GSA’s Online Tools eOffer, eMod Are Found To Be Widely Ignored GSA’s highly touted move to electronic processing of schedule contracts awards and modifications has gained little traction, partly because contracting professionals don’t like the systems, according to a report by the agency’s inspector general. GSA launched eOffer, an online system for processing proposals for GSA schedule contracts, and eMod, a companion system to handle contract modifications, three years ago. But the IG found eOffer is being used for only 9% of contract awards, while eOffer handles only 4.5% of modifications. “GSA may not be realizing enough benefit from eOffer to justify the cost,” the IG report said. Although the electronic systems were intended to streamline the award and mod process, the IG found that contracts handled through eOffer take longer to award than paper-based contracts. While eMod is available for all GSA schedules, eOffer currently processes proposals on only five of the 42 schedules: 70 (IT), 520 (Financial and Business Solutions), 541 (Advertising and Integrated Marketing Solutions), 871 (Professional Engineering Services) and 874 (Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services). Plans to expand the system have been delayed by shifting priorities in GSA’s budget, the auditors said. Contracting personnel said eOffer does not gather all the information they need to evaluate a proposal and they have to follow up with vendors to collect past performance information and price lists. As a result, the report said, many contracting personnel were not encouraging vendors to use the electronic systems. The commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, Jim Williams, agreed with the IG’s recommendations to develop a strategy to increase usage of the systems and to correct the problems noted by contracting personnel.