vendor support | The Contracting Education Academy

One of the persistent problems anyone within earshot of public procurement hears about is a lack of communication between public buyer and supplier.

Smart Cville That disconnect can take many forms and happens at many different stages, including a failure to communicate with potential vendors when shaping requirements, a failure to clarify those requirements, and a failure post-award to work closely with the vendor to manage their performance. But all of those assume one very basic thing: That a potential vendor even hears about an opportunity. Never a safe assumption at any level of government.

Which is why it’s heartening to see a new trend in the public market, taking aim at just this problem. The latest example is a story out of Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a nonprofit called Smart Cville has built a “procurement alert system” for the city. Every time a new opportunity is posted to Charlottesville’s website, subscribers to the alert system will be notified.

Keep reading this article at: http://publicspendforum.net/opportunity-knocks-vendors-door/

NASA’s Johnson Space Center is taking a different approach to working with vendors and one that the Obama administration has been promoting over the last few years.

Annette Moore, the acting chief information officer, said vendors approach her organization through a vendor management office.

Annette Moore, acting chief information officer, Johnson Space Center

“When Larry Sweet was the CIO at NASA Johnson Space Center, Larry made an intentional decision to get us more in the direction of a business technology office,” she said. “We actually created a position for vendor management support and IT procurement support. So we actually have a staff dedicated here on our directorate level that works that vendor management piece to ensure that the vendor gets connected to the right office in our directorate, gets connected with the right individual in our directorate and gets the right level of attention to get them connected into what we are doing with our initiatives and our priorities. We also have a chief technology officer on the directorate staff. That CTO does the same thing and those two positions work hand-in-hand to ensure that the vendor gets the appropriate level of contact at the right level within our directorate.”

Sweet moved on to become NASA CIO in June.

Moore said the goal is to simplify the path for vendors to find the most appropriate person and to help her office ensure they are using their time most wisely.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=494&sid=3565374&pid=0&page=1

Opportunity knocks: Getting vendors in the door

One of the persistent problems anyone within earshot of public procurement hears about is a lack of communication between public buyer and supplier.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center takes customer-first approach to IT

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