Getting ready to make your bid
CCC's Prime Contractor Service
Receivables Discounting
CCC's fee structure
When should CCC be involved in my dealings with foreign governments?
Take the next step with CCC
Getting ready to make your bid
How do I get more information on this opportunity and make my bid?
Procurement practises differ greatly between international governments.
CCC recommends that you take advantage of its close relationships with Canadian representatives abroad at the Canadian Consulates, High Commissions, and Embassies in the country in which you wish to do business in order to take the next step.
There are so many terms and conditions - how do I complete a proposal?
Canadian companies who have never dealt with a foreign government in the past are often surprised with the number of terms and conditions that they include in their opportunities. While many more terms and conditions do apply in this situation than with most commercial contracts, they can be interpreted fairly easily with a little assistance.
Who can I speak to about my opportunity with foreign governments?
Contact CCC and get our experienced contracting professionals on your team, applying their expertise to help you pursue your opportunity.
You can start by contacting Lisa Rhoades at 1-800-748-8191 to get more information, or to assist you in determining which of our services could help you pursue your opportunity.
How do I prepare my company to do business with foreign governments?
Complying with international standards
Within some opportunities it may be required that your company comply with certain International Organization for Standardization (ISO) international standards. There is a time factor to being certified, so we recommend that you visit the ISO web site to begin investigating the required standard for your opportunity.
Responding to your opportunity in the language requested
When responding to solicitations with some foreign governments, you may be required to respond in the language of that country, where all documentation will have to be translated. This is more often a requirement for governments of the European Union, though you will sometimes be given a choice as to which language you may respond in. Be sure to read the solicitation document closely for such a language requirement, and allocate time before the solicitation closing date for translation of any documents.
Getting security clearance for your company and/or its employees
In your export contract, your company and/or its employees may be required to have security clearance granted to them by the Canadian & International Industrial Security Directorate (CIISD), an organization under Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). This is more common in aerospace and defence contracts.
Visit CIISD's web site to learn more about the security screening process. You should keep in mind that there is a time element to getting security clearance, and that the security screening of an organization requires sponsorship from a Canadian Federal Government department or agency.
CCC's Prime Contractor Service
CCC signs a contract with a foreign government buyer and a contract with the Canadian exporter. As the intermediary, CCC ensures that the contract will be completed according to the conditions of the agreement and flows the contractual obligations down to the Canadian exporter.
The result is a secure government-to-government contract on the best possible terms and conditions for all parties concerned. In addition, CCC manages the cycle of payments from the foreign government buyer to the Canadian exporter in order to establish and maintain a predictable and timely payment schedule.
CCC's Prime Contractor Service allows you not only to take advantage of all of the project promotion, bid preparation, contract structuring and negotiation, and contract monitoring and administration services, but also provides your buyer with a government-backed guarantee of contract performance.
When CCC acts as Prime Contractor, you must submit your response to CCC, as well as a full pricing proposal if possible. CCC analyzes the bid, determining your technical ability to do the job, your company's managerial and financial stability, and in some instances the reasonableness of the price, and your ability to deliver or complete the bid. This process assists CCC to support your bid.
Once CCC is satisfied with your offer, we will issue you a letter of support. This means that the Government of Canada is stating that if this offer is accepted, it guarantees performance of the contract at the price quoted and within the delivery time frame, minimizing or eliminating any risk evaluation concerns the buyer may have in dealing with a Canadian company.
If the offer is accepted, the buyer awards the contract to CCC, which in turn sub-contracts 100% to you by issuing a Domestic Contract. This is particularly advantageous for smaller firms: in spite of the fact that the product or service is being exported, the receivable remains domestic and is with CCC, and not with a distant buyer. Having your receivable remain domestic is often required in order for financial institutions to consider it to be an asset. Foreign receivables are frequently deemed by financial institutions to have little value, making your finances appear less favourable.
You perform in accordance with the terms and conditions of the domestic contract, and then bill CCC. Subsequently, CCC pays you, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract, billing and collecting from the buyer itself.
This service may be available to you based on CCC's fee-for-service, and includes the following activities to help you win the opportunity on the best possible terms and manage your project:
- Issue a Letter of Introduction at your request.
- Issue a Letter of Reference (for inclusion in your proposal) at your request.
- Issue a Letter of Support (usually brought forward at negotiations).
- In-country buyer briefing (to introduce your prospective buyer to CCC).
- Sign Prime Contract with buyer.
- Issue Domestic Contract with your company.
- Management of delivery of performance milestones by your company.
- Management of Performance acceptance from buyer.
- Process all payments in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.
If you or your buyer is not familiar with CCC and its services, we can also provide you with a CCC Package.
Receivables Discounting
Canadian companies, having receivables on a contract with CCC, have access to immediate payments for their invoices through Receivables Discounting. This allows you to meet your immediate financial obligations without increasing your debt.
If you have a contract with CCC, have delivered on the contract, the goods have been accepted and your buyer's risk is satisfactory, Receivables Discounting may be the solution for you to avoid the cash flow waiting game. For more details, please contact your project manager at CCC.
CCC's fee structure
How does CCC's fee structure work?
There are two portions to the fees that apply to CCC's services: a variable cost for any pre-contract activities including Project Promotion, Bid Preparation, and Contract Structuring and Negotiation services required, and a fixed cost for the Post-contract Award, Contract Monitoring and Administration services required.
When CCC assumes the role of Prime Contractor, the variable costs are calculated taking into account a number of conditions. This can include such things as contract duration and complexity. More intangible measurements of the contract environment are also considered. These include: geo-political risk, company management experience, the product to be exported, the ratio of the size of the contract to company equity, and references from international governments. Finally, it is determined whether it is likely that a CCC representative will have to travel to meet the buyer, and if so, on how many occasions.
Why does CCC charge me to use its services?
In order to respond to the expressed needs of clients and to maintain our capacity to serve exporters, CCC has implemented a more commercial, value-based approach to delivering and pricing its services.
CCC employs a team of export contract professionals who have specialized knowledge of the area of international business that you are pursuing, and would be pleased to apply their expertise to help you with your project. Charging for our services ensures that CCC employees will continue to be able to deliver superior service to consistently meet your expectations.
When should CCC be involved in my dealings with foreign governments?
CCC builds win-win export deals. We can improve your contract terms and conditions, and lower the costs of doing business.
How can we help you save money when contracting internationally? When CCC assumes the role of Prime Contractor:
- We'll work to negotiate a contract that excludes or reduces requirements for you to purchase performance bonds from your bank.
- CCC will process your invoice in accordance with the Domestic Contract.
- You'll save on contract management costs with CCC monitoring and administering your project.
- Both you and your buyer will benefit from our government-backed guarantee of contract performance.
Contact us for help when:
- You've identified a sale involving a foreign government, international organization or private sector buyer, and you're interested in pursuing the opportunity.
- Your products or services are not well known to the buyer, and you need the credibility of the Government of Canada to make the sale because your customer would like the added reassurance that the contract will be completed according to its terms and conditions.
- You're concerned about the buyer's terms, such as the requirement for performance bonds.
- Your buyer might be interested in a government-to-government transaction for your product or service.
- You need help understanding foreign government procurement procedures and regulations.
- You're concerned about the complexity of a sale, and need practical advice.
Take the next step with CCC
To put the power of Canada behind your export sales, contact CCC and get our experienced contracting professionals on your team, applying their expertise to help you with your opportunity.
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