ARCHIVED Review Process for Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements

Purpose

Policy Notification (PN)-72R1 replaces PN-72R, dated November 14, 2006, in its entirety. PN-72R1 is a companion to, and should be read in conjunction with PN-92, Commodity Management Policy, and with the provisions of applicable chapters of the Supply Manual. In case of conflict between the Supply Manual and this PN, the provisions of PN-72R1 will take precedence.

PN-72R1 provides direction to contracting officers on the creation, renewal or extension of standing offers (SOs) (National Master Standing Offer [NMSO], National Individual Standing Offer [NISO], Regional Master Standing Offer [RMSO], Regional Individual Standing Offer [RISO], Departmental Individual Standing Offer [DISO]) and supply arrangements (SAs).

Requests for all SOs/SAs, regardless of dollar value or transaction type, related to commodities covered by National Approaches are outside the scope of PN-72R1 and must be addressed by following the instructions provided in PN-92.

PN-72R1 aims to reduce duplication of SOs/SAs, increase the effectiveness, efficiency and level of quality of SOs/SAs, and ensure that within each SO/SA, applicable national/regional and social objectives are addressed. It outlines the roles and responsibilities for individuals involved in the process.

Policy

Requests for the creation, renewal and extension of SOs (NMSO, NISO, RMSO, RISO, DISO) and/or SAs require advance endorsement by either the designated Commodity Manager/Officer of Primary Interest (CM/OPI) identified for those goods or services, or if there is no CM/OPI, by a Regional Reviewer (RR) who is designated for each region. If there is no CM/OPI/RR, the Manager, Commodity Coordination Division within the Performance, Spend and Commodity Management Directorate, will perform the review.

All individuals conducting reviews of SO/SA requests are referred to in this document as "Reviewer". A list of reviewers is available and regularly updated in the Standing Offer Index (SOI).

Application

1. Review

   Before the creation, renewal or extension of any SO (NMSO, NISO, RMSO, RISO, DISO) and/or SA, and/or whether or not the extension period was pre-approved in the original document, the contracting officer must submit the "Request for Reviewer Endorsement" (see Annex A) to the appropriate Reviewer (see the Standing Offer Index for complete listing).

   The Reviewer will:

   1. "endorse without comment/recommendations"; or
   2. "endorse with comments/recommendations/conditions"; or
   3. "decline with supporting rationale".

   If endorsed with comments/recommendations/conditions or declined, contracting officers can revise their request and resubmit it to the Reviewer.

   The Reviewer's endorsement with or without comments/recommendations/conditions, or the rationale for declining, must be included in the Contract Planning and Advance Contract (CPAA) or Procurement Plan.

   Existing contract approval authorities remain in place and approval authorities must ensure that the Reviewer's comments/recommendations/conditions, or the rationale for declining, are included in the approval documentation for the new or amended SO/SA before approving or not.

   Contracting officers are encouraged to contact the Reviewer during the planning phase in order to obtain input and possibly expedite the review process.

   Annex B provides instructions and reporting requirements for Reviewers.

2. Posting SOs/SAs Files

   Managers are responsible for ensuring that:

   1. all SOs (NMSO, NISO, RMSO, RISO, DISO) and/or SAs are posted in the Standing Offer Index (SOI);
   2. information posted on the Standing Offer Index is accurate, includes the original SO/SA document, sequence of amendments and tombstone documentation, such as contracting officer name and phone number.
3. Use of Departmental Standard Procurement Documents

   Contracting officers must use the standard procurement templates available on the Departmental Standard Procurement Documents Web site for the issuance of Request for Standing Offers/Request for Supply Arrangements (RFSOs/RFSAs) for goods, services or both. Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual clauses must be used in the development of procurement documents; however, other clauses may be included, if approved by Legal Services, for a specific requirement. If such clauses are to be used on a regular basis, they must be included in the SACC Manual by submitting them to the Procurement Process Tools Division, Acquisition Policy and Process Directorate.

4. Usage Data Reporting

   The previous version of this PN required that all SO/SA usage data be reported to the Value Management Office (VMO); this is no longer required.

   Contracting officers should carefully think through the reporting requirements for SOs/SAs, so that they can manage and monitor such procurement methods adequately. Once the reporting requirements have been identified, contracting officers should consider the best approach for meeting these requirements. There are various sources available for usage reports, e.g. client departments, in-house tracking system, commodity management teams, office of prime interest, Spend Cube Application and offerors/suppliers. There may even be instances where usage reports are not required.

   If it is determined that it would be necessary to obtain usage reports from offerors/suppliers, as is typically the case with multi-departmental SOs/SAs, contracting officers must:

   1. provide a clear description of the reporting requirements in the RFSOs/RFSAs and subsequent SO/SA, including the required data elements and the frequency of the reports;
   2. ensure that the information is provided as required in the SO/SA;
   3. analyze the reports and take timely corrective measures as necessary; and,
   4. document procurement files adequately.

Revisions to the Standing Offer Index (SOI), Supply Manual (SM) and Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual (SACC)

Content of Annex A and Annex B will be incorporated in the Standing Offer Index in the near future. Any changes to the procedures will be reflected in a future version of the Supply Manual. Changes have been done to SACC Manual clauses M7010C and S0010C, as part of Version 10-1, dated January 11, 2010.

Contact Person

Direct inquiries to the Manager, Commodity Coordination Division, Performance, Spend and Commodity Management Directorate, by e-mail at: DCBS-CCD@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca, or by telephone at: 819-956-0676.

Annex A - Commodity Management Request for Reviewer Endorsement

Requests for the creation, renewal or extension of SOs (NMSO, NISO, RMSO, RISO, DISO) and/or SAs require advance endorsement by the applicable Reviewer. The instructions provided in PN-92 must be followed if the request proposed for the creation, renewal or extension relates to a commodity covered by a National Approach as part of the Commodity Management Policy.

In order to obtain endorsement, the contracting officer must complete the "Request for Reviewer Endorsement" below and forward it to the applicable Reviewer. During the evaluation, the Reviewer may:

1. request further details, or
2. "endorse without comment", or
3. "endorse with comments/recommendations/conditions", or
4. "decline with supporting rationale".

Commodity Management Request for Reviewer Endorsement

1. To direct this form to the appropriate Reviewer, consult the Standing Offer Index, specifically the “Tables of Commodity Teams, Regional Reviewers and Designated Commodities”.
2. Provide a succinct description of what is being procured, including geographical location(s) of coverage.
3. Requisition Number: _________________________; GSIN: _______________
4. Type of SO (NMSO, NISO, RMSO, RISO, DISO)/SA:
5. What is the estimated business volume per year?
   What is the estimated “extended period” business volume?
6. What dollar value ($) will appear on the face of the SO/SA document(s)?
7. Does the proposed request for the creation, renewal or extension duplicate any other SO/SA/National Approach? If yes, a full explanation should be attached to this request articulating why the duplication is required with timelines to eliminate it. The Reviewer should not normally endorse duplication requests.
8. Will the SOs/SAs be available for use to all federal departments? If not, explain.
9. Will multiple SOs/SAs, for the same requirement(s) be issued to multiple offerors/suppliers? If yes, explain how client departments will competitively determine, at the point of each call-up/contract, which offeror/supplier to select. Does PWGSC have a mechanism in place to assist the client department in their selection? If there is no such system, how will the client department competitively select the offeror/supplier?
10. If bid pricing is not part of the offeror/supplier evaluation/selection process, explain what process/system will be made available to the end user to facilitate competition.

If this is a request for endorsement associated to an amendment to an existing SO/SA, skip to question 20. If not, continue.

11. What is the procurement strategy (competitive/sole source)?
12. Will the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) apply? If so, indicate which one(s) will apply?
13. Will the offerors/suppliers be providing usage reports? If yes, does the pricing strategy include usage threshold discounts?
14. Were environmental performance considerations included in the solicitation strategy and environment requirements integrated in the solicitation strategy and decisions taken documented in the procurement file? If not, explain.
15. Were small and medium enterprise considerations included in the solicitation strategy and decisions taken documented in the procurement file? If not, explain.
16. Were Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements (CLCAs) considerations and/or the set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB) included in the solicitation strategy and decisions taken documented in the procurement file? If not, explain.
17. What is the total duration, including proposed extensions, of the proposed SO/SA? Why was this total duration period chosen?

    Is it the standard period for this commodity and type of SO/SA? If not, explain. Any deviation will require the next higher level of approval, the highest level being the ADM, Acquisitions Branch.

    It is important to respect the established standard period since it has been determined by taking into consideration all relevant factors, including suppliers’ access to government procurement opportunities by tendering requirements at reasonable intervals.

18. In the event of multiple year SOs/SAs, how will the prices remain competitive during the entire period?
19. What are the SO call-up/SA contract limits and why were these limits chosen?

Amendments to extend existing SO/SA

20. Why is this SO/SA not being re-solicited?
21. How will the prices remain competitive during the extension period(s)?
22. What was the original SO/SA duration and what is the proposed extension period?
23. How is the extension in the best interest of Canada?

Name of contracting officer (please print) ___________________

Phone number: ____________________

This section must be completed by the Reviewer

1. Endorsed without comment – The Reviewer, _________________________ (insert name of Reviewer), endorses this request for issuance of a SO/SA or amendment for extension ____________ (insert requisition number), without comment. The date of this endorsement is ________________ (insert date).
2. Endorsed with comments/recommendations/conditions – Outline comments/recommendations/conditions or attach in a separate document
3. Declined – Outline the rationale for the decision or attach in a separate document
4. If any aspect of the original request or the file has been modified as a result of Reviewer’s comments or recommendations, summarize the main aspects of the changes in the box to the right.

Contracting officers must include this request in the procurement file and the Reviewer comments must be included in the CPAA or Procurement Plan submission. Once endorsed with or without comments/recommendations/conditions or should the request be declined, the Reviewer will e-mail it back to the contracting officer with a copy to DCBS-CCD@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. See Annex B for further details.

Annex B - Reviewer Instructions and Reporting Requirements

Reviews will be conducted in the following manner:

1. The Requestor will submit the "Request for Reviewer Endorsement" (see Annex A) to the applicable Reviewer. The Reviewer may add content to further clarify the request. If the Reviewer is the Commodity Manager/Officer of Primary Interest (CM/OPI), its additions must first be submitted to the following e-mail address: DCBS-CCD@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca for consideration before inclusion.
2. Normally within 48 hours, the Reviewer will evaluate/re-evaluate the submitted documentation and advise the Requestor that the request is:
   
   1. endorsed without comments, or
   2. endorsed with comments/recommendations/conditions, or
   3. declined with supporting rationale.

   The Reviewer's goal is to:

   1. ensure adherence to instructions provided in the Commodity Management Policy, PN-92;
   2. reduce SO/SA duplication;
   3. consider the potential for economies of scale;
   4. support the commodity management function by providing a copy of the request to the Performance, Spend and Commodity Management Directorate. These documents can be used to analyze trends and the performance of this policy in meeting its intended goals.
3. The Reviewer must ensure that any changes to the original approach are identified in box "D" of the request.

Reviewer Reporting

Once the request is completed, the Reviewer must at the same time as endorsement issuance, e-mail a copy to the Commodity Coordination Division at: DCBS-CCD@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

Commodity Coordination Division (CCD) Responsibilities

CCD is responsible to:

1. ensure that, in the event of issues between the Reviewer and the Requestor, the Reviewer may consult the Manager of CCD, Performance, Spend and Commodity Management Directorate, for assistance.
2. educate all reviewers of the process to follow when determining whether or not to endorse a request;
3. communicate, on a regular basis, the new National Approaches and/or other pertinent methods of supply to ensure that Reviewers have all the information available to make informed decisions;
4. analyse/assess procurement trends:
   
   1. With the data collected, work with the CM/OPI to determine if the existing method of supply needs to be revised to include new commodities.
   2. Perform on a semi annual basis the analysis of data relating to endorsed requests. This data will be studied with the goal of identifying overall trends and making subsequent recommendations (as and if applicable) to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Acquisitions Branch, for potential additions to the Annual Government-wide Plan for Commodity Management.
5. perform, on a yearly basis, an overall review of all activities with the goal of identifying areas for improvement and proceeding with subsequent improvements.