Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Notices 27989 

added portal services and 

functionalities, are there entities that are 

considered subcontractors of your 

business? If yes, what functions do these 

entities perform for your business? 

b. Order Tracking, Delivery and Issue 

Resolution 

i. Describe how orders and delivery 

are tracked. 

ii. Describe how issues are resolved 

(e.g., if the product doesn’t arrive in a 

timely manner or needs to be returned). 

Identify who is responsible for resolving 

these issues when the sale involves a 

third party seller. Include information 

on customer/ordering official 

management throughout the process. 

c. Payment 

i. When a buyer makes a payment for 

a purchase on the portal, who processes 

the payment? 

ii. What are the payment procedures? 

iii. Are payments by Electronic Funds 

Transfer allowed? 

d. To Assist GSA in Determining the 

Applicability of the Service Contract 

Act to a Portal Contract Under the 

Section 846 Program, Please Advise of 

the Type of Work Your Employees 

Would Perform Under Such a Contract. 

e. Suitability of FAR Commercial 

Service Requirements 

i. Please address the extent you 

believe the following clauses/provisions 

are consistent with and/or are relevant 

to current, standard commercial practice 

for operating commercial e-commerce 

portals. If they are not consistent and/ 

or relevant, please indicate what 

obstacles they would present if applied 

to the section 846 program. Conversely, 

if there are public policy reasons why 

any of these should be retained, please 

explain. 

1. 52.212–4(a), Inspection and 

acceptance 

2. 52.212–4(b), Assignment of claims 

3. 52.212–4(g), Invoice 

4. 52.212–4(k), Taxes 

5. 52.212–4(n), Title 

6. 52.212–4(q), Other compliances 

7. 52.204–10, Reporting Executive 

Compensation and First-Tier 

Subcontract Awards 

8. 52.219–3, Notice of HUBZone SetAside or Sole-Source Award 

9. 52.219–4, Notice of Price Evaluation 

Preference for HUBZone Small 

Business Concerns 

10. 52.219–27, Notice of ServiceDisabled Veteran-Owned Small 

Business Set-Aside 

11. 52.222–3, Convict Labor 

12. 52.222–17, Nondisplacement of 

Qualified Workers 

13. 52.222–35, Equal Opportunity for 

Veterans 

14. 52.222–37, Employment Reports on 

Veterans 

15. 52.223–18, Encouraging Contractor 

Policies to Ban Text Messaging 

While Driving 

16. 52.232–29, Terms for Financing of 

Purchases of Commercial Items 

17. 52.232–30, Installment Payments for 

Commercial Items 

18. 52.242–5, Payments to Small 

Business Subcontractors 

19. 52.212–3(t), Public Disclosure of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 

Reduction Goals 

20. 52–212–4(f), Excusable Delays 

21. 52.212–4(h), Patent Indemnity 

22. 52.212–4(i)(4), Discount 

23. 52.212–4(s), Order of precedence 

24. 52.232–40, Providing Accelerated 

Payments to Small Business 

Subcontractors 

25. 52.223–9, Estimate of Percentage of 

Recovered Material Content for 

EPA–Designated Items 

f. Additional Considerations: 

i. Are there different terms and 

conditions based on the country being 

served by a given commercial ecommerce portal? 

ii. If you are not registered on 

www.sam.gov would you be willing to 

register? Why or why not? 

iii. For your other commercial 

customers, do you offer ways to limit 

access to products on your platform for 

B2B customers who may not want 

access to your full catalog? 

g. Copies of standard terms and 

conditions: 

i. Please provide GSA with copies of 

your standard terms and conditions that 

apply to your suppliers? 

ii. Please provide GSA with copies of 

your standard terms and conditions that 

apply to users (i.e. buyers)? 

6. Proof of concept 

As explained in the Phase I 

implementation plan, GSA intends to 

proceed with a proof of concept in FY 

2019. What is your recommended vision 

for a proof of concept that would be 

both manageable and meaningful, 

including types of products offered? 

Dated: June 11, 2018. 

Laura J. Stanton, 

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Enterprise 

Strategy Management, Federal Acquisition 

Service, General Services Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2018–12891 Filed 6–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–89–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice-Qp–2018–02; Docket No. 2018–0002; 

Sequence No. 11] 

Request for Information From 

Suppliers Selling on Commercial ECommerce Portals 

AGENCY: Office of Enterprise Strategy 

Management, General Services 

Administration (GSA). 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The General Services 

Administration (GSA) is soliciting 

information from the suppliers selling 

product through commercial eCommerce Portals in order to complete 

Phase II of the requirements enacted in 

Section 846 of the National Defense 

Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal 

Year 2018, Procurement through 

Commercial e-Commerce Portals. Note: 

A separate RFI is posted for those 

companies who are providers of 

commercial e-commerce platforms. 

Throughout the design of this program, 

GSA and the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) have emphasized open 

and ongoing engagement. The questions 

in the RFI are intended to continue the 

dialogue and to allow GSA and OMB 

both to draft the Phase II report (due to 

Congress in March 2019) and to move 

towards phased implementation later in 

2019. 

DATES: Interested parties may submit 

written comments to 

www.regulations.gov by July 20, 2018. 

GSA is also hosting its second modified 

town-hall style public meeting. This 

meeting is in furtherance of Phase II on 

June 21, 2018, at 8:30 a.m., Eastern 

Standard Time (EST). Further 

Information for the public meeting may 

be found on the Commercial Platform 

Interact group page on https://

interact.gsa.gov/group/commercialplatform-initiative and in the Federal 

Register (83 FR 25004), published on 

May 31, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by ‘‘Request for information 

from Suppliers Selling on Commercial 

e-Commerce Portals’’, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Regulations.gov: http://

www.regulations.gov. Submit comments 

by searching for ‘‘Request for 

information from Suppliers Selling on 

Commercial e-Commerce Portals’’. 

Select the link ‘‘Comment Now’’ and 

follow the instructions provided at the 

‘‘You are commenting on’’ screen. 

Please include your name, company 

name (if any), and ‘‘Request for 

information from Suppliers Selling on 


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27990 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Notices 

Commercial e-Commerce Portals’’, on 

your attached document. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, 

2nd Floor, ATTN: Ms. Mandell, 

Washington, DC 20405–0001. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite ‘‘Request for information 

from Suppliers Selling on Commercial 

e-Commerce Portals’’ in all 

correspondence related to this case. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jasmine Schaaphok at 

jasmine.schaaphok@gsa.gov, or 571– 

330–3941, for clarification of content, 

public meeting information, and 

submission of comment. For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the 

Regulatory Secretariat at 202–501–4755. 

Please cite ‘‘Request for information 

from Suppliers Selling on Commercial 

e-Commerce Portals.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The General Services 

Administration’s (GSA) mission is to 

deliver value and savings in real estate, 

acquisition, technology, and other 

mission-support services across 

Government. For decades, GSA has 

provided access to commercial products 

through a number of channels including 

GSA Advantage!, GSA eBuy, GSA 

Global Supply, and the Federal Supply 

Schedules. 

GSA has long been focused on 

improving the acquisition of 

commercial items. Throughout its 

history, GSA has sought to leverage the 

best available technology to help 

agencies shorten the time to delivery, 

reduce administrative cost, make 

compliance easier, be a strategic thought 

leader and supplier of choice across the 

Federal Government, and be a good 

partner to industry. Today, the best 

available technology includes 

commercial e-commerce portals. 

The National Defense Authorization 

Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, 

Section 846 ‘‘Procurement Through 

Commercial e-Commerce Portals’’, 

directs the Administrator of the GSA to 

establish a program to procure 

commercial products through 

commercial e-commerce portals. Section 

846 language can be found at the 

following link—https://interact.gsa.gov/ 

group/commercial-platform-initiative. 

Section 846 paragraph (c) instructs the 

‘‘Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget, in consultation with the 

GSA Administrator and the heads of 

other relevant departments and 

agencies,’’ to carry out three 

implementation Phases: 1. 

Implementation Plan; 2. Market 

Analysis and Consultation; and 3. 

Program Implementation Guidance. 

OMB and GSA completed Phase I, an 

initial implementation plan, in March of 

2018. The plan, found at https://

interact.gsa.gov/document/gsa-andomb-phase-i-deliverable-attached, 

discusses government and industry 

stakeholder goals and concerns, the 

different types of portal provider models 

currently prevalent in the commercial 

market, and areas where legislative 

change or clarification are required to 

enable flexibility in the full and 

effective use of commercial e-commerce 

portals in accordance with the goals of 

section 846. The plan also outlines 

deliverables anticipated to be completed 

in FYs 18, 19, and 20. 

GSA is currently working on Phase II 

with the intent of delivering a proof of 

concept near the end of FY19. Phase II 

of the legislation requires (excerpt 

below): 

(2) PHASE II: MARKET ANALYSIS AND 

CONSULTATION.—Not later than one year 

after the date of the submission of the 

implementation plan and schedule required 

under paragraph (1), recommendations for 

any changes to, or exemptions from, laws 

necessary for effective implementation of this 

section, and information on the results of the 

following actions: 

(A) Market analysis and initial 

communications with potential commercial 

e-commerce portal providers on technical 

considerations of how the portals function 

(including the use of standard terms and 

conditions of the portals by the Government), 

the degree of customization that can occur 

without creating a Government-unique 

portal, the measures necessary to address the 

considerations for supplier and product 

screening specified in subsection (e), security 

of data, considerations pertaining to 

nontraditional Government contractors, and 

potential fees, if any, to be charged by the 

Administrator, the portal provider, or the 

suppliers for participation in the program 

established pursuant to subsection (a). 

(B) Consultation with affected departments 

and agencies about their unique procurement 

needs, such as supply chain risks for health 

care products, information technology, 

software, or any other category determined 

necessary by the Administrator. 

(C) An assessment of the products or 

product categories that are suitable for 

purchase on the commercial e-commerce 

portals. 

(D) An assessment of the precautions 

necessary to safeguard any information 

pertaining to the Federal Government, 

especially precautions necessary to protect 

against national security or cybersecurity 

threats. 

(E) A review of standard terms and 

conditions of commercial e-commerce portals 

in the context of Government requirements. 

(F) An assessment of the impact on existing 

programs, including schedules, set-asides for 

small business concerns, and other 

preference programs. 

II. Written Comments 

To assist GSA in meeting the 

requirements associated with Phase II of 

the implementation, GSA and OMB are 

inviting suppliers selling product 

through commercial e-commerce 

platforms to submit written comments. 

Comments should be submitted by July 

20, 2018, which will enable the 

Government to take them into account 

as we are drafting our Phase II 

deliverable. (A separate RFI has been 

issued focused on e-commerce platform 

operators.) 

GSA and OMB have developed a 

number of questions grouped around 

three focus areas: Product categories, 

terms and conditions, and program 

design. These three areas are central to 

the analysis required in paragraphs (A), 

(C), and (E) above. This information will 

also be used to help inform GSA about 

the general scope, shape, and types of 

products that should be considered for 

a proof of concept. In accordance with 

the Phase I implementation plan, the 

proof of concept is planned for launch 

in FY 2019. Each question is intended 

to provide respondents with a general 

framework for commenting. These 

questions are not intended to be allinclusive; other comments and 

observations are encouraged. 

1. Product Categories 

a. Identify which product types/ 

categories/subcategories should be 

considered in scope for inclusion in the 

program. Describe the classification 

system used, if not product service 

codes or North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) codes. 

For each category/subcategory 

identified, include as many of the 

following as possible: 

i. Rationale for inclusion; 

ii. Assessment of supply chain risk, 

including the extent to which you 

believe counterfeit products are a 

significant problem,and mitigation 

strategies; 

iii. List existing e-commerce 

commercial portals on which you 

currently sell these products; 

iv. Level of visibility into country of 

origin, including compliance with the 

Buy American Act (BAA), other 

domestic sourcing restrictions, and 

existing trade agreements; including 

how these are verified; and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Notices 27991 

v. If multiple categories/subcategories 

are identified, provide a suggested 

ranking. 

b. Identify which categories/ 

subcategories should be excluded from 

the scope of this effort and the rationale. 

2. Terms and Conditions (Ts&Cs) 

a. General 

i. To the extent you sell products as 

a third party through a commercial ecommerce portal, what Ts&Cs do you 

have with them? 

ii. What terms are unacceptable? What 

terms are absolute must-haves? 

iii. Are there unique terms and 

conditions when looking at serving the 

Contiguous United States (CONUS) vs. 

Outside the Contiguous United States 

(OCONUS)? What are some that we 

might need to consider? 

iv. What should GSA be thinking 

about with respect to BAA and existing 

trade agreements (and implementing 

regulations)? How do you currently 

track/monitor country of origin for 

products, if at all? 

v. How is security of data addressed 

in your standard Ts&Cs? 

vi. If you currently sell through a 

portal, how are fees/fee structures 

addressed in the terms and conditions? 

b. Suitability of FAR Commercially 

Available Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Item 

Requirements: Please address the extent 

you believe the following clauses/ 

provisions are consistent with and/or 

relevant to current, standard 

commercial practice when selling 

through a commercial e-commerce 

portal. If they are not consistent and/or 

relevant, please indicate what obstacles 

they would present if applied to the 

section 846 program. Conversely, if 

there are public policy reasons why any 

of these should be retained, please 

explain. 

1. 52.212–1(a), NAICS/business size 

2. 52.212–1(b), Submission of offers 

3. 52.212–1(c), Period for acceptance of 

offers 

4. 52.212–1(d), Product samples 

5. 52.212–1(e), Multiple offers 

6. 52.212–1(f), Late submissions, 

modifications, revisions, etc. 

7. 52.212–1(g), Contract award 

8. 52.212–1(h), Multiple awards 

9. 52.212–1(i), Availability of 

requirements documents 

10. 52.212–1(j), Unique entity identifier 

11. 52.212–3(p), Ownership or Control 

of Offeror 

12. 52.212–3(r), Predecessor of Offeror 

13. 52.212–4(f), Excusable delays 

14. 52.212–4(l), Termination for 

Government’s convenience 

15. 52.212–4(o), Warranty 

16. 52.212–4(q), Other compliance 

17. 52.204–10, Reporting Executive 

Compensation and First-Tier 

Subcontract Awards 

18. 52.219–3, Notice of HUBZone SetAside or Sole-Source Award 

19. 52.219–4, Notice of Price Evaluation 

Preference for HUBZone Small 

Business Concerns 

20. 52.219–8, Utilization of Small 

Business Concerns 

21. 52.219–27, Notice of ServiceDisabled Veteran-Owned Small 

Business Set-Aside 

22. 52.222–3, Convict Labor 

23. 52.232–40, Providing Accelerated 

Payments to Small Business 

Subcontractors 

24. 52.212–1(l), Debriefing 

25. 52.212–3(i), Certification Regarding 

Knowledge of Child Labor for 

Listed End Products 

26. 52.212–3(t), Public Disclosure of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 

Reduction Goals 

27. 52.212–4(a), Inspection and 

acceptance 

28. 52.212–4(b), Assignment of claims 

29. 52.212–4(c), Changes 

30. 52.212–4(d), Disputes 

31. 52.212–4(g), Invoice 

32. 52.212–4(i)(1), Items accepted 

33. 52.212–4(i)(3), Electronic Funds 

Transfer 

34. 52.212–4(i)(4), Discount 

35. 52.212–4(j), Risk of loss 

36. 52.212–4(k), Taxes 

37. 52.212–4(s), Order of precedence 

3. Program Design 

a. Competition is a core goal of the 

program. Towards that end, the user 

needs to be able to see/compare 

products across multiple portals and/or 

suppliers. What is the best way to get to 

a single sign-on across portals? 

b. If you are not registered in the 

System for Award Management, would 

you be willing to register. Why or why 

not? 

c. The section 846 language stated 

both that all existing procurement laws 

applied and that GSA should strive to 

be consistent with commercial practice. 

To reconcile these objectives, in Phase 

I, GSA only proposed legislative 

changes necessary to reach program 

implementation, primarily around the 

nature of competition. For purposes of 

Phase II, what additional legislative 

changes GSA should consider 

proposing? 

d. In GSA’s view, the nature of buying 

through an e-commerce portal brings a 

significant new level of competition into 

the micro-purchase world. GSA 

proposed raising the micro-purchase 

threshold to $25,000. What benefits and 

disadvantages do you see in a higher 

threshold? Would you recommend a 

higher threshold and, if so, what should 

it be? 

e. In the first phase of 

implementation, should this program be 

limited to orders within the contiguous 

United States? If so, why? If not, why 

not and what issues should be 

considered? 

f. How do the pricing algorithms 

respond to sudden increases in 

demand? 

g. As a supplier, do you have the 

capability to participate in either a 

public or private (or curated) ‘punchout’ 

type of experience? Please explain. 

h. Implementation and 

operationalization of this program will 

entail the involvement of GSA, ordering 

agencies, portal providers, and thirdparty suppliers. GSA envisions its role 

primarily focusing on the following: 

i. Negotiating the contracts with the 

portal providers; 

ii. working with stakeholders to shape 

the scope of product offerings, based on 

suitability, potential challenges in 

managing supply chain risk, and other 

considerations; 

iii. working with agencies on effective 

use of protocols and safeguards to refine 

access to product offerings; 

iv. collecting, vetting and sharing 

data; and, 

v. developing guidance in 

consultation with OMB and training 

federal agencies in proper competitive 

procedures through the porta; and, 

vi. potentially validating the suppliers 

as responsible business partners. Do you 

agree with this description of roles and 

responsibilities for GSA in optimizing 

the user experience and the overall 

success of the program? Are there key 

items missing? 

i. What opportunities do you see for 

your existing Government business (and 

potential future new business)? How 

can we best design a program to 

promote small business utilization and 

new entrants into the federal 

marketplace? 

j. Proof of concept: As explained in 

the Phase I implementation plan, GSA 

intends to proceed with a proof of 

concept in FY 2019. What is your 

recommended vision for a proof of 

concept that would be both manageable 

and meaningful, including types of 

products offered? 

Dated: June 12, 2018. 

Laura J. Stanton, 

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Enterprise 

Strategy Management, Federal Acquisition 

Service, General Services Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2018–12893 Filed 6–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–89–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES