This Type of Coding Error Could Cost You Government Business

When you first established your business, you were assigned a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code to help the government understand the primary type of work you do and the industry in which you operate. Likewise, when you first sign up for a government bid notification service such as Periscope S2G, you’re asked to select the NIGP Codes that best classify the types of goods and/or services that your business offers. Both codes – though managed by different certifying bodies – help government agencies make eligibility determinations for procurement purposes, among other things.

Though you can’t do business with many federal or state government agencies in the U.S. without a NAICS code, you could technically conduct business activities with public sector entities without assigned NIGP Codes. But you shouldn’t, and here’s why:

• State and local agencies are always looking for new suppliers, and they may use NIGP Codes to quickly identify registered vendors by their particular specialty, trade or line of business. This has been particularly true lately as agencies have expanded their hunt for personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment and other COVID-19 supplies and started searching for IT solution providers that can aid with the digitalization of citizen services and workforce systems.  If you don’t have a code selected in your vendor profile, you could be overlooked as a potential candidate for a solicitation. 

• Your NIGP Code is one of the tools used to help bid notification services such as Periscope S2G identify relevant bid opportunities for your business. If you forget to add an NIGP Code when you set up your profile, or you don’t add all relevant codes, then you’re selling yourself short – and inadvertently shrinking your sales pipeline. Periscope S2G publishes 100,000+ new solicitations from government agencies each month in dozens of different categories and subcategories. Relying on keyword searches alone to sift through these listings will inadvertently cause you to overlook bid opportunities that could be a perfect match for your business.

In other words, taking a few minutes to add or update these classification codes in your Periscope S2G profile and state and local agency vendor accounts could generate a significant return on investment (ROI) by returning even more bid opportunities, or more relevant opportunities, to your inbox each day.

Need help fixing your codes in your Periscope S2G profile? Watch this video tutorial.

You can also contact our support team for assistance in updating your profile.