Government contractors spend considerable funds on market research to determine how much government agencies buy of what they sell, who buys it, and how they buy it. This is a standard commercial market practice and one that can help contractors be more efficient in their business development efforts.  Unfortunately, the area of discerning government spending in many areas is much more “art” than “science”.  The most frequently used database, the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), will provide one set of results, while private sector organizations based on that information will provide others.  Run a comparison of GSA Schedule sales via their Schedule Sales Query and match that against FPDS numbers for the same search parameters and you’ll get different numbers as well.  Despite federal efforts at improving spend analysis, the fact is that there is no exact data on many items and services that the government buys.  Some of this is the result of the “human factor” where contracting officers must log in acquisition information to a FPDS or a specific agency system.  CO’s are not known for having a lack of work to do and its easy for them, as it is for anyone else, to make errors or skip over some data fields.  This can cause frustration among contractors.  Many experienced companies have, in fact, developed their own programs for analyzing and determining government spend in the market segments in which they do business.  These numbers may be the most accurate as there is a strong business motive to be as specific and detailed as possible.  Not all businesses, though, can afford to create their own data.  Until technology catches up with acquisition, many companies will have to make do with what’s publicly available.  This can be difficult for senior corporate management to understand, but to use one of our favorite quotes, “this is the business we’ve chosen”.