CDW-G Issues RFP Seeking Small Business Partners

May 2, 2006; 05:55 AM
HERNDON, Va. - CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDWC) and leading source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, announced the immediate availability of a request for proposals (RFP) soliciting small businesses to partner with CDW-G on federal business opportunities.

Successful small businesses will join CDW-G's Small Business Partner Consortium, which was established in 2003 to help small businesses win IT contracts with federal agencies by allowing the small businesses to use CDW-G's e-commerce, service and distribution capabilities.

"The double-digit increase in business going to the Small Business Partner Consortium members between 2005 and 2006 highlights the success of this approach to partnership in the federal IT marketplace," said Kevin Adams, vice president of program management, CDW Government, Inc. "The consortium enables our small business partners to expand their reach into the federal IT marketplace, while helping federal agencies fulfill their goals for contracting with small businesses. CDW-G, in turn, expands its relationships with a group of outstanding IT services companies and increases its federal contracts base."

The Small Business Partner Consortium currently includes 15 federal members, which can bid for government contracts with CDW-G as a part of their team. Federal agencies including the Air Force, Centers for Disease Control and National Renewable Energy Laboratory have taken advantage of the consortium to purchase technology products and services.

Through this latest RFP, CDW-G intends to enhance the consortium by awarding new partnership agreements to several small businesses. Under the agreements, the small businesses may issue purchase orders to CDW-G to fulfill the requirements of federal contracts.

The Small Business Act set goals for federal contracting with small businesses. For example, 3 percent of prime contract dollars are supposed to go to companies owned by veterans who were disabled in the course of their military service, and 5 percent of prime contract dollars are supposed to go to small disadvantaged businesses. Overall, 23 percent of prime contract dollars are supposed to go to small businesses.

In fiscal year 2004, more than 23 percent of federal prime contracting dollars were awarded to small businesses, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA). Small businesses did $69.2 billion in business with the federal government as prime contractors that year.

CDW-G's RFP and any amendments to the RFP are posted online for download at www.cdwg.com/smallbizrfp. Small businesses are encouraged to monitor this Web site to ensure that their proposals meet the requirements of the RFP and any amendments. Responses are due by 4:30 p.m. Central Time on May 19, 2006.

About CDW-G

CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDWC), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a trusted technology advisor and solutions provider to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as to educational institutions at all levels. CDW-G responds with a sense of urgency to customer technology needs, delivering best-in-class solutions from top-name brands such as Apple, Cisco, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Symantec and Toshiba. CDW-G focuses on building strong customer relationships with its knowledgeable account managers and technical specialists who provide extensive pre- and post-sales support.

For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, services and solutions, call 800-863-4239, or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.

About the CDW-G Small Business Partner Consortium

The Small Business Partner Consortium was established in 2003 to help small businesses win IT contracts with federal, state and local government agencies by allowing the small businesses to use CDW-G's e-commerce, service and distribution capabilities. Vendors go through a competitive bidding process to be selected for the consortium. Successful bidders sign an annual CDW-G partnership contract that is not limited to any specific project. As consortium members pursue government contracts, they work directly with the customer and involve CDW-G when they need products to support their service engagements or when they want to offer their customers CDW-G's many value-adding offerings, such as custom PC configuration, asset tagging and software license tracking. CDW-G also refers business to member companies and conducts sales and marketing activities with consortium members.