RESTRICTED
GENERAL AGREEMENT GPA/IC/W/7/Add.5
15November 1994
ONTARIFFS AND TRADE
(94-2422)
Original: English Interim Committee onGovernment Procurement
QUESTIONNAIRE ONINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Response byUnited States
Theattached communication contains thereplies from thedelegation oftheUnited States to
thequestionnaire onInformation Technology inGovernment Procurement contained indocument
GPA/IC/W/4/Rev.1, dated 16September 1994.GPA/IC/W/7/Add.5
Page2
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Replies received from United States
1. What steps arebeing taken tointroduce electronic commerce intopublic procurement?
TheUnitedStateshasundertakenanambitiousandfarreachinginitiativetoexploittechnological
advances inelectronic commerce toenhance thepublic procurement process. InOctober 1993, the
President issued amemorandum directing theFederal Government tomove fromthecurrent paper-based
system toanelectronic process forconducting procurements. Recently passed process legislation
reinforces thiseffort. Itcalls fortheGovernment todevelop andimplement, nolater than
1January 2000, aFederal acquisition computer network architecture ("FACNET") thatwillbe
government-wide andprovide interoperability among users. FACNET willbeintroduced gradually,
withtheinitial focus onpurchases falling below thesimplified acquisition threshold.
Does thiscover contracts which arecovered under theAgreement presently inforce, orunder
thenewly signed Agreement? Atalllevels ofgovernment?
Under boththePresidential memorandum andtherecent legislation revising procurement
procedures, itisanticipated thatalldepartments andagencies willeventually utilize electronic commerce
forallsuitable purchases, including larger purchase contracts covered bytheagreement. Initially,
however, thespecific focus isonsmaller purchases which fallbelow thesimplified acquisition threshold.
Itisrecognized thatthetransition toelectronic commerce foruseinlarger purchases willbeagradual
process.
2. What function would information technology serve andwhowillbetheusers?
TheElectronic Commerce (EC)architecture isbeing developed insuchamanner astopermit
theexchange ofprocurement information electronically forallphases oftheprocurement process.
Thisincludes electronically providing notice ofcontracting opportunities; theability oftheGovernment
tosendsolicitations andreceive offers; process; award; provide notice ofcontract award; and,where
practical, make payment.
3. What arethetechnical aspects ofthesystems inuseorplanned?
ElectronicCommerceHardwareandtelecommunicationsinfrastructureconsistsofinternalagency
automated purchase systems thatareinterconnected tovendor-automated systems through ahubthat,
inturn, isinterconnected tocommercially available national andinternational value added networks
(VANs). Inmostcases, commercial off-the-shelf software isusedtotranslate agency purchase data
intostandard electronic formats thatarethenbroadcast totheVANs tobeaccessed byvendors.
4. What limitations might affect access toinformation available insystems? Howwideispotential
access?
Since Electronic Commerce usescommercial VANs astheinterface tothebusiness community,
potential access tointerested suppliers depends ontheaccess capabilities provided bytheVANs. For
example, several oftheinternational VANs canprovide broad global access whereas many national
VANs focus ondomestic andlocalized access. Inorder tomaximize theaccessibility tooperation,
theElectronic Commerce system willrecognize awiderange ofVANs. Thiswillallow bothforeignGPA/IC/W/7/Add.5
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anddomesticvendorstheopportunitytoaccessgovernment-wideFACNETdatabaseswhentheybecome
available.
5. What thought hasbeengiven tothequestion ofinteraction between electronic tendering and
theobligations concerning publication andtime-limits imposed bytheAgreement?
Theunderlying objective ofthetransition toelectronic commerce istopromote greater access
forbothforeign anddomestic suppliers totheU.S.Federal procurement system. Rather thanrestricting
access byforeign suppliers, thefeatures ofelectronic commerce willreduce many ofthedisadvantages
experienced byforeign suppliers duetotheir distance from theprocuring entity, byproviding
instantaneous notification andresponse capability.
Inthenearterm, shortened deadlines aregenerally focused onpurchases below thesimplified
acquisitionthreshold.Purchasesbetween$100,000and$250,000couldeventuallybenefitfromshortened
deadlines, butnotuntiltheElectronic Commerce system attains government-wide capability. Asmall
number ofpilottestswithshortened deadlines willalsobeconducted forlarger contracts, butthese
testswillhave limited impact astheywillbelimited interms ofbothvolume anddollar value.
Additionally, thefeasibility offorecasting requirements isbeing studied. Ifproved feasible, thiswould
significantly reduce theimpact ofshortened deadlines inprocurement actions.
6. Forthose delegations whouseadatabase which listsgovernment procurement opportunities:
(i) What isthename ofthisdatabase?
Electronic Commerce architecture provides fortheVANs toreceive solicitations as
theyareissued. Thename ofthedatabase isdetermined bytheVAN.
(ii) Howlonghasthedatabase beenoperational andhowmany suppliers usethedatabase?
Theprocuring agencies haveonlyrecently begun toissueelectronic requests forquotes,
receive vendor quotes andissue purchase orders instandard electronic formats.
(iii) Isafeecharged tosuppliers using thissystem? Ifso,howmuch, andwhatisincluded
inthefee?
TheVANs charge thesuppliers afeeforusing theirnetwork services.
(iv) Cansuppliers obtain tender documentation electronically? Ifso,how?
Suppliers canobtain tender documentation directly bycontacting aVAN thatis
participating intheElectronic Commerce program.
(v) How isinformation onthedatabase organized?
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(vi) Does thedatabase offer anyother features?
Duetothediversity ofservices available fromindividual VANs, thisquestion should
bedirected directly totheVAN providers.
(vii) What istheapproximate number ofprocurement opportunities listed onthedatabase
annually?
Approximately 4million procurement opportunities arelisted annually.
(viii) Isthesystem managed bythegovernment oraprivate company?
FACNET isgovernment-managed.