Vendor Day - Suhl Germany

Vendor Day Suhl In 2023, the U.S. Army spent more than $117 billion worldwide on 200,000 civilian contracts, including numerous contracts in Germany for the five U.S. Army Garrisons (Ansbach, Bavaria, Rheinland-Pfalz, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden). Whether large, medium-sized, or small, regional companies play an important role in the U.S. military's procurement process. Against this backdrop, representatives of the U.S. Army in Germany will explain the contract award process and entry opportunities for Thuringian companies. time: 1000-1200.

Agenda:

TOP 1: Welcome by Ms. Courtney Mazzone, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig TOP 2: Overview of the types of contracts TOP 3: Introduction of the portal sam.gov as a central point of contact for government contracts TOP 4:

Q&A What: A hybrid (in person and online) workshop in German of approximately 2 hours for an audience of business owners/representatives in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony who are interested in learning about how to bid on government contracts with U.S. military bases in neighboring states. Colleagues from the Contracting Command could present the award system in German and would then be open to practical questions from interested companies.

(Optional: Including a short presentation from ISOA, to be discussed)

Who: 409th Contracting Command (workshop presenters), U.S. Forces Liaison Officers, U.S. ConGen Leipzig, ISOA (to discuss)

Where: Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK)

Südthüringen, Bahnhofstraße 4 – 8, 98527 Suhl When: April 4, time TBD, to be deconflicted with liberation ceremonies Why: This activity would make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous by helping the Contracting Command widen the circle of suppliers, increase competition, and potentially receive more advantageous bids on contracts; educating small business owners in eastern German states about contracting opportunities with the U.S. military for goods and services that cannot be supplied efficiently from the United States will reinforce the benefit to often skeptical local populations of the historically important role played by U.S. forces in the protection of NATO territory through deterrence, even as we work with Allies to ensure more robust contributions to those efforts.

Particularly in a part of Germany where the United States was portrayed for four decades as "the enemy" and where the 2+4 Agreement foresees no permanent stationing of U.S. forces, German partners have pointed to the potential for contracting opportunities as a practical way of demonstrating the importance and closeness of the U.S.-German relationship in a way that can ultimately contribute to greater support for U.S. foreign policy priorities.