83 FR 27986 - Request for Information From Platform Providers of Commercial e-Commerce Portals

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 116 (June 15, 2018)

The General Services Administration (GSA) is soliciting information from the providers of commercial e-Commerce Portals in order to complete Phase II of the requirements enacted in Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, Procurement through Commercial e-Commerce Portals. Note: A separate RFI is posted for suppliers who sell products through commercial e-commerce portal. Throughout the design of this program, GSA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have emphasized open and ongoing engagement. The questions in this RFI are intended to continue the dialogue and to allow GSA and OMB both to draft the Phase II report (due to Congress in March 2019) and to move towards phased implementation later in 2019.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 116 (Friday, June 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27986-27989]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12891]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-QP-2018-03; Docket No. 2018-0002; Sequence No. 12]


Request for Information From Platform Providers of Commercial e-
Commerce Portals

AGENCY: Office of Enterprise Strategy Management, General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is soliciting 
information from the providers of commercial e-Commerce Portals in 
order to complete Phase II of the requirements enacted in Section 846 
of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, 
Procurement through Commercial e-Commerce Portals. Note: A separate RFI 
is posted for suppliers who sell products through commercial e-commerce 
portal. Throughout the design of this program, GSA and the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) have emphasized open and ongoing 
engagement. The questions in this RFI are intended to continue the 
dialogue and to allow GSA and OMB both to draft the Phase II report 
(due to Congress in March 2019) and to move towards phased 
implementation later in 2019.

DATES: Interested parties may submit written comments to 
www.regulations.gov by July 20, 2018. GSA is also hosting its second 
modified town-hall style public meeting. This meeting is in furtherance 
of Phase II on June 21, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. 
Further Information for the public meeting may be found on the 
Commercial Platform Interact group page on https://interact.gsa.gov/group/commercial-platform-initiative and in the Federal Register notice 
(83 FR 25004) published on May 31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by ``Request for information from 
Platform Providers of Commercial

[[Page 27987]]

e-Commerce Portals'', by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submit comments by searching for ``Request for information from 
Platform Providers of Commercial e-Commerce Portals''. Select the link 
``Comment Now'' and follow the instructions provided at the ``You are 
commenting on'' screen. Please include your name, company name (if 
any), and ``Request for information from Platform Providers of 
Commercial e-Commerce Portals'', on your attached document.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, 2nd Floor, ATTN: Ms. 
Mandell, Washington, DC 20405-0001.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite ``Request for 
information from Platform Providers of Commercial e-Commerce Portals'' 
in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received will 
be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jasmine Schaaphok at 
[email protected], or 571-330-3941, for clarification of 
content and submission of comment. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755. Please cite ``Request for information from Platform Providers 
of Commercial e-Commerce Portals''.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The General Services Administration's (GSA) mission is to deliver 
value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other 
mission-support services across Government. For decades, GSA has 
provided access to commercial products through a number of channels 
including GSA Advantage!, GSA eBuy, GSA Global Supply, and the Federal 
Supply Schedules.
    GSA has long been focused on improving the acquisition of 
commercial items. Throughout its history, GSA has sought to leverage 
the best available technology to help agencies shorten the time to 
delivery, reduce administrative cost, make compliance easier, be a 
strategic thought leader and supplier of choice across the Federal 
Government, and be a good partner to industry. Today, the best 
available technology includes commercial e-commerce portals.
    The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, 
Section 846 Procurement Through Commercial e-Commerce Portals, directs 
the Administrator of the GSA to establish a program to procure 
commercial products through commercial e-commerce portals. Section 846 
language can be found at the following link--https://interact.gsa.gov/group/commercial-platform-initiative. Section 846 paragraph (c) 
instructs the ``Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in 
consultation with the GSA Administrator and the heads of other relevant 
departments and agencies,'' to carry out three implementation phases. 
OMB and GSA completed Phase I, an initial implementation plan, in March 
of 2018.
    The plan, found at https://interact.gsa.gov/document/gsa-and-omb-phase-i-deliverable-attached, discusses government and industry 
stakeholder goals and concerns, the different types of portal provider 
models currently prevalent in the commercial market, and areas where 
legislative change or clarification are required to enable flexibility 
in the full and effective use of commercial e-commerce portals in 
accordance with the goals of section 846. The plan also outlines 
deliverables anticipated to be completed in FYs 18, 19, and 20.
    GSA is currently working on Phase II with the intent of delivering 
a proof of concept near the end of FY19. Phase II of the legislation 
requires (excerpt below):

    (2) PHASE II: MARKET ANALYSIS AND CONSULTATION.--Not later than 
one year after the date of the submission of the implementation plan 
and schedule required under paragraph (1), recommendations for any 
changes to, or exemptions from, laws necessary for effective 
implementation of this section, and information on the results of 
the following actions:
    (A) Market analysis and initial communications with potential 
commercial e-commerce portal providers on technical considerations 
of how the portals function (including the use of standard terms and 
conditions of the portals by the Government), the degree of 
customization that can occur without creating a Government-unique 
portal, the measures necessary to address the considerations for 
supplier and product screening specified in subsection (e), security 
of data, considerations pertaining to nontraditional Government 
contractors, and potential fees, if any, to be charged by the 
Administrator, the portal provider, or the suppliers for 
participation in the program established pursuant to subsection (a).
    (B) Consultation with affected departments and agencies about 
their unique procurement needs, such as supply chain risks for 
health care products, information technology, software, or any other 
category determined necessary by the Administrator.
    (C) An assessment of the products or product categories that are 
suitable for purchase on the commercial e-commerce portals.
    (D) An assessment of the precautions necessary to safeguard any 
information pertaining to the Federal Government, especially 
precautions necessary to protect against national security or 
cybersecurity threats.
    (E) A review of standard terms and conditions of commercial e-
commerce portals in the context of Government requirements.
    (F) An assessment of the impact on existing programs, including 
schedules, set-asides for small business concerns, and other 
preference programs.

II. Written Comments

    To assist in meeting the requirements associated with Phase II of 
the implementation, GSA and OMB are inviting portal providers to submit 
written comments. (A separate RFI has been issued for suppliers 
interested in selling through portals.) GSA is requesting those 
comments be submitted by July 20, 2018, which will allow the Government 
to take them into account as we are drafting our Phase II deliverable.
    To facilitate comment submission, GSA and OMB have developed a 
number of questions grouped around five focus areas--spending trends, 
data standards, user experience, cybersecurity, and terms and 
conditions. These five areas are central to the analysis required for 
Phase II, e.g. the terms and conditions questions will further the 
analysis required in paragraph (E). A sixth focus area is intended to 
give respondents an opportunity to provide feedback that, in addition 
to the five areas described above, will help to inform GSA about the 
general scope, shape, and types of products that should be considered 
for a proof of concept. In accordance with the Phase I implementation 
plan, the proof of concept is planned for launch in FY 2019.
    Each question is intended to provide respondents with a general 
framework for commenting. These questions are not intended to be all-
inclusive; other comments and observations are encouraged.

1. Spending Trends Questions

    a. Spend Data: Over the past few months, GSA has participated in 
demos provided by portal providers, many of whom have expressed a 
willingness to share data on Government spend conducted through their 
platforms, i.e. purchases using government-issued purchase cards. 
Government spend data can be identified by looking at the first four 
digits of the government-issued purchase card. These four digits are:

[[Page 27988]]

5565 and 5568 (Mastercard); and 4486, 4614, and 4716 (Visa).
    Would you be willing to share this spend data with GSA? 
Additionally, are you willing to share reports or dashboards 
demonstrating your analytics capabilities? (If yes, GSA will reach out 
separately to coordinate these requests.)
    For those portal providers willing to share such information, the 
following categories of aggregated Government spend data from civilian 
agency and DoD buyers, over the last 3 years, would be particularly 
useful:
    i. Spend by agency:

1. Total spend broken out by agency
2. Number of transactions by agency
3. Average order size by agency
4. Seasonality of purchasing (i.e. only at the end of an FY or are they 
spread out evenly throughout the year?)

    ii. Spend by product category:

1. Categories/subcategories comprising 80% of the annual spend through 
your portal
2. Dollar value, count of transactions, count of suppliers, proportion 
of small and large supplier (count and dollars) for each category/
subcategory
3. Agencies comprising 80% of the dollar value for each category/
subcategory

    iii. Spend outside the Contiguous US (OCONUS) vs spend within the 
Contiguous US (CONUS)
    iv. Spend by socioeconomic/small business designations.
    b. Additional considerations:
    i. What taxonomy or taxonomies are used to sort products into 
suitable categories and subcategories, e.g. product service codes 
(PSCs) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code? 
Please identify if the classification system is proprietary.
    ii. What level and types of transactional data are made available 
to buyers?
    iii. What functionalities and/or capabilities are available to 
buyers to analyze transactional data? Do you offer your commercial 
buyers the opportunity to develop customized data analytics 
capabilities?
    iv. How do the pricing algorithms respond to sudden increases in 
demand?
    v. The Government seeks to increase small business participation 
through this initiative. How might your platform aid in increasing 
small business participation? What capabilities does your system have 
(or what would you need from GSA or other agencies) to track agency 
spending from the various socio-economic categories of small business 
(small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, service-
disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business) so that 
Government agencies can receive credit toward their agency socio-
economic goals when they buy through your portal? Please explain.
    vi. The Government seeks to promote compliance with mandatory 
sources (e.g. AbilityOne Program, Federal Prison Industries). What 
capabilities does your system have to track agency spending from these 
sources and limit ``leakage'' where purchases are made from non-
mandatory sources?
    vii. How are you shipping items to base locations/overseas? What 
are your labelling requirements/standards that you follow?

2. Data Standards

    a. How do you use third party supplier data?
    b. What are your data protection/security practices for 
safeguarding both user and third-party supplier data?
    c. What are your standard terms and conditions with third-party 
suppliers and buyers regarding your use and their use of spend data?
    d. Is your platform capable of integrating information from the 
System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) to identify if a seller is a 
small business in accordance with FAR 19.303? If not, explain why. 
Would you be interested in testing capabilities with beta sam.gov?

3. User Experience and Program Design

    a. GSA seeks to ensure that the government purchase card buyers 
have a simple and clear user experience when selecting products across 
multiple providers. How would you suggest we accomplish this? For 
example, how could GSA get to a single log-on across portals? Are there 
commercial analogs that achieve this purpose? If so, what, if any, 
drawbacks or obstacles do those models present?
    b. How are your supplier relationships structured? What fees are 
charged? What do the onboarding and offboarding processes look like?
    c. As a portal providers, do you have the capability to participate 
in a `punchout' type of ecommerce experience? Please explain.
    d. Implementation and operationalization of this program will 
entail the involvement of GSA, ordering agencies, portal providers, and 
third-party suppliers. GSA envisions its role primarily focusing on the 
following:
    i. Negotiating the contracts with the portal providers;
    ii. working with stakeholders to shape the scope of product 
offerings, based on suitability, potential challenges in managing 
supply chain risk, and other considerations;
    iii. working with agencies on effective use of protocols and 
safeguards to refine access to product offerings;
    iv. collecting, vetting and sharing data; and,
    v. developing guidance in consultation with OMB and training 
federal agencies in proper competitive procedures through the portal; 
and,
    vi. potentially validating the suppliers as responsible business 
partners.
    Do you agree with this description of roles and responsibilities 
for GSA in optimizing the user experience and the overall success of 
the program? Are there key items missing?
    e. The section 846 language stated both that all existing 
procurement laws applied and that GSA should strive to be consistent 
with commercial practice. To reconcile these objectives, in Phase I, 
GSA only proposed legislative changes necessary to reach program 
implementation, primarily around the nature of competition. For 
purposes of Phase II, what additional legislative changes GSA should 
consider proposing?

4. Cyber-Security Questions

    GSA welcomes any insights that can be shared regarding how your 
platform addresses the following cybersecurity topics:

a. Financial data theft/fraud
b. Intellectual property theft/damage
c. Distributed Denial of Service
d. Man in the Middle Attacks
e. Compliance with Information Security Standards
f. Data storage
g. Vulnerability assessments/monitoring
h. Encryption
i. Disaster Recovery
j. Network monitoring

5. Standard Terms and Conditions

a. General Roles and Responsibilities
    i. For products sold by third parties on your portal, what, if any, 
responsibilities do you assume with respect to a sale?
    ii. For what, if any, purposes do you consider the third party 
supplier selling on your portal to be your ``subcontractor''?
    iii. What, if any, of the value-added portal services and 
functionalities (e.g., order tracking, payment processing) have been 
outsourced? Do you consider them subcontractors? If not, why not?
    iv. Other than the suppliers selling on the portal and those 
providing value-

[[Page 27989]]

added portal services and functionalities, are there entities that are 
considered subcontractors of your business? If yes, what functions do 
these entities perform for your business?
b. Order Tracking, Delivery and Issue Resolution
    i. Describe how orders and delivery are tracked.
    ii. Describe how issues are resolved (e.g., if the product doesn't 
arrive in a timely manner or needs to be returned). Identify who is 
responsible for resolving these issues when the sale involves a third 
party seller. Include information on customer/ordering official 
management throughout the process.
c. Payment
    i. When a buyer makes a payment for a purchase on the portal, who 
processes the payment?
    ii. What are the payment procedures?
    iii. Are payments by Electronic Funds Transfer allowed?
d. To Assist GSA in Determining the Applicability of the Service 
Contract Act to a Portal Contract Under the Section 846 Program, Please 
Advise of the Type of Work Your Employees Would Perform Under Such a 
Contract.
e. Suitability of FAR Commercial Service Requirements
    i. Please address the extent you believe the following clauses/
provisions are consistent with and/or are relevant to current, standard 
commercial practice for operating commercial e-commerce portals. If 
they are not consistent and/or relevant, please indicate what obstacles 
they would present if applied to the section 846 program. Conversely, 
if there are public policy reasons why any of these should be retained, 
please explain.

1. 52.212-4(a), Inspection and acceptance
2. 52.212-4(b), Assignment of claims
3. 52.212-4(g), Invoice
4. 52.212-4(k), Taxes
5. 52.212-4(n), Title
6. 52.212-4(q), Other compliances
7. 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier 
Subcontract Awards
8. 52.219-3, Notice of HUBZone Set-Aside or Sole-Source Award
9. 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small 
Business Concerns
10. 52.219-27, Notice of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 
Set-Aside
11. 52.222-3, Convict Labor
12. 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers
13. 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans
14. 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans
15. 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging 
While Driving
16. 52.232-29, Terms for Financing of Purchases of Commercial Items
17. 52.232-30, Installment Payments for Commercial Items
18. 52.242-5, Payments to Small Business Subcontractors
19. 52.212-3(t), Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 
Reduction Goals
20. 52-212-4(f), Excusable Delays
21. 52.212-4(h), Patent Indemnity
22. 52.212-4(i)(4), Discount
23. 52.212-4(s), Order of precedence
24. 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business 
Subcontractors
25. 52.223-9, Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for 
EPA-Designated Items
f. Additional Considerations:
    i. Are there different terms and conditions based on the country 
being served by a given commercial e-commerce portal?
    ii. If you are not registered on www.sam.gov would you be willing 
to register? Why or why not?
    iii. For your other commercial customers, do you offer ways to 
limit access to products on your platform for B2B customers who may not 
want access to your full catalog?
g. Copies of standard terms and conditions:
    i. Please provide GSA with copies of your standard terms and 
conditions that apply to your suppliers?
    ii. Please provide GSA with copies of your standard terms and 
conditions that apply to users (i.e. buyers)?

6. Proof of concept

    As explained in the Phase I implementation plan, GSA intends to 
proceed with a proof of concept in FY 2019. What is your recommended 
vision for a proof of concept that would be both manageable and 
meaningful, including types of products offered?

    Dated: June 11, 2018.
Laura J. Stanton,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Enterprise Strategy Management, 
Federal Acquisition Service, General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-12891 Filed 6-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-89-P