Streamlining
Procurement Through
Electronic Commerce
Electronic Commerce
Acquisition Team (ECAT)
May 1994
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Streamlining Procurement through Electronic Commerce
o By March 1994, define the architecture for the Government-wide
EC acquisition system.
o By September 1994, establish an initial EC capability
o By July 1995, implement a full scale Federal EC system; and
o By January 1997, complete Government-wide implementation of EC
for appropriate Federal purchases
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Charter for ECAT
o Mission was to develop a comprehensive plan for implementing an
initial EC procurement capability
o 120-day detail
o Co-chairs from GSA and DoD
o Approximately 50 interdisciplinary, interdepartmental staff
members from finance, acquisition, and IRM fields
o Focus was on commodities less than $25,000.00
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ECAT Focus Areas
o Acquisition requirements
o Vendor registration
o Implementation conventions
o Value added networks (VANs)
o Finance linkages
o Technical architecture
o Implementation projects
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Business Requirements
o Single face
o Vendor registration
o Regulatory changes
o Posting of solicitation
o Small purchase commodities
o Other purchases and functional areas
o Send minimum data
o Common data bases
- Registration
- Master solicitation provisions
- Master Government contracts
- Vendor catalogs
- Past performance
o Agency systems
- Review current processes
- Improvements
o Policy issues
o Outreach and training
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ECAT Results and Plans
o Results
- Draft "Streamlining Procurement through EC," April 29, 1994
- Draft implementation conventions
- Identified additional projects and lead Agencies necessary to
attain full scale EC
o Agency briefings
o Plans
- Continue briefings
- Commerce Program Management Office (PMO) operations
Facilitate implementation and lead Agency actions
Review, refer, and assist Agency implementation efforts
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Target Electronic Commerce Architecture
Government Procurement/Financial EDI & Related Applications
(see edi.houser.figure1.gif)
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Implementing the Virtual Network
o Connectivity
o Standards-based interfaces
o Help desk
o Audit and security
o Data base accessibility
o Technical assistance
o Directory services
o Addressing
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Implementing EDI
o Software and/or hardware to translate between internal format(s)
and the standard
o Trading partner agreements
- Who/when to exchange data
- What data to exchange
- Format of data
o Capability to communicate with trading partners
- Direct connection
- Through a third party (value-added network or VAN)
o Integrating EDI into internal systems and procedures
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Identify EDI Translation Software Requirements
o EDI translation software converts data between your Agency
application system and the ASC X12 EDI format
o A wide variety of translation software is commercially available
o Translation software is available that operates on: mainframes,
minis, and PCs utilizing a variety of operating systems
o The features/capabilities of translation software vary tremendously
and selecting the correct one for your Agency should be carefully
considered
o Translation software usually requires application programs to extract
data from your application and place it in a flat-line format for
conversion to X12 format (and vice versa)
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Establish Telecommunication Strategy
o Telecommunications will get data from your translator(s) to
your VAN
o Determine your path of choice: Internet, DoD Network, FTS, others
o Consider alternatives of Gateways, agency alliances, etc.
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EDI Standards Organizations
o The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 consists of individuals
and representatives of all types of organizations, including
commercial and Government. Activities of X12 include:
- Develop and maintain EDI standards for common usage
- Provide education and information regarding the use of EDI
o The Secretariat for ASC X12 is the:
Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA)
1800 Diagonal Road
Suite 355
Alexandria, VA 22314-2852
(703) 548-7005
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Selected Examples of ASC X12 Transaction Sets - Phase 1
o Registration
- 838 - Registration
- 838 - Confirmation of registration
o Purchasing
- 840 - Request for quotation
- 843 - Response to request for quotation
- 850 - Purchase order
o Finance
- 810 - Invoice
- 820 - Payment order/remittance advice
o Control
- 997 - Functional acknowledgement
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Selected Examples of ASC X12 Transaction Sets - Phase II
o Contract Management
- 836 - Notice of award
o Purchasing
- 855 - Purchase order acknowledgement
- 860 - Purchase order change (buyer initiated)
- 865 - Purchase order change acknowledgement/change request
(seller initiated)
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Selected Examples of ASC X12 Transaction Sets - Phase III
o Engineering
- 841 - Specifications/technical information
o Purchasing
- 832 - Price/sales catalog
o Contract management
- 869 - Order status inquiry
- 870 - Order status report
o Safety
- 848 - Material safety data sheet
o Transportation
- 856 - Ship notice/manifest
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Selected Examples of ASC X12 Transaction Sets - Potential Use
o Management
- 806 - Project schedule reporting
- 839 - Project cost reporting
- 864 - Text message
o Quality
- 842 - Non-conformance report
- 863 - Test results
o Transportation
- 861 - Receiving advice
- 858 - Shipment information
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Trading Partner Registration
(see edi.houser.figure2.gif)
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"Single Face" Registration Recommendations
o Register once
- One place of registration
- Collect and share like information
o One trading partner agreement
- Rules of electronic commerce
- Electronic agreement
o One vendor identification code
- Widely used
- Vendor obtained from a single source
- No cost
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Vendor Registration
(see edi.houser.figure3.gif)
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Communications
Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Team
Skyline 2, Suite 400
5113 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
Tel: (703) 681-0364
Fax: (703) 681-0362
Electronic mail can be sent to the ECAT at:
<useop_at_sif1@cc.ims.disa.mil>