Government Procurement Database Integration

The General Services Administration (GSA) has been working diligently with IBM on developing advanced system integration for the federal government's new System for Award Management (SAM) procurement website. The goal of this new system is to eliminate the host of redundant systems and procurement related websites vendors now have to deal with. These include CCR, ORCA, PPIRS, EPLS, eSRS, ORCA, WDOL, and more. (See chart below). The new system is scheduled to debut in May 2012, and boasts new architecture and a single point of access for government vendors and contracting personnel.

Under the new system, multiple logins, data overlap, hosting, customer service issues, and other inefficiencies will be eliminated. It’s expected this will greatly reduce the confusion and expense of the current legacy systems.

For vendors, the new single login SAM website will provide access to all the tools they need to register, record reps and certs (ORCA), view and respond to solicitations, obtain wage determinations, and more. Streamlined processes will significantly decrease the amount of time required for registration and registration updates. Reporting requirements will also be integrated into the new system, facilitating subcontract and other reporting requirements for contractors.

For contracting professionals, one login will provide access to all the information needed to make an award determination, greatly speeding up the procurement and award process.