OFPP pushes data-driven procurement
A memo from Administrator Anne Rung outlines a plan to spread the gospel of strategic sourcing and category management governmentwide.
OFPP's Anne Rung wants to develop digital acquisition strategies and more effectively engage vendors on large-scale IT projects.
The administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's procurement policy bureau wants to expand the use of data-driven procurement practices to cover the entire federal government.
In a memo released on Dec. 4, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Anne Rung tasked the General Services Administration and the interagency Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council with expanding category management practices at federal agencies, developing digital acquisition strategies and more effectively engaging vendors on large-scale IT projects.
Rung wrote in a blog post that strategic sourcing efforts helped the government reduce contract spending by more than $55 billion in fiscal 2013 compared with fiscal 2012.
GSA has been using its strategic sourcing and category management initiatives to develop electronic "hallways" for a host of IT products in an effort to centralize information on product pricing, contracting and other aspects of procurement.
In the memo, Rung said the council will approve governmentwide spending categories, prioritize categories and set timelines for milestones, establish guiding principles that category managers would use to identify the best contracts and practices within their categories, and validate performance metrics for category management.
GSA will develop guidance for agencies on consistent standards for category management, including setting performance metrics, identifying best-in-class solutions and creating benchmarking methods, Rung said.