1. Category Management and the Acquisition Gateway
presented by:
Andrea Azarcon Heller
Director, Office of Stakeholder Management Division
GSA FAS Office of Enterprise Strategy Management
June 28, 2017

2. Category Management is a commercial best practice being adopted by the Federal Government
Most Fortune 500 companies have adopted category management over the past years. Implementation for the federal government involves:
Identifying core categories of products and services
Developing enterprise-wide buying strategies and vehicles, to leverage the negotiate the best price across government
Developing tools and agency-level expertise around specific categories so agencies can obtain what they need faster and buy smarter
Category management enables us to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, and deliver more value and savings from the government’s acquisition programs.

3. The Vision: Agencies expend less energy buying common things so they can focus more on buying for their mission
The $445 billion government purchasing landscape is very fragmented. Many agencies make similar purchases without a coordinating strategy. This landscape is characterized by costly redundancies in contract vehicles, buys, and efforts.
Current State of Purchasing:
Future State of Purchasing:
Buy like a business
Industry involvement in developing category strategies
Minimizing contract confusion and duplication saves time and money for business and government
One common management framework
Lack of coordination across agencies
Duplicated efforts / procurement structures
Many agencies; no leveraged buying power

4. Government-Wide Category Structure total FY 2016 spend $287.56B
Facilities & Construction
- $79.08B
Professional Services
- $68.37B
IT – $56.16B
Medical - $36.9B
Industrial Products and Services - $11.51B
Construction Related Materials
Construction Related Services
Facility Related Materials
Facility Related Services
Facilities Purchase & Lease
Business Admin Services
Legal Services
Management Advisory Services (Excludes R&D 17.0)
Marketing and Distribution
PR and Professional Comms Services
Real Estate Services
Trade Policy and Services
Technical and Engineering Services (non-IT) (Excludes 1.0)
Financial Services
Social Services
IT Software
IT Hardware
IT Consulting
IT Security
IT Outsourcing
Telecomms
Drugs and Pharmaceutical Products
Medical Equipment & Accessories & Supplies
Healthcare Services
Machinery & Components
Fire/Rescue/Safety /Environmental Protection Equipment
Hardware & Tools
Test & Measurement Supplies
Industrial Products Install/ Maintenance/Repair/Rebuild
Basic Materials
Oils, Lubricants, and Waxes
Transportation and Logistics Services
– $21.75B
Security and Protection
- $5.52B
Human Capital
- 4.28B
Travel
- $2.13B
Office Management
- $1.86B
Package Delivery & Packaging
Logistics Support Services
Logistics Civil Augmentation Pgm
Transportation of Things
Motor Vehicles (non-combat)
Transportation Equipment
Fuels
Security Animals & Related Services
Security Systems
Security Services
Alternative Educational Systems
Educational Institutions
Specialized Educational Services
Vocational Training
Human Resources Services
Passenger Travel
Lodging
Travel Agent & Misc. Services
Office Management Products
Office Management Services
Furniture

5. Category Management Operating Model
Develop Category Strategy
Build category teams
Analyze agency needs
Review current spending
Analyze market for goods
Influence Category Outcomes
Vehicles, policies, and tools
Work with agencies and suppliers
Incentivize demands
Control costs
Establish benchmarks
Track performance
Adjust category strategy
Continuous Improvement

6. Industry partners stand to gain a number of benefits from category management
More constant and continuous collaboration between government and industry will help develop a continuous process of improvement in Federal procurement.
Improved Relationships
Standardizing best practices and sharing contract information across agencies will result in a more standardized interface with agencies for industry partners
Reduced Complexity
Improved Performance
Understanding where and how to “fit into the model” will make it easier for industry partners to “plug in,” gauge and measure performance, and excel in the areas they regard as their core competencies
Increased Innovation
Increased focus and expertise in the government buying community will make it easier to identify and adopt useful innovations, and easier for innovative small businesses to connect with interested government buyers
Reduced Costs
Reducing redundancy and fragmentation means that both large and small industry partners spend less time chasing after duplicative contracts that may or may not be well-utilized at an agency level 5

7. Category Management Case Study
Consolidation of the Professional Services Schedule (PSS) reduces duplication and simplifies life for industry partners
In 2015, there were more than 4,400 professional services contracts across eight Schedules
SCOPE Overlap
Multiple contracts for services also presented challenges for the government’s industry partners, with many managing multiple Schedules contracts.
For both industry and government, the new, single PSS eliminates significant contract duplication and workload previously associated with negotiating, administering, and auditing multiple contracts.
By reducing the number of contracts supporting the Professional Services category of spend, the federal government will eliminate more than 700 contracts resulting in an estimated five-year savings of $3.95 million, and sustained savings of $1.29 million annually thereafter.

8. Category Management can help small innovative businesses by:
Creating good opportunities for small businesses to work with the Federal government has always been hard … Category Management can help
Small Businesses Say...
Category Management can help small innovative businesses by:
“In today’s fragmented contract landscape, it’s hard for me to see where the real opportunities for my products/services lie and it’s impossible to chase them all.”
“But fewer contracts could mean fewer suppliers and opportunities to do business”
“It’s very hard to gain access to government decision-makers who have real business opportunities and need my services.”
Increasing market transparency and reducing contract duplication
Maximizing SB participation / utilization
Improving “match-making” mechanisms
Ensuring participating SBs are well-qualified
Federal Customers Say...
“Working with a small business can be risky unless I already know them or know that they are well-qualified to do the work.”
“Many small businesses who come knocking are unprepared or have limited experience working with government, and that wastes my time”

9. Category Management and Small Business Partners
Small business success is a core metric of Category Management
Each of the 10 categories has built its own small business strategy
We are building tools and digital services specifically aimed at improving agencies’ ability to identify, qualify, and transact business with qualified small businesses
The Acquisition Gateway will increasingly serve as a hub of intelligence and communication for small businesses and small business advocates throughout the Federal community

10. Acquisition Gateway Overview
The Acquisition Gateway is the online acquisition professional resource center that aims to improve and sustain Federal agency performance by empowering agency executives, managers, and employees with access to acquisition information, data, and tools.
The Gateway envisions driving smarter acquisition by simplifying, accelerating, and improving how the Federal government selects and buys products and services.
The Gateway enables good category management that supports the Federal acquisition community through every step of the acquisition lifecycle.

11. Acquisition Gateway Overview Acquisition Gateway Features and Content
What’s in it for me (WIIFM)?
A focused place just for acquisitions
A hallway of articles, solutions, links, and tools just for that category
A place for market research, pricing information, and requirements development
A growing searchable archive of examples
A place to connect with other acquisition professionals
A place to organize and save your acquisition
Hallways - Contain information and tools specific to each category management category or sub-category
Project Center - A personal location in the Gateway where users can save statements of work, community posts, and other information relevant to their acquisitions
Solutions Finder - Search tool to allow Federal buyers to locate “best-fit” contract vehicles across Federal agencies
“My Community” - A series of forums on specific acquisition topics, allowing users to ask questions of experts and participate in discussions with cross-agency peers
Document Library - Users can share statements of work in a centralized location and have the ability to “upvote” their favorites 11

12. Access the Acquisition Gateway
You will need your PIV card and an OMB Max account
Click the Federal Employees Sign-in button
Enter your PIN when prompted 2
Go to 1 3

13. Access the Acquisition Gateway = 2 choices
Federal Government employees with PIV/CAC cards and a PIV card reader.
Non-PIV card holders, contractors, and the General Public
Federal Government employees with PIV/CAC cards and a PIC card reader.
You will need your PIV card and an OMB Max account
No PIV card needed... open to everyone! 1
Go to
Go to 1
Click the Non-Federal Employees and Public Sign-in button 2
Click the Federal Employees Sign-in button
Enter your PIN when prompted 2
Key restrictions: 1) No eBuy Open 2) No Prices Paid Portal 3) No Community 4) Very limited access to all content (solutions, articles, tools, templates) 3
No restrictions: - Full access to all tools and data

14. Acquisition Gateway - hallways.cap.gsa.gov
Solutions Finder, CALC Tool
Project Center, Document Library

15. Government-wide Category Hallways

16. Learning from Category Subject Matter Experts:
Government-wide Category Hallways

17. Learning from Category SMEs: Government-wide Category Hallways

18. Identifying Opportunities: Forecast of Contracting Opportunities

19. View Offerings from across Government: Solutions Finder

20. Best Practices, Templates: Document Library

21. Contact Information:
Andrea Azarcon Heller