This week the focus is Thought No. 9 of the Thirteen Thoughts for 2013, “Better Buying Power Metrics—how do we measure success?” Today marks the third anniversary of the Better Buying Power Initiative. On June 28, 2010, the Department of Defense (DoD) launched the Better Buying Power initiative issuing a memorandum for DoD’s acquisition professionalsRead… Read more »
Guest bloggers: Jason N. Workmaster, Partner & Marques O. Peterson, Associate, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP On June 21, 2013, the FAR Council issued an immediately-effective interim rule that provides that any indemnification clause that is included in an End User License Agreement (EULA), Terms of Service (TOS), or similar legal instrument and that wouldRead… Read more »
On Thursday the Coalition traveled to Chicago to host a “Myth-Busters” Healthcare Committee meeting with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Acquisition Center (NAC). The VA NAC manages a family of Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and services. A primary focus of the Coalition Healthcare Committee is the operations, policiesRead… Read more »
On June 4th the GSA Office of Inspector General issued Report Number A120161/Q/6/P13003, entitled “Improper Management Intervention in Multiple Award Schedule Contracts.” The audit raises concerns regarding management intervention in the ongoing negotiation of GSA schedule contracts and the subsequent outcomes. The report raises some complex and challenging questions about the management and operation ofRead… Read more »
At last week’s GSA Business Roundtable, GSA leaders and Coalition members participated in a Myth-Busters Discussion exercise to “brainstorm” ideas in support of GSA Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini’s new mission statement and six priorities. To foster dialogue and engagement, the mission statement, six priorities and post-it notes were provided to each table. Attendees were instructedRead… Read more »
As you know, on Wednesday the General Services Administration and Coalition members came together at the Coalition’s GSA Business Roundtable. The roundtable featured an engaging “Myth-Busters” dialogue focusing on GSA’s new mission statement and priorities: The mission of GSA is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government andRead… Read more »
Guest blogger Jack Horan, Partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Many factors go into a decision of whether to protest after a contractor finds out it was not successful in winning an order or contract: Did the agency make a mistake? How strong is my evidence? Did the mistake affect the award decision? How muchRead… Read more »
The May 22nd GSA Business Roundtable is a Myth-Busters event bringing together procurement professionals and senior executives from GSA and its industry partners for a dialogue focusing on Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini’s new mission statement and six priorities. The mission statement and priorities can be found here. And as noted in last week’s blog post,Read… Read more »
Thought No. 10: Myth-Busters – Continuing the Dialogue is More than Checking the Box! Given the current budgetary challenges we face, continuing the dialogue among all stakeholders on key acquisition policies, procedures and programs is vital to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement system. Over the last decade we have seen the growingRead… Read more »
By Phil Seckman, Partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Sharp Electronics Corporation addresses a quandary familiar to federal supply schedule contractors regarding the proper contracting officer (CO) to whom the contractor must direct its contract claims to ensure jurisdiction. Sharp Corporation v. McHugh, 2013 WL 646330 (Fed. Cir. 2013).Read… Read more »