Push Is On For Strategic Sourcing The Office of Management and Budget has directed agencies to begin strategic sourcing of some commodity items this fall. “Strategic sourcing is just another example of our efforts to best leverage the government’s buying power and to realize the most savings for taxpayers,” said David Safavian, administrator of OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy. By Oct. 1 each agency must identify at least three commodities that can be purchased more efficiently through strategic sourcing. Agencies will be required to report on their use of the strategy beginning next year. In an April speech to a contractors’ group, Safavian said the initiative will be a “radical” change in the way the government buys everyday items. (SAA, 4/15) While strategic sourcing usually means centralized buying from a small number of vendors, the OMB memo says, “In addition to cost and performance goals, any strategic sourcing plan must be balanced with socio-economic goals” for all targeted groups of small businesses. “Agencies need to take a look at what they’re buying,” said Robert Burton, OFPP’s deputy administrator. “Strategic sourcing starts with a spend analysis, and that’s what we’re asking agencies to do.” Speaking June 7 at a Washington conference of the Coalition for Government Procurement, he added, “I think that this initiative has an enormous amount of bang for the buck… The power of the federal dollar in the procurement context is enormous. I don’t think agencies use it well. I don’t think agencies negotiate well. I think this area has enormous potential.” GSA’s SmartBuy program for software licenses is the most prominent strategic sourcing program in government, although it has been slow to sign agreements with the largest software makers. The OMB letter is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement/comp_src/implementing_strategic_sourcing.pdf.