Packaging Materials

3.5.1 Most sustainable packaging materials – buyers

3.5.2 Most sustainable packaging materials – suppliers

3.5.3 Most sustainable packaging materials – region

3.5.4 Most sustainable packaging materials – turnover

4 Implementation of Packaging Techniques

4.1 Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety

4.1.1 Packaging techniques to ensure product safety – buyers

4.1.2 Packaging techniques to ensure product safety – suppliers

4.1.3 Packaging techniques to ensure product safety – region

4.1.4 Packaging techniques to ensure product safety – turnover

4.2 Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions

4.2.1 Regulatory impact on packaging decisions – buyers

4.2.2 Regulatory impact on packaging decisions – suppliers

4.2.3 Regulatory impact on packaging decisions – region

4.2.4 Regulatory impact on packaging decisions – turnover

4.3 Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions

4.3.1 Change in demand of customized packaging solutions – buyers

4.3.2 Change in demand of customized packaging solutions – suppliers

4.3.3 Change in demand of customized packaging solutions – region

4.3.4 Change in demand of customized packaging solutions – turnover

5 Financing New Product Innovation

5.1 Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions

5.1.1 Allocation of budget to new packaging solutions – buyers

5.1.2 Allocation of budget to new packaging solutions – suppliers

5.1.3 Allocation of budget to new packaging solutions – region

5.1.4 Allocation of budget to new packaging solutions – turnover

5.2 Expenditure on Packaging Research and Development

5.2.1 Expenditure on packaging research and development – buyers

5.2.2 Expenditure on packaging research and development – suppliers

5.2.3 Expenditure on packaging research and development – region

5.2.4 Expenditure on packaging research and development – turnover

5.2.5 R&D budget allocation vs product development phases

5.3 Financing for New Product Development

5.3.1 Financing for new product development – buyers

5.3.2 Financing for new product development – suppliers

5.3.3 Financing for new product development – region

5.3.4 Financing for new product development – turnover

5.3.5 Likelihood of launching new products vs product financing

6 New Product Development Dynamics

6.1 Focus Category of Product Development Activity

6.1.1 Focus category of product development activity – buyers

6.1.2 Focus category of product development activity – region

6.1.3 Focus category of product development activity – turnover

6.1.4 Expenditure on packaging research and development vs focus category

6.2 Factors Driving New Product Development

6.2.1 Factors driving new product development – buyers

6.2.2 Factors driving new product development – region

6.2.3 Factors driving new product development – turnover

6.3 New Product Launch

6.3.1 Likelihood of new product launch – buyers

6.3.2 Likelihood of new product launch – region

6.3.3 Likelihood of new product launch – turnover

6.4 New Product Development Phase

6.4.1 New product development phase – buyers

6.4.2 New product development phase – region

6.4.3 New product development phase – turnover

7 Appendix

7.1 Full survey results

7.2 Methodology

7.3 Contact us

7.4 About Canadean

7.5 Disclaimer

List of Tables

Table 1: Total Global Packaging Industry Survey Respondents by Company Type, 2011

Table 2: Buyer Respondents by Job Role (%), 2011

Table 3: Buyer Respondents by Global Company Turnover (%), 2011

Table 4: Buyer Respondents by Region (%), 2011

Table 5: Supplier Respondents by Job Role (%), 2011

Table 6: Supplier Respondents by Global Company Turnover (%), 2011

Table 7: Supplier Respondents by Region (%), 2011

Table 8: Trends in Packaging: Buyers vs. Suppliers (%), 2012

Table 9: Trends in Packaging: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 10: Trends in Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2012

Table 11: Trends in Packaging: Region (%), 2012

Table 12: Trends in Packaging: Turnover (%), 2012

Table 13: Advantages of New Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Table 14: Advantages of New Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 15: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Table 16: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 17: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 18: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 19: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Table 20: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 21: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 22: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 23: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011–2012

Table 24: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaging Converters (%), 2011–2012

Table 25: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaging Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 25: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011–2012

Table 26: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaging Converters (%), 2011–2012

Table 27: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaging Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 28: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 29: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 30: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Buyers, 2011–2012

Table 31: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 32: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Region, 2011–2012

Table 33: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Turnover, 2011–2012

Table 34: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 35: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Suppliers (%), 2012

Table 36: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Region (%), 2012

Table 37: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Turnover (%), 2012

Table 42: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 43: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Suppliers (%), 2012

Table 44: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Region (%), 2012

Table 45: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Turnover (%), 2012

Table 46: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development : Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Table 47: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Table 48: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 49: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 50: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development Vs Product Phase (%), 2011–2012

Table 51: Financing for New Product Development: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 52: Financing for New Product Development: Suppliers (%), 2012

Table 53: Financing for New Product Development: Region (%), 2012

Table 54: Financing for New Product Development: Turnover (%), 2012

Table 55: Likelihood of Launching New Products Vs Product Financing (%), 2011–2012

Table 56: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 57: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Region (%), 2012

Table 58: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Turnover (%), 2012

Table 59: Expenditure on Packaging Research and Development vs. Focus Category (%), 2012

Table 60: Factors Driving New Product Development: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011

Table 61: Factors Driving New Product Development: Packaging Converters (%), 2011

Table 62: Factors Driving New Product Development: Region (%), 2011

Table 63: Factors Driving New Product Development: Turnover (%), 2011

Table 71: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Buyers (%), 2012

Table 72: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 73: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 68: New Product Development Phase: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Table 69: New Product Development Phase: Region (%), 2011–2012

Table 70: New Product Development Phase: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Table 74: Survey Results – Closed Questions

List of Figures

Figure 1: Trends in Packaging: Buyers vs. Suppliers (%), 2012

Figure 2: Trends in Packaging: Buyers (%), 2012

Figure 3: Trends in Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2012

Figure 4: Trends in Packaging: Region (%), 2012

Figure 5: Trends in Innovative Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 6: Advantages of New Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 7: Advantages of New Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 8: Advantages of New Packaging: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 9: Advantages of New Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 10: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Buyers vs. Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 11: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 12: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 13: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 14: Key Drivers of Sustainable Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 15: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 16: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 17: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 18: Chief Barriers of Innovative Packaging: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 19: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 20: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaging Converters (%), 2011–2012

Figure 21: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Packaging Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 22: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 23: Most Sustainable Packaging Materials: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 24: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 25: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaging Converters (%), 2011–2012

Figure 26: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Packaging Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 27: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 28: Packaging Techniques to Ensure Product Safety: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 29: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Buyers, 2011–2012

Figure 30: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Suppliers, 2011–2012

Figure 31: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Region, 2011–2012

Figure 32: Regulatory Impact on Packaging Decisions: Turnover, 2011–2012

Figure 33: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Buyers (%), 2012

Figure 34: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Suppliers (%), 2012

Figure 35: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Region (%), 2012

Figure 36: Change in Demand of Customized Packaging Solutions: Turnover (%), 2012

Figure 41: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Buyers (%), 2012

Figure 42: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Suppliers (%), 2012

Figure 43: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Region (%), 2012

Figure 44: Allocation of Budget to New Packaging Solutions: Turnover (%), 2012

Figure 45: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development : Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 46: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Suppliers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 47: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 48: Expenditure on Packaging Research And Development: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 49: Financing for New Product Development: Buyers (%), 2012

Figure 50: Financing for New Product Development: Suppliers (%), 2012

Figure 51: Financing for New Product Development: Region (%), 2012

Figure 52: Financing for New Product Development: Turnover (%), 2012

Figure 53: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Buyers (%), 2012

Figure 54: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Region (%), 2012

Figure 55: Focus Category of Product Development Activity: Turnover (%), 2012

Figure 56: Factors Driving New Product Development: Packaged Goods Manufacturers (%), 2011

Figure 57: Factors Driving New Product Development: Packaging Converters (%), 2011

Figure 58: Factors Driving New Product Development: Region (%), 2011

Figure 59: Factors Driving New Product Development: Turnover (%), 2011

Figure 66: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 67: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 68: Likelihood of New Product Launch: Turnover (%), 2011–2012

Figure 63: New Product Development Phase: Buyers (%), 2011–2012

Figure 64: New Product Development Phase: Region (%), 2011–2012

Figure 65: New Product Development Phase: Turnover (%), 2011

To order this report:

Packaging Industry: Global Packaging Industry Survey 2012: Trends and Opportunities in Packaging, Budget Allocation, Procurement and NPD

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CONTACT
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Email: nbo@reportlinker.com
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Intl: +1 805-652-2626

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