Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly DRI-WEFA), states that all levels of government (federal, state, and local) should see steady increases in the purchases of goods and services through the year 2009.

Vendors willing to make the commitment to sell to government can reap the benefits of this projected government spending.

By the same token, government agencies able to expand and modernize their procurement programs can reap the rewards of increased productivity, and a reduction in the costs of goods and services.

If you are a company looking to efficiently market your goods or services, increase sales and receive targeted sales opportunities, or if you are a government agency looking to simplify your procurement process and increase vendor competition, there exist plenty of opportunities in today’s online procurement marketplace.

Vendors: Consider Selling to Government

If you haven’t considered selling to government, you are missing out. With past events like the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the slowing down of the private sector economy, more companies are focusing on doing business with government agencies. Believe it or not, the most reliable component of the economy right now is the government.

The U.S. Federal Government is the largest buyer in the world, and state and local governments often make up a large percentage of their respective marketplaces In many cities, government employs more people and buys more products and services that any other entity.

Doing business with government isn’t just for corporate giants, either. The U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) helps to ensure that small businesses obtain a certain percentage of everything the government buys. And despite budget crunches in many municipalities, state and local government spending remains the largest in any single market in the nation.

Deciding whether to bid on a government contract can have far-reaching and long-term implications for companies. It is crucial to reach the right decision – a decision which contributes to the health of an organization. If a company decides to bid, it is creating an opportunity to make money, enhance its reputation, gain experience and cement a relationship with a major new customer.

Where do Vendors Start?

There are literally tens of thousands of purchasing agencies to deal with, and it is difficult to know where to begin. Unfortunately, bidding for lucrative government contracts is a highly decentralized process. Companies used to have to be on an agency’s bidding list in order to be notified of a purchasing opportunity.

Now, with the expansion of electronic government and recent government initiatives encouraging agencies to implement online procurement systems, many agencies are making the move to e-procurement. However, even with this move to online purchasing, identifying targeted bids can still be very challenging for companies.

Finding and monitoring bid notices is difficult because they are posted in so many different places, and often not well organized. Your business can spend a great deal of time surfing from one site to the next trying to track down the right bid opportunities.

In one area of government bidding, however, an effort to create a government-wide point of entry web site has resulted in an Internet purchasing marketplace called FedBizOpps. As of October 1, 2001 the Federal government requires federal agencies to use this system to post all their opportunities expected to exceed $25,000.

Although no such central web site exists for the over 87,000 state and local government agencies in the country, there are services available that match a company’s criteria with agency bids on the Internet, then send this information directly to them via email.

The benefits of using a bid matching service are detailed by Tammy Axlund, a Marketing Manager with Midland Resources who says, “(Using a Bid) service has helped us build a national database to keep track of the industry happenings throughout the country, rather than just our region. We have also been able to win a few bids of which we had no prior knowledge.”
Similarly, Teresa Eastman, the Inside Sales Manager for Accurate Safety Distributors, Inc. states “I no longer have to spend my days looking for bids individually, a needle in a haystack so to speak, instead (the bid service) does it all and sends them to me daily.”

While no service can provide your company with every bid opportunity from every state and local government agency, bid matching services greatly reduce a vendor’s time and money spent, allowing for additional time to be used to respond to bids.

e-Procurement Benefits for Government: Save time, Save money

In the recent past most agencies had to copy and mail their bid packages to any vendor who requested them, even though many would decide not to bid. Using an online e-procurement system allows agencies to simply provide vendors an electronic notice of their opportunities. This results in a tremendous savings in postage, paper, and time.

There have also been new efforts to simplify the entire procurement process for government agencies. For example, many agencies are having procurement systems customized for them using the Internet, driven by the need to disclose. Agencies used to be required to advertise all their requests for bid in the newspaper. But in recent years, the statutes in many states changed to permit advertising on the Web instead – which meets purchasing departments’ requirements to make contract information public.

While posting bid information may seem like a lot of work, it isn’t a duplicate process for government agencies because their sites serve a dual role as a vehicle for disclosure, and as their primary document archive. And usually only a minimal staff is required to keep the site up to date.

Karen Storm, director of Purchasing for Albany County, NY, explains that since joining the Capital Region Purchasing Group, an e-procurement system in upstate NY, “?our municipality has streamlined the bid distribution and vendor notification processes. This has saved us hours of repetitive clerical tasks and has significantly reduced our copying and mailing costs. Our vendors love the system because it provides them immediate access to our information at little or no cost.”

The City of Rochester Hills, Michigan, reports similar benefits, explaining that they have realized a savings of over $355,000 by posting approximately 85 solicitations from January to June of 2004 on their e-procurement system, the Michigan Inter-Governmental Trade Network. And, the Santa Rosa County School District Purchasing Department, which has been using an e-procurement system since the fall of 2000, says “The biggest benefit we have realized is that we no longer have to manage our bidder’s list. Our old bidder’s list had grown to over 20,000 vendors, most of whom never responded to solicitations. Managing the list was a burden that we do not miss!”

Many companies have been working with Purchasing Departments, to create customized e-procurement systems like the ones described above, that simplify and expedite the entire procurement process. And the best part is, they do this free of charge.

E-procurement systems provide many benefits for vendors as well. Vendors simply register themselves online with a system and create a profile specific to their products and/or services. Vendors then receive notices instantly by fax or e-mail every time bids are issued that match their profile and are given the ability to respond to quotes by fax or e-mail.

Systems like this can save companies significant amounts of time while increasing sales, it’s also a good way for tax dollars to help grow businesses of all sizes and generating new profit centers. At the same time, government agencies benefit by decreasing their spending, gaining more control and simplifying the procurement process.

What are you waiting for? The new era of “e-procurement” is here, and it has significantly streamlined the entire bidding process for both buyers and sellers alike.

Christina DeMers is the Marketing Coordinator for BidNet, a firm that has been providing services for both government buyers and their vendors, for almost 20 years. More information about BidNet can be found at their web site: http://www.bidnet.com or by calling: (800)-677-1997.

The concept of this is for you to offer a subscription type product as an upsell or backend product. For example, if you’re selling an ebook for $37 offer a subscription to a related e-zine for $9.95 a month. Instead of an e-zine, it could be monthly updated information for the ebook.

It’s not just for e-books, you can make it work for any product or service you sell. Some subscriptions that might work for your product could be:

• e-mail/telephone consulting

• a private or members only web site

• print newsletters/magazines

• product updates

• subscription warrantees

• product insurance

• e-zine/webzines

• the ideas are endless…..

The subscription product should be related to the product or service you’re selling. You could charge a weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription for the upsell product. You could sell your main product and upsell product as a total subscription package deal. You wouldn’t charge the one-time price for your main product; you would just charge the basic subscription price of the upsell product.

The major benefits are that you don’t have to keep creating new upsell and back end products. Once you get enough subscribers you won’t have to sell anymore, you just keep generating income from your current subscribers. You would only have to sell again if you lost a lot of subscribers.

Microsoft provides an useful tool to genuine Microsoft Office 2007 users that allows them to export save an Office document in Acrobat PDF or Microsoft XPS format. (See how to export to PDF in Office 2007) To download these supplement utility, especially the ultra popular Save as PDF add-in for Office 2007, together with Save as PDF or XPS and Save as XPS add-ins, the genuine validation test will be done. Here’s the direct download links to the above PDF and XPS Office 2007 add-ins which do not need validation to be done. Useful especially for Firefox users.

2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF and XPS : SaveAsPDFandXPS.exe

2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF : SaveAsPDF.exe

2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as XPS : SaveAsXPS.exe

The download, after installed, will allow exporting and saving to the XPS format in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs, and also allow sending files as e-mail attachments in the XPS format in a subset of these programs.

ฐานเงินเดือนของงานตำแหน่งต่างๆ ในไทย ประจำปี 2007

THAILAND SALARY GUIDE 2007

Download : http://w15.easy-share.com/12049141.html

Residents affected by noise pollution around Suvarnabhumi airport filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court, asking it to ban air traffic at the airport between 10pm and 5am.

About 50 residents went to the court on Wednesday morning, saying that the period should be their rest time.

Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Aviation Department, admitted that Thai economics especially aviation business will be greatly affected if the court grants the residents emergency protection and bans the air traffic between the time.

Airport of Thailand (AOT) chief executive Chana U-sathaporn said he was worried.. The matter will be brought into a board meeting on Thursday for urgent discussion.

Air Marshal Chana insisted AOT is not neglecting the complaints of residents, adding that it is willing to pay them compensation if new studies show they should have higher payment.

He said AOT has set aside a budget of about 3 to 4 billion baht or so to cover the compensation cost.

I can understand Thai Airways International’s refusal to return to Don Mueang. Their investment at Suvarnabhumi is heavy. On the other hand, I can understand that a split between domestic and international flights is highly impractical for travellers.

I also realise that many travellers would love to use Don Mueang again. I have used Suvarnabhumi once and all I can say is that it is hugely impractical in all respects. Parking is far away, walking distances in the building are enormous, architecture is cold and the long concrete corridor near the gates is claustrophobia-inducing. Reminds me of a bomb shelter.

As Suvarnabhumi is doomed to be a white elephant, it would be a smart move to return all passenger operations to an updated and improved Don Mueang and convert Suvarnabhumi to a cargo-only airport. This would be a very logical solution as the Eastern Seaboard is not only highly industrialised, but is also home to Thailand’s largest deep-sea port not far away.

W STREULI

———-

The stem cell debate

I read with interest the article on “The stem cell debate” and, once again, the major ethical and moral issue in the stem cell debate is allowing people without basic scientific knowledge to write about stem cells.

From the article, it is intentionally unclear what type of stem cells we are talking about! Is it embryonic stem cells, fetal stem cells or adult stem cells from the person’s own bone marrow, own umbilical cord blood, or own peripheral blood?

The first two categories of embryonic and fetal stem cells respectively raise ethical and moral concerns, and if the article is about those, then it should be clearly stated from the beginning. At all times when the public is addressed, the author must clearly define what kinds of stem cells are being debated to avoid confusion and conscious or unconscious misleading of the readers – unless the aim of the article is indeed to create confusion!

We develop from one single totipotent stem cell and our human body harbours adult stem cells since the first day of our lives and into long age. Those adult stem cells participate in the homeostasis of all our tissues and organs, aiding and promoting repair and regeneration. Initially and immediately at birth, blood from the umbilical cord can be collected and adult stem cells can be separated and cryo-preserved in the form of umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells. Those UCB stem cells are the source most readily available worldwide without pain or risk for the involved parties, most cost-effective and without ethical considerations.

Other stem cell sources available throughout life are the bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) as a G-CSF stimulated extension of the former. Today, an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 hematopoietic stem cell transplants (blood or marrow transplants BMT), using predominantly autologous (patient’s own) and related allogeneic (from within the patient’s family) rather than unrelated allogeneic (unrelated donor), are performed annually worldwide to treat patients with life-threatening malignant and non-malignant diseases. Sixty per cent of all bone marrow transplants worldwide are autologous (patient’s own stem cells) and similarly 80% of all allogeneic transplants come from within the greater family of the patient.

Cord blood stem cells have now surpassed the use of bone marrow and peripheral blood according to the April 2007 issue of the British Journal of Hematology. In Thailand, 80% of all transplants in children between 1997 and 2005 were either autologous or related allogeneic; that means either the patient’s own stem cells or stem cells from within the family – the reason being tissue compatibility.

Our bone marrow is a magnificent factory regularly and constantly renewing the constituents of our blood system throughout life and increasingly appears to be a reservoir of immature cells that possibly take part in various regenerative and repair functions in our body.

Decreased levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC)/CD34+ stem cells are now recognised as important indicators of cardiovascular disease and may have initiating roles in the pathogenesis of all diabetic complications and cardiovascular disease, and seem to convey cumulative cardiovascular risks better than Body Mass Index, diastolic blood pressure and total cholesterol.

Those observations inevitably and intuitively lead us to innovative therapeutic thoughts. Will modulation of EPC/CD34+ levels and function aid us to overcome the clinical needs and challenges in the 21st century created by changes in longevity and lifestyle, notably diabetes, cardio- and cerebrovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s) and joint ailments? In that case, is replacement with autologous ex vivo expanded/enriched EPC or pharmacological stimulation of the endogenous cells the best way to go?

The former would be possible if previous autologous storage at birth or at a young age before the development of the disease, was available to avoid the profound impairment of EPC in established diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The latter could happen in two ways, one being physical exercise and administration of ACE inhibitors, statins and glitazones all known to stimulate EPC generation. Alternatively, classic G-CSF stimulation, autologous PBSC collection and consequent implantation around the areas needing regeneration and vasculogenesis could happen in both established disease or with previously stored autologous healthy and non-diseased PBSCs.

Future research on all the above-mentioned parameters will show us the way to proceed. Cord blood stem cells are now increasingly viewed as the capital ingredient for future cellular therapies in regenerative medicine, and may revolutionise the way we treat our society’s major ailments and medical threats without causing any heated ethical debates.

The discussion should focus on early parental education regarding available alternatives and on the ethical dilemma created by the possibility of discarding cord blood stem cells rather than on whether or who should store it.

DR KOSTAS I PAPADOPOULOS

Specialist in Endocrinology and Diabetes

MD, PhD in Immunology and Endocrinology

Greetings!

Friends and relitives ask us all the time ” How do sell from your website?” and no doubt you want to know as well. Over the next two issues we will be covering this very thing! We decided to divide it into two camps – tangibles and non-tangibles. Feel free to create a hybrid if you are daring, however, for the sake of simplicity – both for your visitors as well as your planning figure out which of the two is applicable and focus your efforts as needed.

Tangibles:

If you are selling products, it needs to be organized in some fashion. Be it by subject , or alphabet, or some other method such as price or season as an example.

Lets say you’re selling jewelry. You want to make it easy for your visitors to find what they’re looking for first. You should have different sections i.e. rings, necklaces, watches, etc. You could have various designers alphabetized. It can also be broken down into price range aimed at a target audience. Or maybe target the sophisticed jewelry shopper who’s looking for summer items or evening wear.

The idea is that it’s easy for them to find what they want and make a buying decision, then get on with their life. They will remember that the next time they need a particular item.

Non-Tangibles:

We recommend a clear organised presentation for non-tangibles as well. Because you are not dealing with a concrete product, information and services can be precived as being a bit nebulous and therefore suspect.

As such, you want to make it very obvious what you are offering and how the client will benefit. Be precise. As in everything, keep it as simple as possible.

The less work on their behalf, the quicker they can come to a buying decision. Examples, testimonials and references work to establish an air of trust and security, thus motivating the visitor to sign on with you.

The Sale:

The mechanism in wich the money goes from them to you and the product then gets into their hands, is of course of prime importance.

In regards to payment, the obvious choice is of course credit cards. It’s quick and easy on both you and your customers. Credit card payment is widly used and accepted.

And this can be set up realitively easy by you. There are commpanies online that are happy to do this for you for a piece of every transaction.

A small price to pay when considering that the sale may be lost due to too much trouble on your visitors behalf otherwise. 80% of something is better then 100% of nothing.

The Support:

I like to include extras. Links to other sites, pertinate information, or some other reason or benefit for the visitor to return to your site.

You do a good job with your site and they’ll browse around and maybe even make that impulse buy AFTER they get what they were looking for in the first place.

About The Author

Written by Corinna Gittens-Arnold Zalca, co-authored by Leron Gittens-Arnold
Zalca, your home business resource and information site.

http://www.zalca.com

zalca@zalca.com

While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the “abandoned shopping cart problem” continues to wreak havoc on online sales. Recently I judged a raftload of sites for the Webby Awards (my second time) and for the Inc. magazine Web Awards, as well as for my own clients. Here are the five irritants and obstacles that most frequently disrupt the visitor’s shopping experience at e-commerce sites.

Surf to Google and perform a search on “Internet Merchant Account”. The results are staggering (472,000 results!) If you have created a web based business and need to accept credit card payments, your choices are limitless. Before you partner with a provider, take time to understand the different components of internet credit card processing, and know what to look for in a merchant provider.

How It Works

Accepting credit card payments through your web site actually requires multiple components. Between a paying customer and your bank account, three layers exist:

Payment Gateway – This is the code that will transmit a customer’s order to and from an internet merchant account provider. The payment gateway provides you the ability to accept customer billing information (credit card number, credit card type, expiration date, and payment amount) and the necessary validation steps that must be followed before the credit card is actually billed.

Internet Merchant Account – A Merchant Account is an account with a financial institution or bank, which enables you to accept credit card payments from your clients. The payment gateway actually transmits the billing information to the internet merchant account provider. Unfortunately, most local banks do not provide internet merchant account capability.

The main reason why most local financial institutions or banks do not want to provide online merchant accounts is because transactions conducted over the Internet are totally different from face to face transactions where a signature is required to authorize the purchase. This makes online transactions prone to credit card fraud. Fraud protection should be one of your primary considerations when choosing an internet merchant account provider.

Web Site - Regardless of which merchant provider and gateway service you choose, your web site will need to integrate with your service providers. Most providers include detailed web integration instructions.

How Much Does It Cost

Understanding the total costs of your merchant provider can be tricky. Remember my Google example – there are more merchant account providers than there are people looking for internet merchant accounts so ask questions and be picky! Typically, an internet merchant account will have three types of costs:

• Up Front Application Fees

• On Going Fixed Fee

• Discount Rate

• Fixed Transaction Fee

• Termination Fees

• Miscellaneous Fees

Let us discuss each type of cost:

Up Front Application Fees

Many internet merchant accounts will require an up front application fee. This fee, supposedly, is to cover their costs for processing your application. In case you choose not to open an internet merchant account, they still cover their initial costs. Although common, many providers waive these fees and I recommend that you choose a provider that does not require an up front fee.

On Going Fixed Fee

Most all internet merchant providers require a monthly fixed fee or “statement fee” as it is commonly named, which is simply another way to cover their costs and make money. You will be hard pressed to find a provider that does not require this type of fee on a monthly basis. However, do not choose an internet merchant account that requires more than $10 per month. Additionally, most internet merchant providers require a monthly minimum (usually $25). The bottom line is that you will be paying at least $25 per month (on top of the monthly statement fee) for your account.

Discount Rate

Usually, the discount rate will be between 2 and 4 percent. The discount rate is the sales commission the provider earns on each sale. For example, if the discount rate offered is 3%, and you receive a sale over your web site for $20, you will owe 60 cents to your internet merchant provider.

Fixed Transaction Fee

Usually between $0.20 and $0.30, the fixed transaction fee is the fixed fee portion of each sale. Unlike the discount rate, the fixed transaction fee is the same for every transaction. Whether you get a $1 sale or a $100 sale, the transaction fee will be the same.

Termination Fee

A bit more hidden in the small print, a termination fee can apply if you cancel your merchant account within a specified period of time (usually within one year). But beware, some merchant providers require a three year commitment!

Miscellaneous Fees

If a customer requests a refund and they want their credit card credited, an internet merchant provider will charge you a separate fee (usually between $10 – $20). Read the contract carefully, as other special fees may apply.

Putting It All Together

Now that the different fees have been explained, let us look at an example set of transactions to help understand what an internet merchant account may cost your business on a monthly basis.

I have created a simple formula to help you calculate your monthly charges:

Total Charges = Statement Fee + Number of Transactions x (Average Sale x Discount Rate + Fixed Transaction Fee) + (Number of Chargebacks x Chargeback Fee)

For example, let us see you sell widgets over the internet. The sales price for each widget is $10. You typically have 100 sales per month and about 5 people request refunds (chargebacks). For this example, let us assume you have signed up with Jones&Jones internet merchant account services and have the following terms:

Discount Rate – %2.5

Statement Fee – $10

Fixed Transaction Fee – $0.30

Chargeback Fee – $15

Using my formula above, your monthly Jones&Jones charges will be:

Total Charges = 10 + 100 x (10 x .025 + 0.3) + (5 x 15) = $140

You can calculate your monthly sales revenue by multiplying your sales volume by your price:

Monthly Sales Revenue = 100 x $10 = $1000

Your internet merchant provider is costing you %14 or your total sales.

Making Your Decision

Before you choose and internet merchant provider, understand all of the cost components. Use your current or projected sales data to forecast what your internet merchant account costs will be. Planning ahead can save you time and money.

About The Author

Andy Quick is co-founder of Findmyhosting.com (http://www.findmyhosting.com), a free web hosting directory offering businesses and consumers a hassle free way to find the right hosting plan for their needs. Feel free to contact Andy at andy@findmyhosting.com in case you have any questions or comments regarding this article.

The latest profit report for the Airports of Thailand (AOT) shows that fiscal year 2006/07 wasn’t as good as the last, with 90% fall in profit largely due to depreciation and massive maintenance costs.

Profit for the year ending on the 30th of September, 2007 came in at THB1.09 billion (USD33 million) sharply down when compared to the same period ending in 2006 which achieved THB10.5 billion.

This lukewarm result came even though AOT recorded a 20% surge in revenue profits, which were boosted from charging airlines more in airport fees.

But any gains made in that area where negated due to costs lifting by a whopping 91%.

According to a statement made by AOT, this was largely attributed to depreciation and maintenance at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

News of the smaller profit saw AOT shares fall by 0.86% on close of trading on the day of the announcement.