Reverse the course

The second experiment in reverse auctions at the General Services Administration

is scheduled for Nov. 16. The U.S. Coast Guard's Aircraft Repair and Supply

Center will use the auction to buy Falcon Jet aircraft parts and plans to

make an award two weeks after the auction date.

Bob Suda, assistant commissioner at the Office of Information Technology

Integration at GSA's Federal Technology Service, sees the reverse auction

pilot as a way to learn lessons about e-procurement. "The front process

is great for the customer, but the back office as far as the accounting

is the piece we still need to solve," Suda said. The first auction was based

on achieving the best price, he said, but the Coast Guard will seek the

best value, "so we don't know how it will all play out."