Articles
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS
purchase transactions each year present a market
opportunity within a new wave of technology
enabled trade, broadly defined as “Electronic
Commerce” (EC). Our vision is that, by the year
2001, all Federal agencies will support their
programs by making available customer-friendly
electronic purchasing tools integrated with end-toend
commercial electronic processing of payment, accounting and performance reporting information. In an
electronic environment, selling to the government will be simpler. Sellers of products and services will
enjoy easier access to market opportunities. Sellers will not have to disrupt existing and developing
commercial relationships for purchasing and payment support services. Within the government, buyers
should find buying simpler, faster and easier.
Turning the potential of EC into reality requires that sellers, service providers, and government buyers
see a strong business case for making investments in
EC development, operations and continuous
improvement. The Federal market can be viewed in
segments organized by such attributes as size of
purchase, frequency of purchase and buying technique
employed. Viewing market segments this way can
help both the government and private sector assess the
business case and rank order investments in EC for
each market segment.
This strategy -- based on building a business case for both buyers and sellers -- presumes program
managers will rely upon cost effective commercial ordering and payment transaction processing services for
high-volume activity. Government-unique EC systems will be developed only as a last resort for low
invested in platforms to provide commercial services.
Seven policy principles -- based on stakeholder
needs and driving forces in the environment -- will
guide EC investment. These principles will be used to
promote investment in EC projects that support
commercial service, market-based EC development policies. In the transition to EC, Federal agencies
should: (1) make the buying and paying process easier and more efficient; (2) facilitate best value buying
and paying; (3) take advantage of proven commercial applications; (4) outsource transaction processing;
(5) assign financial liability based on ability to manage risk; (6) monitor investments for return; and (7)
manage the change process.
The Electronic Processes Initiatives Committee (EPIC) of the President’s Management Council (PMC)
will provide leadership across organizational boundaries so that coordinated Federal EC work activities can
proceed along three related tracks: (1) fostering partnerships within the Federal Government, with states and
with the private sector during 1998; (2) reengineering and integrating buying for high-volume purchases with
end-to end ordering and payment processing through the use of purchase cards tied to payment utilities
and electronic catalogs by 2000; and (3) reeingineering additional buying and paying functions by 2001.
This vision is intended to capitalize on the common interests of buyers, sellers, information technology
providers and financial service providers by rapidly pursuing the largest segment of transactions. From
this base of operations, work will proceed to expand the list of buying and related paying functions that
can be performed by electronic means.
A number of building blocks will be required in order to achieve the EC goals and objectives in
this plan. The premise behind the building blocks is that the foundation of large-scale EC will be
commercial services. The building blocks include: expanding use of electronic catalogs, payment utility
services, services to authenticate buyers and sellers on the Internet, use of commercial software for
contract formation and administration, contract writing systems, Federal systems interfaces, and a
coordinated change management process. As efforts progress, the change management process will
include consideration to proposing additional legislation that would further facilitate the effective use of
EC. A general time table and list of responsibilities is presented in the migration path from current
operations to our future vision
Federal and Private Sector Partnerships
Building Blocks Federal System Interfaces Contract Formation/
Administration Payment Utilities
ID and Authentication End-to-End
Processing Buying and
Paying Functions
Additional Prototype(s)
Commerical Prototypes for High
Volume End-to-End Transaction
Processing and Decision-Support
Agency Prototypes to Enhance
Buying and Paying Processing
and Decision Functions
Integrated Electronic Commerce
Change Management Electronic
Catalogs Contract Writing Systems
Electronic Commerce for Buyers and Sellers Page 8
1. SCOPE AND VISION
For much of the last decade, the United States Government and its trading partners have been
simplifying their business practices. Reengineering efforts have focused on streamlining many of the
steps involved in conducting competitions and processing transactions to support buying and paying
activities, e.g., notifying, ordering, receiving, and reconciling. The advent of Internet communications,
dramatic increases in the capability of commercial software, and the increasing availability of commercial
transaction processing services have raised expectations for a new wave of technology-enabled trade,
broadly defined as “Electronic Commerce” (EC). Few now doubt the potential of EC-related technology
to improve government buying and paying on a large scale.
Today, some aspects of the buying and paying process can be completed in cyberspace, using the
Internet. Over the next several years, the government should obtain the capacity to buy and pay for its
goods and services electronically by taking advantage of the growing Internet and other technologies
whenever a business case is made. Our vision is that, by the year 2001, all Federal agencies will
support their programs by making available customer friendly electronic purchasing tools
integrated with end-to-end commercial electronic processing of payment, accounting and
performance reporting information.
The 22 million government purchases from the private sector each year (worth over $200 billion) is
a sufficiently large business opportunity to attract the interest of sellers of products and services as well as
technology and financial service providers. Another 10 million in transfers among Federal entities each
year (worth $450 billion) adds to the market. To turn the potential of EC into reality requires that sellers,
service providers, and government buyers see a strong business case for making investments into EC
development, operations and continuous improvement.
In an electronic environment, sellers of products and services should have easier access to specific
market opportunities. They should find selling to the government simpler, without the need to interrupt
existing and developing commercial relationships for purchasing and payment support services. Within
the government, buyers (i.e., contracting officers
and end users with buying authority) should find
buying simpler, faster and easier. EC systems
should help buyers improve their assessment of
market capabilities, increase their access to
competition, better evaluate sellers, and more
effectively administer contracts.
The Federal market can be viewed in segments organized by such attributes as size and frequency
of purchase and buying technique employed. Looking at its market in these segments can help
government assess the business case and rank order its EC investments. The pace of electronic commerce
expansion then can be more finely tuned to the strength of the business case for each market segment.
This strategy -- based on building a business case for both buyers and sellers -- presumes that program
managers will rely upon cost-effective commercial ordering and payment transaction processing services
for high-volume activity. Government-unique EC systems will be developed only as a last resort for lowvolume
activity, where industry has not invested in platforms to provide commercial services. Where
government systems are required, commercial “off-the-shelf” software will be used wherever government
processes can be accommodated by existing software.
EC Strategy Framework
To foster Federal EC partnerships, the PMC -- comprised of cabinet agency chief operating officers
-- provides a forum for coordinating EC development activity across the Federal acquisition,
finance and information technology communities.
To foster Federal EC partnerships with States, starting immediately, Federal Chief Financial
Officers (CFOs), Chief Information Officers (CIOs), and Senior Procurement Executives involved
in Federal EC projects will work with their State counterparts to identify and capitalize on areas of
common interest.
To foster commercial EC partnerships, senior Federal staff will participate actively in public forums
with the broad range of private sector associations involved in EC services, in order to build and
maintain open communications on EC development topics.
REENGINEER AND INTEGRATE HIGH-VOLUME SERVICES END-TO END
Strategic Positions
A. Enhance Purchase Card Use -- Enable Buyers in All Agencies to use Purchase Cards for 90%
of Internet and other High-Volume, Low-Dollar Purchasing with Transparent End-to-End Back
Room Processing by the Year 2000.
B. Develop and Expand Streamlined Catalog Ordering -- Provide EC tools in All Agencies so that
(a) Buyers have Easy, Internet Access to Catalogs with Transparent End-to-End Back-Room
Processing and (b) Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts are Available Online
to All who Qualify to Order by the Year 2000.
Micro-purchases and orders under $25,000 from IDIQ contracts or schedules could account for up
to 85 percent of the total number of Federal transactions. These market segments, micro-purchases
and orders under $25,000 from IDIQ contracts or schedules, appear poised for rapid EC roll-out.
Purchase cards can be used for micro-purchases, i.e., those transactions under $2,500, which
account for more than 60 percent of the Federal Government’s annual purchase transaction volume.
Buyers can use their accounts, in many cases tied to a purchase card, for electronic catalog
shopping on virtual malls to obtain best value for micro-purchases as well as higher cost goods and
services at pre-negotiated prices and conditions. The business case to industry for these
technologies may include transactions from other markets, e.g., travel, other-than-Federal
customers, training, etc.
Beginning in 1998, all agencies will be able to choose from among several card issuers and aquirers
offering purchase, travel, fleet and related services supporting, integrated electronic commerce, e.g.,
intra-governmental transfers, multi-application smart cards and electronic catalogs. These card
issuers are part of consortia -- or payment utilities -- that can provide end-to-end, ordering and
payment transaction processing.
The structure and array of EC support service choices provided through payment utilities allows
agencies to migrate to EC based on the readiness of their legacy systems and their current
organizational capacity to manage change. Central buying agencies and other agencies which host
electronic malls, agencies with large transaction volumes, and small agencies will be encouraged to
move most aggressively toward integrated commercial EC services using advanced technology.
Electronic Commerce for Buyers and Sellers Page 11
REENGINEER ADDITIONAL BUYING AND PAYING FUNCTIONS
Reengineer Key Functions of the Buying and Paying Process (e.g., strengthen market research
capabilities and facilitate more effective negotiations) by 2001.
EC can greatly enhance the government’s ability to simplify key functions of the acquisition cycle
for many different types of buys in different dollar ranges, even where "end-to-end" use of commercial
EC services is not yet possible or is otherwise impractical. For example, EC can be used to improve
market research; provide notice of contract opportunities; exchange data with vendors; and collect, use
and exchange data across functional offices within the government. Additional challenges remain
to implement end-to-end EC applications for new contracts over the micro-purchase
threshold.
The government’s current approach is to watch how the market is developing in these areas and adopt
best practices as they emerge. Beginning in fiscal year 1998 (FY 1998), the President’s
Management Council has begun to coordinate, on an interagency basis, reengineering efforts and EC
applications development for these functions of the buying and paying process. This will promote the
quicker development, for lower volume EC transactions, of applications that are modular in nature,
interoperable and replaceable without substantial investment loss.
Subsequent sections of this plan present the transaction market, the needs of stakeholders and
driving forces in the environment that will facilitate movement toward the strategic positions identified in
this document. The plan also identifies policy principles and building blocks of activities that need to be
accomplished to address these needs and driving forces in order to reach the strategic positions. The
principles should serve as investment decision-making criteria to help ensure that new EC-related projects
are pointed toward the strategic positions. Finally, a migration path lays out a general time table of event
milestones for the building block activities.
TRANSACTION MARKET
of procurement transactions with its market of related
finance transactions. To make a business case for these EC
technologies, the government must present its market in
segments to potential investors. Some market segments will
present a business case for end-to-end transaction processing
using EC. Others will attract investment into EC projects
that provide returns only for some parts of the buying and
paying process. The chart “Transaction Market and
Electronic Commerce Applications” illustrates how EC
applications can bring these market segments together.
Market of Procurement Transactions
Buying techniques form a basis for defining Federal buying and paying market segments.
Procurement transactions typically are conducted using one of four buying techniques, generally defined
by the size and frequency of the purchase, competition strategy and legal requirements. [1] For items
that cost under $2,500, purchases can be made from local sources offering a reasonably priced product or
service. [2] For individual purchases between $2,500 and $25,000, buyers must contact at least three
sources (i.e., obtain three quotes). [3] For high volume buys, rather than make individual purchases on
the open market, buyers may establish a single- or multiple-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity
(IDIQ) contract (or a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) under a contract awarded by the General
Services Administration) to leverage buying power. Orders then may be made under these contracts
through simplified techniques that vary based on the size of the purchase and legal considerations. [4] For
individual purchases above $25,000, buyers must issue widespread notices of solicitation.
The nature of the purchase will shape further the buying technique. For purchases of products
under IDIQ contracts, a buyer may need only the seller’s electronic description and price/delivery terms
before placing an order. For services, though, buyers may need to develop (often with input from sellers)
statements of work before they can reach agreement with sellers on the contracted task and performance
requirements. For example, some pricing arrangements, e.g., fixed price or cost reimbursable, may be
easier than others to accommodate using EC.
Understanding differences in buying techniques is
efficiency and effectiveness of the buying and paying
processes associated with those techniques. These
differences also can help technology and financial
service providers to determine what applications of
EC will likely hold the most promise within high
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire