Contract Management

Not Following Procedures Undermines Best Pricing Under GSA's Schedule Gao ID: GAO-01-125 November 28, 2000

The Department of Defense (DOD) spends millions of dollars each year to acquire information technology (IT) services through the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS). However, DOD has not been taking steps critical to ensuring that it gets the best services at the best prices. GAO's review of 22 DOD orders revealed that 17 of them were placed without seeking competitive quotes. GSA's established procedures require that agencies seek competitive quotes to ensure that the government gets the best price for IT services. Many DOD contracting officers were unaware of this requirement and placed orders under FSS contracts without seeking quotes from multiple contractors. The Federal Acquisition Regulation covering FSS contracts does not provide clear guidance to contracting officers on these special ordering procedures.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.