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OMB memo ushers major shift in federal procurement

The Office of Management and Budget released a set of directives on Oct. 16  fine tuning the way agencies buy laptop and desktop computers.

ombWhile the directives focus solely on specific computer hardware, the move signals what could be a sea change in the way the federal government purchases commodity IT and other products.

Of the three new directives in the Oct. 16 memo, the first is perhaps the most significant: a prohibition on issuing new contracts for laptops and desktops with a mandate to use one of two governmentwide acquisition contracts or IT Schedule 70.

Previously, agencies had been encouraged to purchase IT products and services off GWACs or GSA schedules but were able to go their own way if they wanted.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/policy/2015/10/20/omb-commodity-it/74272652/

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NASA doesn’t analyze its strategic sourcing program, IG says

Although NASA developed a strategic sourcing procurement plan, it failed to analyze and track spending through the program, meaning the space agency can’t determine its efficiency, a Jan. 15 NASA inspector general report says.

NASA annually spends about 80 percent of its $17 billion budget on acquiring products and services, the report says.

One of the first steps in NASA’s strategic sourcing program requires a spend analysis to identify potential candidates for strategic sourcing, the IG says.

But NASA only performed targeted spend analyses for a small number of commodities, the report says. It didn’t conduct analyses for the majority of commodities acquired by the agency.

“Without regularly performing a comprehensive spend analysis, NASA is unable to review agency spending patterns for commodities and identify potential candidates for strategic sourcing efforts,” the report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/nasa-doesnt-analyze-its-strategic-sourcing-program-ig-says/2014-01-16 

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