Pentagon Pilot Program Aims to Secure Supply Chain A top defense contractor reports that the Pentagon has implemented a pilot program to identify the origins of parts that end up being used in military weapons and equipment. Increasing transparency comes amid concerns that parts are currently susceptible to hacking by foreign agents. Read more about […]
GSA Schedules Modernization Slated for 2019 According to an interview with Alan Thomas, the commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, changes are coming in 2019 based on feedback from customers and vendors. These changes include: The elimination of minimum purchase thresholds Provisions allowing agencies to combine products and services under one buy Collaboration between the GSA […]
Federal Employment is Shrinking While Contracting Firms are Hiring Federal employment has decreased by about 7,000 jobs over the past year as civilian agencies have been drawn down under the Trump administration. At the same time, government contractors are on a hiring spree, particularly in Northern Virginia where defense and intelligence contracts abound. Some contractors […]
System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Fixes Planned for June 29th Hundreds of federal contractors are hopeful that promised fixes to the SAM.gov website will roll out at the end of June, 2018. These changes will give contractors a new way to log in, update information, renew entries, and enter initial data. Most importantly, the fixes […]
GAO Questions Pentagon’s Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts A watchdog agency recently reported that 40% of the Pentagon’s contracts were IDIQ and 75% of those were awarded to a single contractor, raising concerns about the agency suppressing competition. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the matter states, “Nearly all of the contracts we reviewed […]
The Navy Seeks an Algorithm to Flag Perceived Contracting Threats After nearly awarding a contract to a company involved in a joint venture with Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, the Navy is calling for changes that will flag similar security risks that may be lurking with potential contractors. The goal is to find an institutional […]
Using Transaction Contracting Models to Increase Customer Focus Citizens demand a more customer-focused, efficient government. Yet the current procurement cycle takes as long as 3-5 years to support new program initiatives. With technology moving at a much faster pace and customer needs changing continuously, the federal government has acknowledged a need for an alternative to […]
Department of Defense (DoD) Shrinks $950 Billion Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Deal The DoD’s original award for streamlined cloud solutions went to REAN but was subject to public scrutiny and a GAO bid protest. As a result, the deal has been scaled back to $65 million and the scope of the project narrowed significantly. Read […]
Congress’ Acquisition Reforms Get High Marks from Military Services With three years invested in military acquisitions reforms, the House Armed Services Committee has begun receiving feedback on how those reforms are faring in practice. So far, service acquisition chiefs report that things are going in the right direction, but more work remains to be done. […]