ecommerce | The Contracting Education Academy

October 7, 2020 By cs

10 tantalizing topics testing procurement in the new fiscal year

Change is in the air.

The leaves are beginning to fall to the ground, the morning air is turning crisp, the days are getting shorter — all signaling that we are approaching the end of the government fiscal year.

The beginning of a new fiscal year provides an opportunity for reflection, during which, we can look ahead at the issues and questions that likely will shape procurement over the coming year.

With that in mind, here are 10 topics that surely will be of interest across the procurement stakeholder community.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2020/09/10-tantalizing-topics-testing-procurement-in-the-new-fiscal-year/

April 9, 2020 By cs

COVID response delays awards for GSA’s e-commerce platform pilots

The General Services Administration’s ongoing journey to develop multiple e-commerce platforms for agency buyers will continue for a bit longer, this time due to the urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency has been working for more than two years on a pilot program — colloquially called “Amazon for government” — to partner with digital purchasing platforms to enable other federal agencies to more easily buy goods under the $10,000 micropurchase threshold. Originally, GSA planned to have at least two platforms up and running this year, though the coronavirus outbreak has thrown that timeline into limbo.

“Not surprisingly, GSA’s resources have shifted to support the COVID-19 response, and we’re having to prioritize certain activities to support the immediate needs of the federal government,” Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner for category management for GSA’s Information Technology Category, wrote in a post on Interact. “As a result, the contracting team for the commercial platforms proof of concept has also had to shift their focus to COVID-19 response efforts.”

Stanton said the program is now expecting a delay in the contract awards.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/04/covid-response-delays-awards-gsas-e-commerce-platform-pilots/164321/

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/

January 3, 2020 By cs

A busy 2020 for GSA

During the first three months of the New Year, the General Services Administration will have its hands full as some of its most ambitious projects move ahead.

In the first quarter of the 2020 calendar year, the agency is slated to test a small conceptual version of its Amazon-like e-commerce portal, push out solicitations to vendors about its buying schedule awards consolidation and begin throttling continued agency customer use of its old telecommunications contracts in favor of its next-generation vehicle.

It will also continue to get control of a bumpy transition from the FedBizOpps contract information site to the new beta.SAM.gov. portal.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2019/12/20/gsa-busy-first-quarter-rockwell.aspx

December 24, 2019 By cs

Amazon’s protest of GSA’s e-commerce platform RFP tells us why the silly season is in full swing

There may be no better indicator that the General Services Administration’s e-commerce platform solicitation is facing a host of uphill challenges than the fact that the company many believe will be the ultimate winner filed the first protest.

Federal News Network confirmed that Amazon fired the first salvo in the federal e-commerce war.

Government sources say the Seattle, Washington company submitted an agency-level, pre-award protest in November.

Sources say Amazon challenged whether GSA’s market research was sufficient, and it questioned some of the terms of the solicitation, particularly around the compliance of laws like the Competition-in-Contracting Act, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and even the provision in the 2018 defense authorization bill requiring GSA to set up an e-commerce marketplace in the first place.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/12/amazons-protest-of-gsas-e-commerce-platform-rfp-tells-us-why-the-silly-season-is-in-full-swing/

August 13, 2018 By AMK

How will the FY 2019 NDAA affect government procurement?

Following the Senate’s recent passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we are rapidly approaching the finish line for this critical piece of legislation.

With the filing two weeks ago of the Conference Report, H. Rept. 115-863, which embodies the agreement between the Senate and the House, it appears likely that a compromise bill will go forward to the President shortly.

The NDAA contains a number of provisions that would reform the procurement process, several of which, are the focus here.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2018/07/an-update-on-the-fy-2019-ndaa/

Change is in the air.

The General Services Administration’s ongoing journey to develop multiple e-commerce platforms for agency buyers will continue for a bit longer, this time due to the urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the first three months of the New Year, the General Services Administration will have its hands full as some of its most ambitious projects move ahead.

There may be no better indicator that the General Services Administration’s e-commerce platform solicitation is facing a host of uphill challenges than the fact that the company many believe will be the ultimate winner filed the first protest.

Following the Senate’s recent passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we are rapidly approaching the finish line for this critical piece of legislation.

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