LA Contractor Connection Spring 2024 | Page 33

contracting opportunities , and that ’ s with commodities and services as well . Those were all the awards that we made under purchase orders and contracts . Of course , we , LA County , rely on you , our vendors , and really our partners to provide these critical services and goods county-wide to our constituents and us . If you are not already registered to do business with Los Angeles County , I ’ m going to talk to you about how to register and why to register .” She discussed the importance of vendor registration and described the step-by-step process of how to register .
Week 2 of the training session spotlighted the types of certifications available with LA County , the procurement types LA County uses in its contracting opportunities , how to identify them , and how to do business with the Department of Public Works – including job order contracts ( JOCs ) and bid form packages . Shuli Alvarez , a Small Business Counselor from the DEO ’ s Office of Small Business , provided an in-depth presentation about the certification process , what distinct types of certifications are offered , and small business counseling services offered by the DEO .
“ I really appreciate the amount of work that you [ Merriwether & Williams ] do with the businesses , not just walking them through the process .”
– Enrique Gonzalez , APEX Accelerator Supervisor , Office of Small Business , Department of Economic Opportunity , County of Los Angeles
CDABP TRAININGS
The third and final week featured a presentation about the services offered by the DEO ’ s APEX Accelerator program . The APEX Accelerator program provides technical assistance to businesses interested in selling products or services to federal , state , and local governments .
Speaking on the intricacies of government contracting and on the services provided by MWIS , Enrique Gonzalez , APEX Accelerator Supervisor from the DEO ’ s Office of Small Business , said , “ I wanted to give my salute to Merriwether and Williams and the amount of detail from one technical assistant provider to another . I really appreciate the amount of work that you do with the businesses , not just walking them through the process . You really become immersed in identifying what concerns and needs that businesses have with respect to even something as specific as a particular procurement opportunity , the
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