Regulation

It seems Uncle Sam wants 2 day shipping!  The General Service Administration is moving forward with a program to procure commercial items through eCommerce portals.

The administration’s mission is to deliver value, savings and support services in acquisition, real estate, and technology for many of the government agencies and branches.  The GSA continuously aims to reduce difficulties in compliance, costs, distribution and leadership, when acquiring commercial items and providing other support services.  The GSA has determined that eCommerce platforms is a technology that could help them provide more value to agencies when acquiring commercial items for the government and has been tasked to create a program of procuring commercial items through eCommerce platforms.

The program is concerning itself with phase I, where it analyzes eCommerce platforms that are prevalent and if any clarifications or changes need to be made for flexibility so that the platforms can be fit for the procurement program; and II which determines what items would be appropriate for acquisition through such eCommerce platforms that would not be of risk to any of the agencies.  The Phases of this plan include Implementation of Plan as Phase I, Market Analysis and Consultation as Phase II, and Program Implementation Guidance at Phase III.

This is in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.  GSA has announced it is in Phase 2, working towards a proof of concept by end of next year.

We were able to take a look at some concerns of Phase 2 and outlined them in a separate article.

Why It is Important

The United States has been know to support domestic organizations.  This action is important as it moves to support large ecommerce operations that companies like Amazon, and eBay are invested in, and that large retailers are developing.

This is also a good strategy to develop distribution for agencies and branches of government to better procure commercial items.  Commercial items also have less danger if information becomes compromised or hacked.

Disclaimer

Regulation Regular comments on actions of government agencies with an explanation and examination for stratagem or opportunity.

In an effort to find opportunity for entrepreneurial and investment efforts, I have begun to monitor more actions from governmental agencies regarding regulations.  This segment aims to highlight interesting developments in the business environment including competitors, regulations, or interesting occurrences.

THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.  THIS IS COMMENTARY ON REGULATION.

Regulations can be a source of opportunity, as they make a major part in the determination of barriers to entry.  An industry or practice is difficult to enter if there is a significant amount of regulative procedures and requirements, versus when restrictions are removed an opportunity may be presented.  In this way we are doing our small part to encourage an informed people.

We start from modest beginnings but continue to identify, develop, and research opportunity and strategy for entrepreneurs, to better develop business ideas.