Selling to Government & Public Sector
Federal MRO spend ~$15-25B/year (DLA TLS alone ~$2B/year on MRO classes). State and local MRO ~$30-50B/year. IIJA, IRA, and CHIPS Act adding $200B+ in infrastructure spending flowing through state and local PWs through 2031.
Federal direct: 6-18 months from first contact to first PO (vehicle dependency). Federal off existing schedule (GSA, DLA TLS): 30-90 days for task orders. State cooperative (NASPO): 60-120 days. Municipal direct: 30-90 days under simplified acquisition; 90-180 days for formal IFB/RFP. Re-competed IDIQs: plan 12-24 months out.
$2K-$25K micro-purchases (under simplified acquisition threshold of $250K federal, varies state/local). $25K-$500K typical task orders off IDIQ. $500K-$10M+ for multi-year base contracts. DLA TLS contracts can be $50M-$500M+ over 5 years.
Sub-segments inside Government & Public Sector
Federal Agencies
DoD ($800B+ budget, largest MRO buyer in the world via DLA), GSA (administers schedules across civilian agencies), VA (172 medical centers + 1,200 outpatient sites), USDA, USPS (31,000+ facilities), DOI, DOE, NASA, civilian agencies. Procurement runs through Contracting Officers (KO) with FAR-defined signature authority.
FAR governs every transaction. Federal fiscal year starts Oct 1. Continuing resolutions and shutdowns are a real disruption every year. Most MRO flows through GSA Schedule (commercial agencies) or DLA TLS (DoD MRO). Set-asides (8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB) are mandatory at certain thresholds. Every spend is FOIA-able.
State Agencies
DOTs (largest MRO buyer at state level — fleet, salt sheds, rest areas, signage shops), Department of General Services (DGS) for centralized procurement, state corrections (separate vertical), state health departments. Fiscal year varies (most July 1, some October 1, NY/TX April 1).
Each state has its own procurement code — California's PCC, Texas's TGC, NY State Finance Law — wildly different rules. NASPO ValuePoint is the dominant cross-state cooperative. State-level cooperatives (GovBuys, BidNet) run regional. Prevailing wage applies (state Davis-Bacon equivalents).
County & Municipal Government
3,000+ counties, 19,000+ municipalities. Public works departments (streets, water, parks, facilities), city/county fleet, building services. Fiscal year typically July 1; some October 1; some January 1. IIJA/IRA infrastructure money flowing through.
Most numerous, most accessible sub-segment. Public works director often wears 4 hats. Procurement done through city clerk or finance department in smaller municipalities; centralized purchasing in larger cities. OMNIA Public Sector and Sourcewell dominant cooperatives. Council meetings are public — every PO above threshold gets read aloud.
Tribal Nations
574 federally-recognized tribes. Tribal sovereign nations operate their own procurement codes, often with Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) preferences for Native-owned vendors and Native employees on contracts.
Different rules entirely — sovereign procurement. BIA-funded projects follow federal rules; tribal-funded projects follow tribal code. Buy Indian Act preferences. Casino/enterprise operations sometimes follow commercial procurement. Relationship-first culture; rushing destroys trust permanently.
Special Districts & Public Authorities
Water/wastewater districts, transit authorities, port authorities, airport authorities, library districts, fire districts. ~38,000 special districts nationally. Often hybrid governance — public board, semi-autonomous procurement.
Procurement rules sit between municipal and quasi-private. Authorities (Port Authority of NY/NJ, MTA, etc.) often run their own contracting offices independent of the host state. Capital programs are massive (transit, water) and run on multi-year IDIQ contracts.
Key personas you'll meet
5 researched personas for Government & Public Sector. Each one carries its own vocabulary, pain-point ranking, and discovery question bank — used to make every brief persona-specific.