Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GSA announces plans to consolidate MAS contracts and asks for industry feedback

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The General Services Administration is conducting market research for its planned consolidation of the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program.  Earlier this month, GSA publicly announced the new single solicitation format, including streamlined terms and conditions, and its intention to collect feedback from government contractors in the industry.  According to GSA, the consolidation is part of its two-year modernization process for the program that began in November of 2018.  The consolidated MAS solicitation is scheduled for release later this year.  And if you have concerns or suggestions for GSA on this significant consolidation, there is still time for your input.

On June 7, GSA publicized its plan to restructure the MAS Program by issuing a news release on GSA.gov and posting an RFI to FBO.gov.  GSA announced that it intends to streamline the federal acquisition process by consolidating its 24 MAS into a single schedule for products, services, and solutions. It hopes to complete the new consolidated schedule, which it calls “Phase One” of the project, during this fiscal year.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon Blog

GSA issues draft solicitation ahead of awards on new e-commerce portals

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The General Services Administration issued a draft solicitation Tuesday seeking feedback on proposed requirements for its forthcoming e-commerce portals program.

A multiple-award proof of concept — for sites similar to Amazon, Overstock or Jet.com and required by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act — is expected later this year and will modernize how agencies buy commercial products outside of existing contracts.

GSA estimates $6 billion in open-market purchases are made on government-issued credit cards, but the pilot will begin with a subset of agencies and a $10,000 spending limit on any one order.  Agency officials have asked Congress to raise that micro-purchase threshold to $25,000 for the five-year pilot to better evaluate streamlined buying.

Continue reading at:  Fedscoop

The future of COTS procurement: Top 10 questions from GSA’s section 846 phase 2 report

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On May 2, 2019, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) finally released their Phase 2 Implementation Report (the “Phase 2 Report”) for “Procurement Through E-Commerce Portals,” as directed by Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (“FY 2018 NDAA”).

GSA/OMB offered a sneak preview of the Phase 2 Report at an Industry Day held on December 12, 2018, during which GSA/OMB revealed their intent to proceed with a proof of concept contract utilizing only the E-Marketplace model. Industry pushback against a single model proof of concept was both quick and severe and, coupled with the lengthy delay issuing the Phase 2 Report, many wondered whether GSA/OMB were reevaluating their proposed approach.

Much to the dismay of E-Commerce and E-Procurement portal providers, GSA/OMB stayed the course.  Their Phase 2 Report included two primary conclusions: (1) testing the E-Marketplace model exclusively during the proof of concept phase is the most practical approach, and (2) raising the Micro-Purchase Threshold (“MPT”) to $25,000 for 5 years exclusively for purchases made through the approved portals is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the proof of concept.

While the Phase 2 Report provides these two concrete conclusions, ultimately, the Report raises more questions than answers. And what better way to address these than a good old-fashioned Top 10 List.  So, without further ado, here’s our Top 10 List of questions from the Phase 2 Report…

Continue reading at:  The National Law Review

An inside look at GSA’s federal marketplace strategy

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In a Federal News Network podcast, Emily Murphy, administrator of the General Services Administration, shares her vision for the agency’s Federal Marketplace Strategy (FMS).

During the podcast, Murphy outlines the four cornerstone initiatives (4C’s) of FMS:

  • MAS Consolidation
  • Commercial Platforms
  • Catalog Management
  • Contract Writing System

Murphy also provides an update on customer agencies growing use of GSA’s procurement portfolio, including the MAS, IT GWACs and OASIS.

Finally, she gives us a preview of the Federal Acquisition Service Training Conference scheduled for April 14-16, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.  FAST 2020 is a national training conference for the federal acquisition workforce, industry partners and customer agencies.

Listen to the podcast at:  Federal News Network

Why contractor past performance data is becoming both more, less valuable

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When the General Services Administration released the $65 billion Alliant 2 governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services back in June 2016, it was one of the first major procurement efforts to put a premium on past performance.

As part of the self-scoring approach to Alliant 2, GSA determined that 40 percent of the evaluation points would be on how vendors have performed on previous and similar work with the government.  At the time, industry analysts praised GSA for building on this self-scoring approach.  Now three years later, the self-scoring approach where past performance is a significant evaluation factor has grown in popularity.

At the same time, vendors and federal procurement officials alike heed a common call that the current approach to obtaining past performance is problematic and needs to be rethought.

“As the government moves to buying more services and solutions, things are getting more subjective and you want to be able to do a better job of motivating contractors to do more,” said Jim Williams, a former federal executive with GSA, the IRS and the Homeland Security Department, and now a principal with Williams Consulting, LLC and an advisor for GovConRx.  “The forces are coming together to say vendor past performance is a valuable tool.  But it’s not working as it should because it’s too burdensome and not as accurate as it should be.  No one wants to throw it out.  We just want to fix it.”

Experts say the current system, the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), takes too much time to fill out, lacks important details and isn’t as accurate as it needs to be.

“The time and effort to draft CPARS evaluations is too much, and with most agency contracting staffs pressed to do more with less, that gets pushed out further, especially if there is a need to justify ratings over satisfactory,” said Mike Smith, a former DHS director of strategic sourcing and now executive vice president at GovConRx.  “There needs to be some way to justify anything over satisfactory that is not so hard to track down all the information so it becomes less cumbersome.  Contractors also are not actively engaged in the documentation and support of the ratings.  That has to change too, especially as agencies are paying a lot more attention to ratings.  We have to figure out how to make sure past performance ratings are not done in haste.”

Smith said on average, depending on the type of procurement, it could take a contracting officer a few minutes to a few hours to write an in-depth CPARS review.

New data compiled by GovConRx shows the value of CPARS is dropping dramatically.

Continue reading at:  Federal News Network

Save the date: GSA to host FAST conference April 14-16, 2020 in Atlanta

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During the Coalition’s Spring Training Conference last week, Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, announced that the agency will be hosting a Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) Conference on April 14-16, 2020, in Atlanta.

As many of you know, the Coalition has been a strong advocate for GSA-hosted training opportunities, which will help facilitate the critically important task of educating government and industry on GSA’s contracting programs, e-tools, and other initiatives in an environment that fosters constructive dialogue for common sense solutions.

The return of a nation-wide training conference is a game-changer for GSA and the procurement community.  The FAST Conference will provide agencies, as well as industry, with thousands of procurement training hours and the opportunity to explore the latest commercial solutions that meet Federal agencies’ mission critical needs.  In addition, the Conference will provide GSA, customer agencies, and industry with a unique and valuable business intelligence opportunity, as stakeholders share information on key program initiatives, acquisition policies, commercial capabilities, and trends in the commercial marketplace.

You can find more information on the conference here.

Continue reading at:  Federal News Network

HUD is hunting for vendors for next phase of ‘centers of excellence’

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The Housing and Urban Development Department is bringing on vendors to help the agency overhaul its customer service operations, drive cloud adoption and expand its use of data analytics.

HUD and the General Services Administration on May 17th released draft solicitations for the second phase of the department’s Centers of Excellence program.  The high-profile initiative offers agencies the opportunity to improve existing IT systems and lay the groundwork for new technologies with extra assistance from GSA and the White House.

HUD was the second agency selected to participate in the program, after the Agriculture Department.  On Friday, GSA kicked off the third iteration of the program at the Office of Management and Budget.

In phase one of the HUD program, which began in September, government officials worked with industry to determine how to best address issues in key facets of the department’s IT infrastructure.  In phase two, the agency will recruit vendors to implement those solutions.

“We are excited to begin this next phase of our modernization efforts,” HUD Chief Operating Officer Ralph Gaines said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to seeing how these efforts will further transform the agency and make it more accountable to our customers.”

Continue reading at:  Nextgov

OPM chief to propose legislation for merger with GSA

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Nearly a year after the Trump administration announced its proposal to send the bulk of the Office of Personnel Management’s functions to the General Services Administration, acting OPM Director Margaret Weichert said Tuesday that she will be submitting proposed legislation to Congress authorizing the merger “hopefully by Friday.”

Speaking with reporters, Weichert said that the legislation would transfer the legal authorities currently provided to OPM to an as-yet unnamed office within GSA, akin to its existing Federal Acquisition and Public Buildings services.  Additionally, the bill would create a small policy-focused personnel office within the Executive Office of the President, modeled after the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Continue reading at:  Government Executive

GSA unveils key tenets of governmentwide e-commerce pilot

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The General Services Administration is kicking off the final phase of a multi-year effort to stand up a governmentwide e-commerce platform that would make it easier for agencies to buy commercial products.

GSA on Thursday, May 2nd released the implementation plan for part two of its commercial platforms initiative, laying out the blueprint for the initial version of the portal.  In the months ahead, GSA and the Office of Management and Budget will start hunting for multiple vendors to build a proof of concept of the platform, which is scheduled to launch in late 2019.

The system would allow agencies to quickly purchase a wide variety of commercial products without going through the lengthy government procurement process.  By offering items like office supplies, tools and hardware, the portal would make it easier for industry to do business with government and lower the price of basic goods for federal agencies, according to GSA officials.

Continue reading at Nextgov:  https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2019/05/gsa-unveils-key-tenants-governmentwide-e-commerce-pilot/156714/

How DUNS number changes could affect your business

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Businesses of all sizes should know of a significant change in the way government grants and contracts will be handled.  The General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced in an interview with Nextgov.com that they are changing vendors for their federal contractor numbering system – better known as the DUNS (“Data Universal Numbering System”).  The system update won’t likely look different for companies right away, but here’s what you should know moving forward.

What is the DUNS?

The Data Universal Numbering System is a long-held practice for assigning businesses or organizations a unique identifier that can be used when applying for grants or contract opportunities through the government.  The GSA runs contracting programs is the agency responsible for making sure businesses follow correct procedures when looking to be awarded government business – including ensuring their application includes a valid DUNS.

Since 1962, Dun & Bradstreet has managed much of the system, including the DUNS program – an addition to the system brought about by regulation in 1998.  For twenty years, D&B has held the contract for managing validation and records.  That all changed last year when the GSA announced they were opening up the role to competing bids.

Continue reading the article at: Nav Blog

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