Winter is the busiest season for maintenance and snow clearing. Government agencies post all sorts of bidding opportunities for such circumstances, spending on products and services such as equipment rentals like snowplows, snow removal items such as salt, sand, and de-icer, labor, and other winter related services. Agencies tend to post open bids for winter related services a year to a few months in advance of the very first snow fall.
The government spends millions of dollars annually to prepare for this time of year. For example, the Colorado Department of Transportation spends $69 million every year on snow removal and use about 950 maintenance trucks to do so.i And the State of Pennsylvania spent over $200 million on snow and ice expenditures for the 2019-2020 winter season.ii
Are you interested in selling winter related services or products to government agencies? In this article we will discuss ways to help you find business opportunities for the winter season on bidnet direct.
Tips on searching for winter related bids
When searching for the right bid opportunities, the first step is to know the exact keywords that relate to your business. Searching broader keywords, such as “winter” or “snow”, might give you the results of hundreds of bids that do not match to your business. Here are some exact keywords for common winter services that can give you an idea of how to search for matching bids.
Below are a few of the most recently closed winter related bids by participating agency members issuing solicitations on bidnet direct:
- HEAVY EQUIPMENT RENTAL - WINTER 2021-2022 SEASON (New York)
- Snow Plowing and Removal Services (Colorado)
- Snow and Ice Removal (Michigan)
How to receive matching winter related bids for your business
Setting up your category codes
Registered vendors on bidnet direct can receive matching solicitations from our participating buyers and get notifications of matching bids from other agencies. One key component to getting matching bid opportunities is to select the correct category codes. bidnet direct uses NIGP codes for category matching, so in order to get matching bid opportunities for winter related services, you need to identify the product and service codes related to what your business offers. Below are some NIGP codes that you can reference when searching for winter related category codes:
- 92971 Snow Melter Maintenance and Repair
- 07176 Snowmobiles
- 76558 Snow Blowers, Vehicle or Equipment Mounted
- 76006 Blades and Edges: Dozer, Grader, Scraper, Snow Plow, etc.
- 92976 Spreaders (Salt and Sand), Maintenance and Repair
If you’re already a registered vendor on bidnet direct, you can easily find matching categories by either your product name or using keywords within your bidnet direct organization profile. However, setting up your profile with the correct category codes for your business gives you more matching opportunities to go after.
Utilizing advanced search features
Using the “Saved Search” feature allows you to setup keywords that will automatically show up when you login. You can also use the advanced search features to drill down your results by location, NIGP category codes and more. To set-up your saved searches for winter related bids, you can try adding keywords like “snow removal” or any other keywords that are related to your business offerings. Then, utilize the filters and keyword search within the saved search section once logged in. For more tips about using saved search and advanced search features, you can read this article on how to use filters to search bids.
Enhanced Profile
bidnet direct also offers an Advertising Package that can help your profile stand-out to participating buyers by letting you add your logo, upload sell-sheets or brochures and even add a product/service video. This will give you an advantage to provide your business experience related to winter services to participating buyers.
Winter season is full of business opportunities despite the sometimes-harsh cold weather. If you are in the industry that provides goods and services during winter season, make sure to be on the lookout for potential bidding opportunities your business can go after. bidnet direct can help you can find matching bid opportunities for winter related products or services, so don’t forget to setup your saved search and correct category codes to get the right bids related to winter products and services.
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