online marketplace | The Contracting Education Academy

July 3, 2020 By cs

GSA still must answer supply chain risk questions with e-commerce platforms

The General Services Administration has awarded proof-of-concepts to Amazon Business, Overstock.com, and Fischer Scientific to provide agencies access to their commercial e-commerce platforms for purchases below the micro-purchase threshold of $10,000.

The test of online marketplaces was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. It was protested at least twice after the solicitation came out in November. The White House contradicted it with a January executive order, and it remains controversial among contractors.

But the General Services Administration’s e-marketplace platform initiative finally reached the end of the beginning.

Two of the three winners — Amazon and Overstock — submitted agency level protests about the solicitation over the last six months forcing GSA to amend it at least twice.

The goal for these pilots, which could last up to three years, is to test out the use of commerce platforms that hopefully will give agencies more granular data into what GSA estimates is a $6 billion annual market through the government purchase cards.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/06/gsa-still-must-answer-supply-chain-risk-questions-with-e-commerce-platforms/

January 15, 2020 By cs

GSA reissues e-commerce platform solicitation with significant changes

After an extended bid period and a short-lived protest, the General Services Administration (GSA) has re-released the request for proposals for an e-commerce platform with some significant changes.

However, vendors that didn’t bid on the original proposal won’t get another chance this time around.

The government buyers at GSA want federal employees to be able to purchase standard goods through a digital platform, similar to e-commerce platforms like Amazon. For the last few years, the agency has been working on a solicitation for just such a platform and released an RFP in October for “online e-marketplace platforms [that] feature multiple suppliers offering the same product and will allow buyers to decide which supplier/product combination meets their needs.”

The first instance of this platform will be a three-year, multiple-award pilot to test the marketplace idea. Once up and running, agencies will be able to purchase products directly through the portal for any transactions under the micropurchase threshold of $10,000.

After bids were submitted in mid-November, GSA received a protest of the solicitation, prompting the agency to pull it back and rework the RFP. The agency reissued the solicitation on Jan. 8, with revised bids due Jan. 15.

The revised solicitation includes several changes. The most important is the insertion of language in two places requiring bidders to provide a full, working solution rather than one developed in conjunction with GSA.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/01/gsa-reissues-e-commerce-platform-solicitation-significant-changes/162374/

April 11, 2018 By AMK

Could the online marketplace be a catalyst for procurement transformation?

The rest of the world has been buying online for a long time now, and with Congressional permission, our government agencies will finally get to try it out.

A section included in the annual defense authorization bill allows the Pentagon and other government agencies to buy directly from online marketplaces such as Amazon, Grainger and Office Depot as part of a pilot program.

Section 846 could be the catalyst for far-reaching change, leading to new procurement business processes and innovative procurement technology. If the federal government wants to make this initiative as successful as possible, there are a few key things they need to consider.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2018/03/could-online-marketplace-be-catalyst-procurement-transformation/146807/

January 23, 2018 By AMK

Report of GSA’s public meeting to discuss ‘Amazon’ amendment

On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, the General Services Administration (GSA) convened a public meeting to discuss the implications and ramifications of Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Procurement Through Commercial e-Commerce Portals.

This amendment (dubbed the “Amazon amendment”) will permit government agencies to buy commercial products through online portals like Amazon, Overstock, Staples, and Walmart.

Implications abound, from privity of contract to dealing with preference programs to determining how competition will best be served. GSA’s public meeting was an opportunity to discuss these issues as part of an ongoing dialogue that started with a request for comment and notice of yesterday’s meeting in mid-December.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.publicspendforum.net/blogs/frank-mcnally/2018/01/12/gsa-event-discusses-amazon-amendment

November 14, 2017 By AMK

Industry tries to prune ‘Amazon’ amendment before NDAA is finalized

As House and Senate conferees close in on an agreement for the 2018 National Defense Authorization bill, the controversial “Amazon” provision remains in play.

But it seems likely the final version will look a lot different than the current one.

If you aren’t familiar with this provision, Section 801 of the House version of the NDAA would require the General Services Administration to create one or more online marketplaces for agencies to buy commercial items, therefore simplifying the process and reducing costs. House Armed Services Committee staff members say the goal of the provision is to make federal procurement less complex and more competitive.

The Senate version of the bill doesn’t include such a provision, meaning it is one of many differences that have to be ironed out in the conference committee.

And because the Senate Armed Services Committee didn’t include or fully understand the “Amazon” provision, staff members did some last-minute cramming before the conference on the bill started.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/11/industry-tries-to-prune-amazon-amendment-before-ndaa-is-finalized/

The General Services Administration has awarded proof-of-concepts to Amazon Business, Overstock.com, and Fischer Scientific to provide agencies access to their commercial e-commerce platforms for purchases below the micro-purchase threshold of $10,000.

After an extended bid period and a short-lived protest, the General Services Administration (GSA) has re-released the request for proposals for an e-commerce platform with some significant changes.

The rest of the world has been buying online for a long time now, and with Congressional permission, our government agencies will finally get to try it out.

On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, the General Services Administration (GSA) convened a public meeting to discuss the implications and ramifications of Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Procurement Through Commercial e-Commerce Portals.

As House and Senate conferees close in on an agreement for the 2018 National Defense Authorization bill, the controversial “Amazon” provision remains in play.

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