The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has initiated a review examining federal agencies’ use of reverse auctions for their contracting efforts and has contacted the Chamber for feedback. This meeting is for those who have used or researched and chosen not to use reverse auctions.
We will NOT be providing information on what reverse actions are and how to use them.
Below are a number of questions that will be explored during this feedback session.
Guest:
Russ Reiter
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
1. What is your members’ position regarding the use of reverse auctions for government contracting purposes? Does this position differ between the large and small businesses? What concerns, if any, have your members expressed about reverse auctions?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of reverse auctions? Are specific advantages or disadvantages more important than others?
3. What types of products and services are best suited to reverse auctions?
4. Have your members also used reverse auctions in their commercial sales, and if yes, what are the differences between how commercial companies conduct reverse auctions compared to the government?
5. Please describe your members’ experiences when participating in reverse auctions. Is there a standard procedure that interested firms must follow? Do any of your members go through any certification, verification, or registration process prior to participating in a reverse auction?
6. What are the benefits/disadvantages of using a contractor to conduct the reverse auction? What kind of challenges, if any, have your members faced when there is a contractor that conducts the auction?
7. Would you be able to provide any data about the effect of reverse auctions on your members’ contract prices and sales volume?
8. Agencies have used reverse auctions among vendors that are listed on IDIQ contracts, for examples, those on the GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules, NASA’s SEWP, and DHS’s First Source. Have the auctions resulted in the vendors providing greater discounts than they would have under their applicable IDIQ contracts?
9. What is your position on the need to issue government-wide guidance on the use of reverse auctions, including how to calculate potential and actual savings?