U.S. General Services Administration
GSA Issues Draft Solicitation to Support Section 846 Commercial e-Commerce Portals Implementation
Feedback will inform development of the initial proof of concept
WASHINGTON – The U.S. General Services Administration today issued a draft solicitation to obtain feedback from portal providers on the proposed requirements of the commercial e-commerce portals program. This program seeks to modernize how commercial products are bought by and sold to federal agencies. The issuance of this draft solicitation represents an important step toward the implementation of the initial proof of concept for the commercial e-commerce portals program.
The goal of the proof of concept is to start small, test and refine. The commercial platforms program and the initial proof of concept is focused on open market spend that occurs outside of existing contracts. It is estimated that open market purchases on government purchase cards represent an addressable market of $6 billion. GSA intends to begin with a more limited scope approach, by starting with a proof of concept and inviting a subset of agencies to participate as part of the initial offering.
“The issuance of the draft solicitation is an important step forward for the commercial platforms initiative,” said GSA Federal Acquisition Service Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Category, Category Management, Laura Stanton. “An exciting opportunity lies ahead to create not only a modernized buying experience but also reduce the burden for agency partners and suppliers alike. During the initial proof of concept, GSA will encourage robust competition through the implementation of multiple e-marketplace platforms. We are looking to leverage business-to-business terms whenever practicable, to allow for streamlined buying while obtaining a more transparent and centralized view of this type of government-wide spend.”
The draft solicitation will be open for public comment and feedback for 30 days. For more information, visit the Commercial Platforms Initiative group page on Interact.
The Commercial Platforms initiative is one of four cornerstone projects underpinning GSA's Federal Marketplace Strategy to modernize and simplify the buying and selling experience for customers, suppliers, and acquisition professionals.
About GSA: The mission of GSA is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government. One of its four strategic goals is to establish GSA as the premier provider of efficient and effective acquisition solutions across the government.
To learn more about GSA visit gsa.gov or join the conversation on social media at @USGSA, @GSAEmily, and @FAS_Outreach.
About Section 846: Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act directs GSA, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, to establish a program to procure commercial products through commercial e-commerce portals.
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