The General Services Administration opened up bids to manage its vendor verification system — which ascribes a unique identifying number to each contractor doing business with the government — with the release of a request for proposals Aug. 31.

The Data Universal Numbering Systems, or DUNS number, has been the government standard for identifying contractors, non-profits and other organizations doing business with the federal government since 1962 and became an official part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation in 1998.

“The DUNS number is not just a number—it is a system for maintaining accurate, comprehensive and timely information—and it is issued rapidly and free of charge for all entities wanting to do business with the U.S. federal government,” according to the website for Dun and Bradstreet, the vendor that has managed the system since its inception and for which the number is named.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/analytics-data/2018/09/first-time-20-years-gsa-opens-bids-business-numbering-system/151032/