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Agency spending on products and services in 2018 spiked to the highest amount in seven years. GAO finds federal procurement spending hit $554 billion last year, up more than $78 billion since 2013. The Defense Department’s accounted for $358 billion while civilian agencies handed out $195 billion in contracts. The agency also said the amount of competitive procurements governmentwide dropped by 3% to 63.4% between 2014 and 2018. (Government Accountability Office)

Source: Government contracting dollars spiked in 2018 | Federal News Network

Can a defense acquisition approach restore the military advantages Pentagon planners say the U.S. has lost over the past 30 years? If so, contractors should get used to living with two parallel acquisition systems. The regular Defense version of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. And, of course, the burgeoning Other Transaction Authority (or Agreement).

Source: OTAs change Defense acquisition for the duration | Federal News Network

Contractors might have to make permanent adjustments to their business models and their expectations about the federal market. That’s according to longtime consultant Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners. He’s wondering if, after the upcoming summer buying season, frosty shutdowns will follow like Christmas. Hear his outlook on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Source: Should federal contractors change their market expectations going forward? | Federal News Network

ABERMAN: Well, I’m really impressed with this initiative. Tell our listeners: what is Government Marketing University, and why did you start it?

Source: Successfully marketing to government entities | Federal News Network

This week on Off the Shelf,  Tom Sisti, executive vice president and general counsel for The Coalition for Government Procurement shares his thoughts and insights on the key initiatives and insights shaping federal procurement today.

Sisti provides his analysis of GSA’s eCommerce Market Research & Consultation Report, and its recommendation for a proof of concept that will have a profound impact on commercial suppliers supporting the federal mission.  The report raises a number of still unanswered questions regarding competition, pricing, conflicts of interest, and the applicability of commercial terms and conditions.

Source: All things procurement | Federal News Network

It’s axiomatic. Once a procurement bid deadline has passed, hopeful vendors cannot submit any more information or alter their bids. Or is it? A recent protest case before the Government Accountability Office shows that in some circumstances, contractors can get changes before source selection eyes. D.C. procurement attorney Joe Petrillo of Petrillo and Powell joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain.

Source: Can contractors make changes to bids after a procurement deadline? | Federal News Network

This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, for a wide-ranging discussion on GSA and OMB initiatives that will likely make it much more difficult for small contractors to succeed in the government market.

Topics include:

• Protest of the 2GIT (2nd generation IT) contract from GSA on the grounds that it will negatively impact over 700 small contractors
• GSA eCommerce initiative
• Federal Marketplace Strategy

Source: Small contractors: Under siege | Federal News Network

When an agency’s contract award gets challenged by a bid protest, one way to deal with the problem is to simply cancel the award and give it to the protestor instead. That’s what happened in an Army case last year, and unsurprisingly, the company that had initially won the contract filed a second protest of its own, saying the Army hadn’t documented its reasons for the decision. The Government Accountability Office agreed, and now what had been a relatively small technical services procurement is back where it started almost two years ago. Joe Petrillo is a procurement attorney with Petrillo and Powell, and he joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about how GAO applied its legal standards for corrective actions in this case.

Source: GAO sides with company on protest of Army bid cancellation | Federal News Network

This content is provided by Unison.

Contracts are an integral part of financial, compliance, and business development processes. Effective contract management mitigates material enterprise risk, improves cash collections, and reduces wrap rates.

Based on interviews with over 70 GovCon Finance and Contracts leaders, below are four crucial revelations CFOs must know:

Source: GovCon CFOs must know 4 things about contract management | Federal News Network

It doesn’t happen often, but the government has the right to suspend or debar contractors from federal business in the case of non-performance or illegal conduct. But sometimes the process takes months. The Labor Department has launched a program to see if it can speed things up. To talk about how, Deputy Secretary Patrick Pizzella joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin .

Source: Labor Department launches program to speed up process of penalizing contractors | Federal News Network