United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-01-03 monographic deposited born digital 50 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-97-26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26 P0b002ee18039cea6 f:ns97026 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26 NSIAD-97-26 Federal procurement Federal procurement policies Computer networks Information resources management Small purchases Competitive procurement Procurement regulation Cost effectiveness analysis Federal Acquisition Computer Network FACNET GSA Federal Procurement Data System DOD Electronic Data Interchange Program Internet Value Added Network GSA Central Contractor Registration Data Base Letter Report NSIAD GAO reviewed the federal government's progress in developing and implementing the Federal Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET), focusing on: (1) federal agencies' use of FACNET; (2) problems and benefits of using FACNET; (3) concerns relating to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act's (FASA) requirements for FACNET; and (4) management obstacles to effective governmentwide implementation of FACNET.<p/>GAO found that: (1) overall, the federal government has executed relatively few procurement actions through FACNET; (2) the Department of Defense executed the vast majority of all FACNET procurement actions that federal agencies have reported; (3) difficulties doing business through FACNET have overshadowed the benefits of using it; (4) officials from at least 14 of the 18 agencies GAO contacted rated the lack of a sound FACNET infrastructure, effective engineering and operational management, and a well-populated and fully functional centralized contractor registration database as great or very great obstacles to effective FACNET implementation; (5) officials of many federal agencies said the current FACNET approach is out of step with new, cost-effective technologies and buying practices; (6) although FACNET has, in some instances, resulted in lower prices and expanded access to vendors, agency officials and vendors often said that FACNET is not producing the benefits expected; (7) agencies' analyses have concluded that using FACNET to award contracts of $25,000 or less often takes longer and requires more resources than traditional simplified purchasing methods for such awards; (8) as mandated by FASA, FACNET implementation has focused primarily on competitive contract awards, requiring agencies to exchange information with multiple, often unknown vendors; (9) organizations with the most success in using electronic data interchange technology for purchasing, however, typically use it to transmit high-volume, routine, and repetitive transactions with a small group of known suppliers; (10) federal officials have stated that FASA's requirement to focus FACNET's implementation principally on competitive contract awards may not have been a good approach and has contributed significantly to FACNET's problems; (11) agencies and vendors have consistently cited leadership and management shortcomings as major reasons for delays and unresolved problems in FACNET implementation; and (12) agency officials also expressed considerable uncertainty about what the governmentwide strategy for FACNET implementation is. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26.pdf GAO/NSIAD-97-26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-26 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-97-26; Acquisition Reform: Obstacles to Implementing the Federal Acquisition Computer Network; Federal procurement Federal procurement policies Computer networks Information resources management Small purchases Competitive procurement Procurement regulation Cost effectiveness analysis Federal Acquisition Computer Network FACNET GSA Federal Procurement Data System DOD Electronic Data Interchange Program Internet Value Added Network GSA Central Contractor Registration Data Base Public Law 103-355 Public Law 104-134