Market research plays a key role in the procurement process for government agencies. To improve the market research involved in government procurement, GSA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently launched the aptly named Procurement Co-Pilot. This new acquisition tool aims to make market research easier and more effective for acquisition professionals procuring solutions for the government.
The introduction of the Procurement Co-Pilot is significant for both government buyers and government contractors. Since the government’s market research tools have the potential to impact their purchasing decisions, contractors may want to learn how agencies will use the Procurement Co-Pilot. In this blog, we’ll take a close look at the Procurement Co-Pilot and discuss its key uses in government market research.
What Is the Procurement Co-Pilot?
The Procurement Co-Pilot is an online acquisition tool released in June 2024 as part of the White House’s Better Contracting Initiative. The Procurement Co-Pilot streamlines the government’s market research and acquisition process by providing unprecedented access to government-wide prices paid and contract award data. Agencies using the platform will be able to easily research product pricing, vendors, and contract vehicles.
The Procurement Co-Pilot is intended to complement the existing Request for Information (RFI) process used by government agencies for market research. RFIs allow agencies to gather information on the possible products or services that can meet their procurement needs. The Procurement Co-Pilot won’t replace this longstanding process, but it will allow acquisition professionals to have robust purchasing data at their fingertips as they conduct their research.
Who Can Access the Procurement Co-Pilot?
The Procurement Co-Pilot is designed for federal acquisition professionals. Federal employees and contractors with a .gov email can use the Procurement Co-Pilot. An OMB MAX.gov account is also required to access the platform. If you don’t have access, you can get a sneak peek of the Procurement Co-Pilot’s features and layout by viewing GSA’s video demonstration.
What Data Does the Procurement Co-Pilot Use?
The Procurement Co-Pilot uses publicly available government-wide data from the Federal Procurement Data Systems (FPDS) and SAM.gov. The platform also uses prices paid data for products purchased by the federal government through selected Best-in-Class contract vehicles, from Alliant to NASA SEWP.
GSA’s Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) Program is another significant source of the Procurement Co-Pilot’s prices paid data. GSA even plans to include agency-specific pricing data in future iterations of the Procurement Co-Pilot.
This breadth of data is part of a larger picture. The Procurement Co-Pilot arrives in the wake of the OMB’s “Hi-Def” strategic acquisition data policy, which aims to leverage government-wide acquisition data to enhance federal acquisitions. The Procurement Co-Pilot is the first acquisition market and price research tool powered by “Hi-Def” government-wide data.
What Are the Procurement Co-Pilot’s Key Uses in Government Market Research?
Research Product Pricing
Federal acquisition professionals can use the Procurement Co-Pilot to access prices paid data for over 1 million products purchased by government agencies. This unprecedented access to government-wide buying data will help acquisition professionals identify best value solutions, develop more realistic cost estimates, and strengthen their negotiation approaches. Acquisition professionals can use the Procurement Co-Pilot to research the following questions for a given product (pricing data is currently not available for services):
- How do cost estimates for the product vary across vendors and contract vehicles?
- When is the best time to buy the product, based on historical data trends?
- Which contract vehicles are best suited to the product?
Using these insights from the Procurement Co-Pilot, acquisition professionals can make more informed purchasing decisions, resulting in significant savings for agencies and taxpayers.
Search for Vendors
The Procurement Co-Pilot can be used to research which vendors can meet their procurement needs across various sizes and categories. For instance, agencies can identify how many vendors are available to support a set-aside contract, whether it be a HUBZone set-aside or Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) set-aside. They can also use the Procurement Co-Pilot to view which vendors are available in specific locations with desired capabilities, and which services vendors have provided to the government historically. Reviewing this data allows acquisition professionals to have a fuller picture of the vendor landscape.
Find Contracts for Specific Needs
Acquisition professionals can also use the Procurement Co-Pilot to research contract vehicles that meet their procurement needs. The Procurement Co-Pilot includes data on both cross-agency contract vehicles, such as the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), and agency-specific contract vehicles.
Using the Contract Match feature, users can identify which contracts are the best match for their list of desired products. Agencies can also use the Procurement Co-Pilot to evaluate which contract vehicles have the vendor diversity to help them meet a set-aside. With these insights, agencies can strengthen their acquisition strategies and find the optimal contract vehicle for their needs.
Keeping up with Changes to the Procurement Co-Pilot and Other Relevant Contracting News
As a government contractor, you’ll want to keep up with any changes to the government’s market research methodology, since their findings from market research will inform future purchasing decisions. That said, the Procurement Co-Pilot is new and still evolving, so its specific effects on government procurement remain to be seen. To keep up with changes to the Procurement Co-Pilot, we recommend consulting the Acquisition Gateway for the latest release notes and public resources. To stay updated on government contracting news and insights, check out our weekly blog email and monthly newsletter.
Keep in mind that the government’s high-level approach to market research will remain the same. If you would like to learn more about how the government conducts market research, you can check out our blogs on government market research and the RFI process.
