Category Management
What is Category Management?
The business practice of buying common goods and services as an enterprise to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, and deliver more value and savings from the Government's acquisition programs. OMB M-19-13
The DoD's implementation of Category Management (CM) consists of a structured, data-driven business practice whereby the organization broadly and strategically analyzes and manages common categories of spend with an enterprise-wide focus in order to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiencies and enhance mission effectiveness. [CM ACQuipedia article]
It involves:
- Identifying core areas of spend;
- Collectively developing heightened levels of expertise;
- Leveraging shared best practices; and,
- Providing acquisition, supply and demand management solutions.
Category Management Training
CON 0150, Category Management Overview: Introductory-level on-line training that is specifically designed to give a solid grounding to the world of category management by exploring processes and practices, governance and regulatory structure and general terminology.
CACQ 007 Category Management Credential: Released in May 2022, this credential provides the learner with the knowledge to begin contributing as a member of a category management team or as a member of a staff overseeing category management in the Department of Defense.
ACQ 0840, Introduction to Air Force Category Management. In ACQ 0840 you will learn about the history of CM in the Federal government and US Air Force (USAF), the USAF's 4 principles of CM, Roles and Responsibilities, and the 6 Step CM Process.
Resources
- Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (DPC&AP) Category Management
- Category Management Community of Practice
- Category Management on GSA's Acquisition Gateway
- Interagency Contract Directory. The Interagency Contract Directory (ICD) is a central repository of Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (IDV) awarded by Federal agencies where the IDV is available for use at both the intra agency and interagency levels. IDVs include Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC), Multi-Agency Contracts, Other Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDC), Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA), and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA).
- GSA Pricing Suite
- Category Management (CM) Secretariat page on Procurement.Army.Mil (PAM) [Requires AKO account and CAC]
- AF Category Management introduction video (8 min)
- AF Category Management--success story on Firefighter Personal Equipment Protection Program and accompanying video (5 min.)
Spend Under Management (SUM) & Best-in-Class (BIC) on GSA's Acquisition Gateway. Look for:
- List of Best in Class Solutions
- BIC Lifecycle Process
- Best in Class Criteria
- Best in Class Annual Review
Examples
| Best in Class or Tiered Vehicles | Best in Class Vehicles (Cont) |
|---|---|
| CIO-CS, CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP3 Small Business from NIH. The CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP3 Small Business GWACs have been additionally extended through April 29, 2024. The additional six-month extension ensures there is no gap in contractual coverage between CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP4 and pushes the five-year performance period of CIO-SP3 Task Orders well into FY29, giving agencies access to all the benefits and value-adds of FAR 16 flexibilities. |
GSA maintenance contract used by U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville Fuels Program. See also GSA's Building Maintenance Operations GWAC (Below) |
| Direct Delivery Fuels: Commercial Specification Fuels. DLA Energy Direct Delivery Fuels provides worldwide acquisition and integrated materiel management of commercial fuels delivered directly to military and federal civilian customers. This includes the procurement of commercial specification aviation fuel at commercial airports, commercial ship propulsion fuels at commercial seaports and commercial ground fuels (diesel, gasoline and “green” products) at posts, camps and stations worldwide. |
GSA One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) and OASIS Small Business (SB) are multiple award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts that provide flexible and innovative solutions for complex professional services. The end dates of the OASIS contracts are as follows: OASIS+ combines the scope of legacy OASIS; Building, Maintenance & Operations (BMO); and Human Capital & Training Solutions (HCaTS) under one program along with new areas of services. Oasis+ Domains
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| DoD Information Analysis Centers (IACs) - Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Multiple Award Contracts for Research and Development and Advisory and Assistance Services related to R&D efforts. The IAC Program's scope areas include Cybersecurity and Information Systems, Defense Systems and Homeland Defense. See Preferred Use of DoD Information Analysis Center Contracts, DPAP and ASD (R&E) memo. | HR Solutions is the Army’s preferred strategic source providing centralized acquisition management and support of enterprise-level human resource Knowledge Based Services for Department of Defense (DoD) requiring activities. Task orders for Personnel Lifecycle Support (PLS)and Recruiting-Management & Administrative Support (R-MAS) are possible with a period of performance ending in 2028. |
| Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) ENCORE III Full and Open AND Small Business Set-Aside. These contracting vehicles provide a full range of information technology (IT) services and solutions required by the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and the intelligence community. ENCORE III Full and Open Large Business Suite was awarded in Jan 2018. See DISA Contracting for more information. |
ITES-3. The Army recently awarded the $12B ITES-3S to acquire commercial IT services. The scope includes cybersecurity, integration, consolidation, telecommunications, supply chain management, operation and maintenance, business process engineering, and education and training. The ITES awards include an unrestricted portion (including small business awardees) and a small business set-aside portion. Army CHESS IT e-Mart receives BIC badge and is the Army's designated primary source for IT hardware, software and services. |
| GSA Services MAC--SEE OASIS | Maintenance Repair Facility Supplies Generation 2 (MRFS2). A GSA BIC. The MRFS2 purchasing channel is a strategic sourcing and category management solution created to streamline the process of purchasing maintenance, repair, janitorial, and sanitation products governmentwide. The federal government currently spends almost $2.8 Billion a year on MRFS2 supplies. In partnership with numerous federal agencies, both military and civilian, GSA has established multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) to address this spend volume. |
| Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative for Office Supplies Fourth Generation (FSSI OS4) is GSA’s latest FSSI solution for office supplies and is considered Best-in-Class for office supplies by OMB. | NETCENTS-2 NetOps and Infrastructure Solutions. Provides services and solutions for network operations, production, research and development, and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) mission capabilities. |
| U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Facility Reduction Program (FRP). The FRP, recently designated as a BIC, focuses on stand-alone demolition; contractors specialize in demolition. It is a reimbursable program providing full project execution to its customers to include project management, demolition, environmental, estimating, contracting, engineering, quality assurance, abatement, safety, legal, etc. FRP partnered with the General Services Administration to offer facility removal services to the entire federal government. | Package Delivery Services. Next Generation Delivery Services (NGDS) is a Mandatory use BIC. More information on package delivery services may be found on the Transportation and Logistics Services Hallway on GSA's Acquisition Gateway. NOTE: Log in to access all content. |
| GSA 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources and Services III (STARS III), a small business set-aside GWAC, provides flexible access to customized IT solutions from a large, diverse pool of 8(a) industry partners. | Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3) Program Office Mission: To provide Federal and State Government Agencies and Organizations world class program management and procurement services for their Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and knowledge based professional engineering services mission requirements. |
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GSA Alliant 2 OMB named Alliant 2 GWAC a Best-in-Class vehicle for comprehensive and flexible IT solutions worldwide! The Effective Date is July 1, 2018. The Period of Performance and Ordering Period is a 5 multiyear base term through June 30, 2023 plus a 5 multiyear option period through June 30, 2028. Aliant 3 solicitation released. |
SeaPort Next Generation (NxG) Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) started the Seaport contract vehicle in 2001 to maximize savings in procuring Professional Support Services (PSS). SeaPort Next Generation (NxG) is the latest iteration of SeaPort-e. Seaport NxG is a MAC IDIQ for systems engineering, software development, research and development, system design documentation and technical data, financial analysis, quality assurance, configuration management, information technology and logistics support services. UPDATE! A second on-ramp for the Navy’s $5 billion-per-year SeaPort NxG contract could add several hundred competitors to its stratified vendor roster. See NMCARS 5237.102. |
| GSA's Building Maintenance and Operations (BMO) strategic sourcing solution is a comprehensive and flexible solution covering all high-demand BMO services. There are both unrestricted and small business set aside programs available in the BMO vehicle to allow for large and small business participation. The BMO Small Business (SB) has additional socio-economic categories to help agencies meet their goals. BMO received a best-in-class designation. | Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP, pronounced 'soup'), is a multi-award Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) vehicle focused on commercial IT products and product based services. With over 140 pre-competed Prime Contract Holders, SEWP offers a wide range of commercial advanced technology including tablets, desktops and servers; IT peripherals; network equipment; storage systems; security tools; software products; cloud based services; telecommunications; Health IT; sensors; video conferencing systems and other IT, Communication and Audio-Visual products. |
| GSA Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS). EIS is a comprehensive solution-based vehicle to address all aspects of federal agency IT, telecommunications, and infrastructure needs. |
The VETS 2 GWAC is the only GWAC set aside exclusively for Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). It's designed to meet diverse agency IT services requirements, including new and emerging technologies. |
| GSA - Human Capital. GSA offers a wide variety of human resources and administrative services. Includes Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) full and open, HCaTS-SB, and HCaTS-8(a) Small Business Set-Asides. |
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Solutions for Intelligence Analysis (SIA) 3, Program Management Office The scope of SIA 3 is centered on supporting the Defense Intelligence Enterprise (DIE) through NAICS Code 541990. The contract supports analytic and analytic enabling services that range from scientific and engineering research to programmatic and intelligence collection. |