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Tag: Emily Murphy

Leftover BPAs

If you have a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), you may have just been given a bit of a reprieve regarding the merge into the General Services Administrations’ (GSA) consolidated Multiple Award Schedule. (Federal Computer Week, August 31, 2020)

According to GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, GSA is allowing a few BPAs to work through their lifecycles as opposed to forcing them into the consolidated Multiple Award Schedule. Murphy feels it could take up to five years to move completely over to the consolidated schedule but counts on it being much sooner.

As of the end of July GSA moved to Phase 3 of the MAS consolidation. Nearly 100 percent of vendors have updated their contracts and terms and conditions for the new solicitation. Murphy said, “We’ve got 99 percent of them onboard,” and will “work with [the remaining ones] on the best way to transition.” (ibid)

Wondering about your long-standing BPA? Give us a call.

Modernizing and Funding IT

GSA will continue IT modernization through the new fiscal year, according to Suzette Kent, Federal Chief Information Officer, and Emily Murphy, GSA Administrator. (Federal Times, October 21, 2019)

While Kent and Murphy were speaking at the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Imagine Nation conference, the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), announced $8 million of funding to be made available for the Department of Agriculture and $4 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (TMF provides funding to agencies for IT projects.) TMF recently granted GSA $20 million for its New Pay HR system.

The EEOC will implement a Cloud-based charge and case management system while the Agriculture project will replace an outdated, manual IT system used for food inspection and certification. Both of these systems have thousands of touch points around the country. The Office of Management and Budget has said both agencies will leverage modern commercial capabilities to move their digital modifications. (ibid)

Interested in the upcoming GSA RFQ or DoA or EEOC opportunities? Give us a call.

GSA Updating their e-Market Portal

On October 1st, GSA issued a solicitation requesting proposals from e-marketplace portal providers. The solicitation is for the initial proof of concept of the Commercial Platforms program, part of the foundation of GSA’s Federal Marketplace Strategy (FMP) to simplify federal buying and selling and how federal agencies buy commercial off-the-shelf products. Proof of concept implementation is through partnerships with many commercial e-marketplace platform providers currently offering business-to-business capabilities. This gives federal agencies greater visibility into their online spending. (GSA.gov, October 2, 2019)

GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said, “As federal procurement continues to evolve, simplifying how we purchase basic commodities will allow agencies to focus more on work that directly serves their missions. Federal agencies spent approximately $260 million using online portals last year and it is critical that we use the Commercial Platforms program to better understand and manage this.” (ibid)

The proof of concept is GSA’s kickoff for changing the way federal agencies purchase commercial products via the open market, implementing the requirement of Section 846 in the FY 18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Last year GSA conducted stakeholder outreach and market research to get a better understanding of the open market place. They determined to take small steps through an iterative program management approach to Commercial Platforms. (ibid)

Proposals are due by November 1, 2019, at 5 PM EST. (FedBizOpps.gov, October 1, 2019)

Are you wondering how the e-marketplace will affect your current contract? Do you provide B2B services in the private sector and have questions about the solicitation? Give us a call.

Training to Go FAST!

GSA recently announced that it will be holding a Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) Conference in Atlanta April 12 – 16, 2020. This event will promote constructive dialogue and facilitate an environment where the government and industry can come together to be educated on GSA’s contracting programs. (Federal News Network, May 2019)

The FAST conference is expected to provide many hours of procurement training, as well as providing GSA, government agencies, and industry with an opportunity to share information on key program initiatives, acquisition policies, commercial capabilities, and commercial marketplace trends. It will provide a forum to bring together all of GSA’s agency customers and industry partners under one roof to collaborate, educate and network. (ibid)

Have questions about the FAST conference and whether you should attend? Give us a call at 301-913-5000, and we can discuss it with you.