Subcontract system award due soon

The contract for a governmentwide electronic subcontract reporting system, originally expected to be awarded in September, is coming soon, according to Office of Federal Procurement Policy officials.

In a memo dated Oct. 18, OFPP officials told federal contracting officers to tell their contractors to hold off on filing paper reports regarding their subcontractors, and instead wait for the electronic system.

The system will replace forms 294 and 295, which contractors use to report information on subcontracts they award, including the types of businesses that get the subcontracts.

General Services Administration officials gave bidders a very short time frame to submit proposals, prompting some to complain. The request for quotations was issued in June with a submission deadline of Aug. 9 and a target date of Oct. 1 to start the project.

"They negatively impacted our ability to bid," said one small-business owner who bid on the project. "You would have had to have a solution in place" already in order to submit a detailed proposal.

GSA officials declined to comment.