Question:
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Ken
We bid contracts.
On a recent bid, there was a section buried in the 40+ pages of the requisition (which was for camera system for bachelor residence buildings at a Naval Base), which esoterically referenced the Buy American Act.
It was low bid, and other than general comments about what the objectives were for the system (to see what was going on), storage capacity for the DVR, no manufacturers were specified. To the best of my knowledge, virtually all video products and components come from overseas; to be specific, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia. Some of the designs are from U.S.A. companies, and once they hit production, the designs are plagiarized and incorporated into all competitor product where mass market video cameras are concerned, no one has an exclusive feature for long.
Some specialized technology eludes this cycle, but eventually it seems all technology is usurped, and product is dumped into the supply chain and prices drop. I know some companies pretest these products prior to shipment, and maybe insert English language instruction sets, or branded packaging, but with cameras and other off the shelf things like power modules, handling is minimized to keep costs low. Divers are another story, where they are typically configured here, since their are many variables and features which would make warehousing all permutations prohibitive for companies who classify themselves as manufacturers to offer a catalog of solutions.
So the terms: manufacturer, made in the U.S.A. assembled int he U.S.A., name brand, OEM, are confusing.
We were chatting with another integrator we encounter on site surveys who also was bidding the job we asked and he said he had submitted the bid using 'name brand equipment' I figure he meant PELCO; Maybe he meant GE or Honeywell; but so what?
When offering products, one of our vendors will extend the warranty on their products by simply adding 10% of net for each additional year of warranty desired. So it is a matter of money, and not that a longer warranty reflects better components, better engineering or better workmanship?
I understand that the Buy American Act was passed by FDR in 1933. Given the changes in the manufacturing profile of our country, it would seem to me that the intent of the law and the letter of the law parted company long ago, and is being selectively used to create an advantage for certain vendors when it is convenient for them to do so. Similar to requiring the use of union workers..
We got involved with the naval base bid when a camera company called us and asked of we would be interested in participating in the bid, using the products.
I ultimately specced in their cameras and DVRs, but selected other vendors for other system components. The camera company said they bid government jobs all the time, and claimed they had determined that their products would be accepted by the Navy. Since then they have sent us half a dozen other bids, and between those and some bids we found on our own, we have won some, been competitive on all of them, and have not been told we are disqualified because of our product's country of origin. We lose because our quote is not the lowest.
The camera company has all sorts of employees I talked to,
some of whom are obviously oriental, but why should that matter? They classify lots of things as 'government' projects: Water Authorities, School Districts, Transportation Departments, State procurements etc. I guess in China, these entities are all 'government'.
We invested many hours in the bid preparation. I feel we're getting screwed here, and do nit understand my rights and a proper defense to offer the procurer. If there is some set of regulations we are not aware of I would like to know. Such regulations can be used to our advantage too, if we know they are there.
We're all Americans at my company, many veterans, all citizens, all taxpayers, all non-felons, .
We rate.
timO
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Answer:
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Maybe you should hire some felons.
I confess I know nothing of the Buy American Act. I looked it up and found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_American_Act. Except in very limited situations I would imagine that it would be almost impossible to install electronic security equipment that does not include foreign made products.
Anyone have any insight on this topic, please let us know.
In the mean time, want to win the bid? Bid low or have your felon handle the negotiations.
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comment on trunk slammers
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Dear Ken,
I can't believe I read the gentleman's (?) comment that small companies
who haven't gotten bigger are 'trunk slammers'. What planet does this
guy come from? I would encourage him to take a mild reality check and
drive to a smaller community. Smaller communities are often plundered
by the adjacent metropolitan communities' "big dealers" who send out
sales teams to close sales, subsequently follow up with little, if any,
service and spend their time jusifying this. Who does the customer
call? The little one man operation who knows what to do, lives there,
delivers a quality product and ultimately ends up with a lot of 3 year
old customers. Unbelievable that this guy's type of attitude exists?
You are not a credit to our industry, sir.
By the way, I will sign my email, not initials.
Ed Russell
Russell Protective Services
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