GSA Announces First FSSI Award
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), co-chair of the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative, has made its first award under this program, a Blanket Purchase Agreement for express and ground domestic delivery service.
This award to FedEx Corporation will enable the Federal government to realize significant savings and enjoy no fuel surcharges on their domestic shipments. The award also provides for robust management information reports to enable agencies to manage shipments more efficiently and implement commercial best practices for additional cost reductions.
“I want to congratulate GSA for its leadership on the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative,” said Paul Denett, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy at the Office of Management and Budget. “This first award is a great step in the right direction. Substantial discounts will be achieved as government agencies use this new agreement for express and ground delivery services. Strategic sourcing helps the Federal government take advantage of its combined purchasing power and common business practices, resulting in more effective use of tax dollars. We will work to identify additional services and goods where strategic sourcing will help achieve savings for the taxpayer.”
“This first award demonstrates what we’ve known all along about FSSI: that it will achieve great value for government in pricing and quality, enhanced business intelligence and improved management,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. “Not only will it save significant taxpayer dollars, but FSSI also sets a perfect example of how federal agencies can work strategically with top notch suppliers to carry out our missions.”
Launched by the OMB, FSSI is co-chaired by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and GSA, and counts more than 20 federal agencies, both military and civilian, as active participants. FSSI’s primary objectives are to strategically source across federal agencies, establish mechanisms to increase total cost savings, value, and socio-economic participation; collaborate with industry to develop optimal solutions; share best practices; and create a strategic sourcing community of practice. Current FSSI commodity teams include Express and Ground Domestic Delivery Services, Wireless Handheld Devices and Services, Information Technology (Printers), Copiers and Office Supplies.
GSA is a centralized, federal procurement, property management, policy development and information provision agency, created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. In this role, GSA acquires products and services on behalf of federal agencies; plays a key role in developing and implementing government-wide policies; provides services and solutions for the office operations of more than one million federal workers; and encourages a citizen-centric relationship with government by providing a single “point of entry” to the information and services citizens need in a timeframe they can appreciate. This allows citizens to receive accurate, timely and consistent answers and information, and helps federal agencies better respond to citizen inquiries.
