Latest update February 23rd, 2017 8:43 PM
Research tools that can help vehicle lift buyers and sellers in the government space
By: Michael Keating | Government Product News
Marketers looking to sell more lifts and other garage equipment to government should check out these data sources. The tools also shed light on the market for government buyers.
For more than 14 years, Seattle-based Onvia has been delivering the data, business intelligence, analytics and tools that help its clients succeed in the government market. A quick check of Onvia’s data shows that SLED (State, Local and Education) SLED + Federal (FED) market vehicle lift opportunities (published bids & RFPs) totaled 100 in 2013 and 78 in 2014.
Onvia’s Spending Forecast Center offered another yardstick on the government market. The Onvia center counted a total of 192 SLED budget mentions/project previews that had the term “vehicle lifts” in government budget documents. These documents covered projects slated to begin in 2015. Onvia counts these mentions as vehicle lift opportunities. Click here for details.
Onvia’s Lyndon Dacuan offered some additional insight concerning these 192 government budget mentions. “The majority of these were budgets issued by city and town level agencies (133) representing 69.3 percent of the overall share by level of government in the SLED market. Vehicle lift manufacturers and OEMs who are interested in growing their government market share can benefit by reading our best practices guide for manufacturers selling into the public sector.” Click here for details.
Dacuan is a Market Analyst at Onvia. Thousands of U.S. companies rely on Onvia as a resource for timely and actionable sales opportunities and the industry-specific information needed to make intelligent decisions. The information from Onvia helps firms sell products and services to the public sector.
Many governments buy lifts through cooperative purchasing agreements that save time in the purchasing process. Government fleets can acquire a variety of lifts, wheel service equipment and many other garage-related pieces of equipment by using the time- and money-saving cooperative procurement model, says Steve Perlstein, president of Mohawk Lifts.
“Government fleets use cooperative procurement contracts because a vendor goes to bid, is awarded a contract which gives the vendor the ability to provide the lifts to other government agencies at the exact same terms, prices and conditions as the agency that awarded the initial order,” Perlstein told Autolift. Go to Govlifts.com to view an interactive map that has information on cooperative agreements in all 50 states. The Govlifts site has a wealth of information on cooperative contracting vehicles that governments use to procure lifts and garage equipment.
Cooperative buying programs, such as HGACBuy, enable public sector fleets to save on vehicle and equipment purchases. Here is a sampling of other entities that also offer cooperative buying arrangements to government:
- The Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA)
- Federal General Services Administration (GSA)
- National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA)
Mohawk Lifts recently announced the addition of the state of Nebraska to the Mohawk WSCA contract, which offers discounted government pricing for vehicle lifts and related garage equipment.
Penton’s Govalytics is a sales and marketing tool that provides local government budget and capital planning intelligence. Govalytics helps businesses determine which governments to target for selling opportunities. It helps firms streamline their sales and marketing efforts in the public sector. Data from Govalytics helps businesses determine which governments they should focus on for potential opportunities.
Govalytics offers data on the 50 states and 2,000+ local governments inside the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
A quick check of preliminary Govalytics data shows proposed vehicle lift acquisitions and projects in 13 states. Local governments in several states, including N.Y., Ill., Calif. & Mass. had multiple vehicle lift procurements underway. In Ill., for instance, two local governments were seeking to acquire lifts in procurements valued at well into the six figures. Nationally, the largest project was valued at $546,000. The next largest lift project carried a value of $350,000.
In the Govalytics vehicle lift project search, there were a total of 8 projects slated for completion in 2018 or 2019.
Return to Autolift frequently for more information on the lift marketplace.
Michael Keating is senior editor for Government Product News and a contributing editor for American City and County, both published by Penton Media. He can be reached via e-mail at michael.keating@penton.com or at mikekeat@gmail.com.
