E-procurement integration

The GSA Advantage Web site provides an electronic storefront to the agency's

multiple-award schedules, including the information technology schedule. The site has more than 230,000 customers worldwide and expects to generate

$220 million in schedule sales this fiscal year, according to Al Iagnemmo, director of the E-business Division at GSA's Federal Supply Service.

That business comes from buyers sitting at a Web browser and "banging in an order," Iagnemmo said. But GSA officials plan to enhance GSA Advantage so it can accept electronic orders directly from agencies' e-procurement systems. The goal is to have agencies connect directly to GSA Advantage using software from companies such as Ariba Inc., Commerce One Inc. and Oracle Corp.

GSA Advantage will use Extensible Markup Language and an integration server to establish the linkages. The connections will help agencies approve orders and track purchasing activity through their procurement systems. So far, the departments of State, Labor and Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Agency for International Development have expressed interest in linking to GSA Advantage, Iagnemmo said.