GSA TO HOST E-COMMERCE “LISTENING SESSION” JANUARY 9TH:

Contractors and other interested parties have the ability to speak to GSA and OMB leaders in person regarding their views on how a Congressionally-mandated e-commerce platform for commercial item acquisition should be implemented.  GSA is hosting a “town hall” style gathering at its headquarters January 9th.  GSA will divide speakers into three theme-based areas:  General Program Design, Buying Practices, and Implementation.  The agency is also seeking written input on these and other project areas.  Written comments are due to the agency January 18th.  Significant interest is expected in this project from e-commerce platform providers, companies that believe they could meet the standard of what would constitute an e-commerce platform under the law, and contractors who might find their government business disrupted by creation of commercially based e-commerce platforms.  That said, GSA is clearly contemplating a deliberative process, in partnership with OMB.  As such, roll-out and implementation will not happen overnight.  Interested parties can e-mail GSA at section846@gsa.gov to learn more.