Doing work for the U. S. Government Printing Office (GPO) can be one of the most solid secondary markets that a private sector printer can develop, if done strategically and consistently to fill production gaps. As commercial work declines, GPO work keeps revenue flowing, staff employed and equipment utilized even when hourly rates received for work completed during downtime are lower than hourly rates received for work done during busy periods.

“Since timing and pricing are keys to winning and profiting from GPO work, it is essential to understand exactly how you are performing compared to hundreds of other GPO suppliers,” said Deborah Snider, senior vice president at e-LYNXX Corporation. “The truth is that many suppliers are submitting low bids to win their share of the $425 million that GPO awards each year to private sector printers. That is not only good for the government and taxpayers, but it also is good for the print suppliers themselves… provided the GPO work is completed during downtimes and does not displace or replace other higher value added work.”

To get a handle on this concept, GPO print suppliers need business intelligence that is readily available through a government print management firm—one that gives the supplier routine feedback on GPO performance with bid variance reports that contain:
Total GPO jobs made available to all bidders
Total dollar value of GPO jobs won by all bidders
Total GPO jobs won by your firm
Percentage of GPO jobs won by your firm
A listing of all GPO jobs, which firms won them and by how much
The amount of money you (and other bidders) left on the table

“This is the type of actionable information that gives you an advantage in consistently winning GPO work at the highest price the market will bear,” Snider said. “Once you have comparative data, you need to know what to do with it, and that is where skilled guidance is essential. Data alone is just an interesting compilation of facts, numbers and percentages. Data in the right hands can make a meaningful difference for your business when it is analyzed with an industry wide and historical perspective. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will keep you ahead of the competition.”

GPO bid variance reports are produced from an accurate and robust database. There is only one source for this information as the database is maintained and is the proprietary property of Government Print Management in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Government Print Management has archived all available GPO jobs, their histories and the related competitive supplier information for over three decades. History gleaned from this massive database provides insight into how GPO print suppliers compare, how particular types of jobs are likely to be bid opportunity for profitable change orders, and other information that profitable GPO suppliers deem imperative to their success.