System for Award Management (SAM) Research: 3 Tips for Success

The federal government acquisition process is often a long, drawn-out ordeal that can take years. By the time a vendor is awarded the contract, product, service, or technology you envisioned implementing may no longer be the best fit or leading edge. Think of the ramifications for an agency that wants to procure an advanced cybersecurity solution, for example. Not only could the technology be outdated by then, but their network will lack important security protections in the meantime.

The success of an acquisition depends on the strength of its planning phase. Later we will recommend ways to improve acquisition planning. But first let’s talk about the challenges in the federal acquisition process—including using the Systems for Award Management (SAM).

Both IT and business leaders face obstacles during the complex government procurement process.

If you’re a line-of-business leader, the government acquisition process may feel convoluted and perilous. Maybe you've never done this before or you've had bad experiences with delays—a common occurrence in this highly regulated process.

The government acquisition process requires agency employees to provide extensive information and documentation pertaining to the project and relevant vendors—including market research, vendor analysis, pricing information, time to implement, and so on.

That’s a good thing. The federal government wants to make sure agencies purchase the most effective product or service for their needs and use taxpayer money wisely. The rules are designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability.

The trouble lies in the complexity of submitting a complete, compliant federal acquisition request. Here are some of the factors that can cause delays and a lengthy acquisition lifecycle:

• Complex regulatory environment. Federal award management operates under a dense framework of laws and regulations, primarily governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency-specific supplements. The FAR is often confusing for agency employees to understand and follow. To make matters worse, it is subject to frequent changes as rules and regulations evolve.
  
  Missteps in compliance can result in audits, delays, or legal challenges, making it difficult to navigate the regulatory environment without expert knowledge.
  
  
• Compliance and accountability standards. Government awards must adhere to strict compliance standards to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. This involves thorough vetting of vendors, detailed documentation of decisions, and adherence to ethical procurement practices. Accountability measures, such as audits and public scrutiny, create additional layers of oversight, which can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.
  
  
• Volume and complexity of documentation. To reach an award faster, employees need to submit complete packages.  Required documentation includes statements of work, market research, acquisition plan, certifications, and determinations. 
  
  A missing document or incomplete form can lead to a months-long review process involving email communications and phone calls. The employee will need to submit more documents and forms until their application is complete. And if the contracting officer gets reassigned during that period, which often happens, then many of those communications will be lost, adding more delays to the process.
  
  
• Diverse stakeholder expectations. The acquisition process often involves coordination among multiple stakeholders. These include program managers, legal advisors, contracting officers, and external vendors. Balancing their varying priorities—such as cost-efficiency, compliance, and program goals—requires careful negotiation and alignment, which can slow down decision-making.

Proper acquisition planning shortens the federal acquisition lifecycle by ensuring clarity and efficiency from the outset. It aligns stakeholders on requirements, timelines, and budgets, reducing the need for rework or revisions later. 

A well-developed plan identifies potential risks and mitigates them early, streamlining the approval process. It sets clear evaluation criteria, which accelerates vendor selection and contract award decisions. With fewer delays and uncertainties, the acquisition process moves forward more smoothly and predictably.

Consider these expert strategies for improving the acquisition planning phase. They will help business leaders navigate typical acquisition speed bumps at your agency:

Part of the planning is conducting market research. Doing thorough homework at the preparation stage will save you time in the long run.

Past award and vendor information can be found on the System for Award Management, or SAM.gov. It’s the official US government portal that stores and shares data about federal government opportunities. Anyone can use the SAM Contract Opportunities section to see registered vendors and pre-award data for similar projects at other agencies, including document attachments.

You will have different needs than other agencies and will want to tailor your submission accordingly. But looking at other agencies’ documentation is a good place to start. Since their applications were successfully submitted, their documents can help you learn the proper way to fill in the required forms.

The problem? Finding information on SAM.gov is extremely difficult. Its complex navigation structure, poor search, and lack of user-friendly tools make using SAM.gov a painful experience. For most searches it doesn’t provide complete or even relevant results. And even if you find awards similar to your procurement, you have to search other government data sets to see the complete procurement picture—like USASpending.gov for awards and GAO.gov for protest data.

ProcureSight is a better way to mine government websites for data on past procurements. It’s an online tool that makes it easy to find highly relevant solicitations, awards, protests, and vendor data on public government websites. And it presents all the data in one comprehensive view. 

ProcureSight uses automation and AI to gather comprehensive intelligence, reducing the amount of time needed to define requirements and execute acquisitions—so federal agencies can purchase mission-critical goods and services faster.

As explained above, conducting market research on public government websites is extremely inefficient. It takes an enormous amount of time to collect the information you need. Manually keying in vendor information to the acquisition system is also extremely error-prone. Use modern automation technology to lessen the chance of such errors and accelerate and optimize the entire process. Agency professionals should work with their IT department to make sure their acquisition system integrates well with their legacy systems. 

If you’re investigating best practices for acquisition planning and management, another area to explore is whether your IT teams make optimal use of an agile development model. The agile way of working enables faster deployments and easier updates as regulations or requirements change. An agile practice combined with an acquisition system that automates wisely and integrates with SAM.gov and other government data sets enables federal agencies to accomplish their missions more efficiently, effectively, and economically.