After six years, the federal government is cementing plans for a B2B marketplace.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) began a pilot for its Commercial Platforms Program in 2018. It set out to evaluate the feasibility of developing a federal B2B marketplace for government purchases under $10,000. More than half a decade later, the marketplace is taking final shape.
Now, GSA has awarded new contracts to eight commercial online platforms as part of a program to help federal agencies to buy, get benefits from, and analyze spending more easily when purchasing online.
The additional marketplace providers include some of the most recognizable names in U.S. B2B digital commerce.
The eight GSA B2B marketplace providers
- Amazon Business
- e-Procurement Services
- Fisher Scientific
- Grainger
- Noble Supply & Logistics
- Pacific Ink
- Social Glass
- Staples
“This is about meeting our customers where they are with a modernized user experience and streamlined process for government purchase cardholders,” says acting federal acquisition service commissioner Tom Howder. “Since its implementation in 2020, the Commercial Platforms Program has grown to support close to 40 agencies, including over 55,000 buyers and accounting for (more than) 300,000 annual orders in fiscal 2023.”
The federal government in July 2020 took an initial step to work with three established ecommerce organizations. They were: Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Business, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Overstock.com Inc. The goal was to provide a secure, modern buying and spend-management experience for government agencies. With that in mind, the GSA set out to test the use of commercial e-marketplaces for annual government procurement of up to $6 billion worth of products. Those products ranged from furniture and office products to laboratory supplies.
Now, the B2B marketplace is live and slowly but surely beginning to ramp up operations.
“All of the new awarded platforms offer a strong combination of commercially available best practices and features while meeting key government requirements related to mandatory sources, supply chain risk management, and a focus on small businesses and green products,” GSA says.
“This is a pivotal turning point in the Commercial Platforms Program as we expand the number of platforms available, including a number of small business awardees,” says GSA commercial platforms program manager Keil Todd. “We’re excited to move out on the next generation of this program to further our commitment to agencies in helping them get the products they need to support their missions.”
In 2019, sales through the federal government’s program totaled $12.5 million. They then rose to $53 million in fiscal 2022.
Other metrics include:
The number of estimated government purchase cardholders making purchases on the platform increased from 4,300 users in fiscal year 2021 to about 18,000 in fiscal year 2022.
The average order size was approximately $270 per order for fiscal years 2021 and 2022 combined.
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