These days it seems everyone has an opinion on what the Government could do better in order to avoid the disastrous procurement process that ends up costing an agency $10,000 just to acquire a simple hammer. Well now, the Federal Government is ready to listen to what you have to say. The National Academy of the Public Administration and the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council in conjunction with the General Services Administration have rolled out the “Better Buy Project” to find ways to increase efficiency and openness in the procurement process by asking the public for solutions. Better Buy gives you the chance to voice your opinion and suggest ideas that could improve the procurement and acquisition process. The program is asking for suggestions for 3 phases of the acquisition lifecycle: Market Research and Requirements Definition Pre-Solicitation Phase Solicitation Phase.

GSA has taken the first steps towards moving its entire email system to a more efficient and cost effective cloud-based network. The 5 year, $6.7M contract was recently awarded to Unisys Corp. under the Alliant GWAC. To help pioneer this effort, Unisys has partnered with Google, Tempus Nova, and Acumen Solutions to develop the system for GSA – which is the first agency to move its entire agency’s email to a cloud based system. The award also includes collaboration tools that are estimated to reduce inefficiencies and lower costs by 50 percent over the next five years. Google is considered to be one of the biggest and most advanced cloud service providers, so their involvement with this initiative is key and indicates that they most likely had very compelling and innovative ideas to contribute to the winning proposal submitted by Unisys. Tempus Nova’s involvement is also important since they are a leading provider of Google Enterprise solutions and are the sole developer of the tools used to migrate mail and calendar data from Lotus Notes to Google. GSA is one of many agencies that still utilize the antiquated IBM Lotus Notes email and calendar system.

On November 16th, GSA announced a new program called the GreenGov Supply Chain Partnership and Small Business Pilot. This program was designed to create a greener, more efficient supply chain through a voluntary collaboration between the federal government and its suppliers. The announcement was made at a supply chain summit in Chicago hosted by Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Martha Johnson, GSA Administrator.

That’s right you fashionistas, green is the new black. Going “Green” is the thing to do these days and the U.S. Government is leading the way. One of the most sweeping economic packages in our country today is The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This program is currently at work for American families and businesses. The General Services Administration has been given an opportunity to have a huge impact in this effort by working for a new energy economy by investing in new, more energy efficient vehicles for the federal fleet and by investing in other green initiatives. Green Vehicles

To say that life at a consultancy is ruled by one best practice after another is no understatement. One best practice, in particular, isn’t so much a technique as it is a mantra that guides everyone on our schedule acquisition team: Don’t overlook the smallest detail. An area where this is particularly true is your Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) account and your D-U-N-S Number. For those not in the know, this is a standard business establishment identifier code assigned by Dun & Bradstreet for any organization seeking to do business with the Federal Government. Key components of your GSA proposal are built specifically from the information that this account contains. As such, it is important you perform a few due diligence steps at the start of the GSA process. Here are a few items you should keep in mind: Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

One large source of confusion for GSA contractors can be determining the Country of Origin for offered products. Many people think all GSA awarded items must be made in the USA, but this is not the case. Instead, all products offered on a GSA schedule must be produced in a country that is compliant with the US Trade Agreements Act (TAA). Many countries are TAA-compliant, but one major manufacturing course is not – you probably guessed it, CHINA. This means GSA cannot award any items that are manufactured in China onto your GSA contract. Some contractors have trouble determining the exact Country of Origin, as different components come from different countries or different manufacturing processes are performed in different countries. In cases like this, merchandise originates from the country where it has been substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character, or use distinct from that of the article or articles from which it was transformed. For this language, please see the Federal Acquisition Regulations 52.225-5 for more detail: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/05-10r/html/52_223_226.html#wp1169151