Federal, state, and local governments use GSA's eBuy system to find businesses that offer specific services and products at competitive prices. These federal buyers can request information and prepare RFQs/RFPs for services and products offered through GSA Schedule contracts. Businesses small and large use GSA eBuy to sell products and services to the government. According to GSA, more than $8.34 billion in products and services were processed through eBuy in 2012. Now the GSA is making a push to make eBuy more accessible to small businesses by taking eBuy mobile. According to a GSA representative, “you can learn how to do business with the federal government right from your cell phone” making the site more accessible to small businesses.

The General Services Administration (GSA) has recently begun two proposals to cut contracting costs for professional services. These two bids combine under a master contract vehicle calledOne Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS). One of the plans under OASIS will administer contracts to large businesses, while the other will serve smaller businesses.

It is an ultimate ethical dilemma: to blow the whistle or to stay quiet? Recent statistics show that the number of government whistleblowing claims is increasing, and with media attention focused on high profile whistleblowing cases, it is more important now than ever to ensure that your company is compliant and maintains ethical business practices.

On July 9th, 2013 the General Services Administration (GSA) launched a new website platform for government-managed reverse auctions, reverseauctions.gsa.gov. This program, available through the National Information Technology Commodity Program (NITCP) of GSA’s Federal Acquisition service (FAS) marks the beginning of a change in the way businesses will compete for government contracts.

Recently, a contractor lost a bid due to poor past performance history that was not included in their proposal. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) heard their case and determined that it was acceptable to use past performance history not included in the contractor’s proposal. The GAO also stated that the contractor should have explained the poor past performance evaluation. This past performance review was registered with the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), a website that government agencies use to access contractor past performance data. Not many contractors are familiar with this site and not all government agencies are using it yet, as it is relatively new.

In good times, trimming operational costs is an ongoing goal. In tough times, it’s a necessity. Regardless, recruiting occurs at all times, good and bad. Growth increases personnel numbers in good times, and opportunistic or replacement hiring occurs when budgets tighten. By using creative recruiting strategies in synergy with the latest technology developments, you can reduce recruiting costs while achieving exceptional results.