by Brianna Crandall — August 12, 2013—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) made two announcements in recent weeks concerning initiatives designed to streamline the acquisition process for facilities managers and others responsible for procurement in federal agencies of all types.
Reverse Auction
On July 9, GSA announced the launch of a government-managed Reverse Auction platform available through the National Information Technology Commodity Program (NITCP) of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). GSA expects the platform to deliver increased savings for federal agencies on the most commonly purchased office products, equipment and services, while also making it easier for small businesses to compete for the government’s business.
In a reverse auction, sellers compete to win business from agencies; prices will typically decrease as the competitive auction progresses, explains GSA. Historically, GSA’s customers have saved as much as 17 percent through use of reverse auctions. The new platform is designed to reduce federal agencies’ acquisition processing time and costs, drive prices and costs down, improve transparency and collection of data, and allow for small business set-asides. The platform also captures line-item data by agency bureau, which will aid agencies in performing prices paid analysis and provide insights into purchasing behavior for strategic sourcing opportunities.
Federal agencies now may use the GSA platform to conduct reverse auctions through select GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules and established select blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) for commodities like office supplies, laptops, tablets and monitors, as well as for simple services like warranty, training and installation. Additionally, the platform will allow federal customers to set aside auctions for small business, increasing opportunities for small and disadvantaged companies to bid easily for government business.
OASIS
On August 1, GSA’s Federal Acquisition Services (FAS) released two requests for proposals (RFP) for a new acquisition program that fulfills the agency’s commitment to deliver better value and savings through innovation. These RFPs bring the agency closer to launching One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS), a one-stop shop for both commercial and noncommercial needs designed to reduce duplication of contracting efforts across the government and provide federal agencies with comprehensive, integrated professional services contract options.
OASIS will complement GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) program and provide agencies with more flexible full-service options. OASIS is also intended to drive better outcomes for the federal government around reducing costs and expenses, improving operating efficiency and increasing focus on socioeconomic contracting goals.
To better serve federal agencies and industry partners and maximize opportunities for small businesses, OASIS is divided into two contracts: OASIS is an unrestricted contract that includes 50 percent small business subcontracting goals; and OASIS Small Business is a 100% small business set-aside contract. Deadline for submission is September 17, 2013.
Earlier this year, the OASIS team invited industry to provide feedback on a variety of important issues through the submission of white papers, and met with more than 110 contractor responders in one-on-one sessions in order to ensure comprehensive contracting options for federal partners. This feedback was taken into consideration as the team finalized the RFPs for both contracts. For more information visit the OASIS Industry Group on GSA Interact; to view the RFPs, visit FedBizOpps at OASIS Final RFP and OASIS SB Final RFP .
