Page 71 - FCW, March/April 2018

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into a better understanding by agencies on how a more strategic and consolidated acquisition process can provide more control, understanding, and ef ciencies in the acquisition process.”
SEWP has done a great job with strategic sourcing, says Genovese. The contract’s streamlined processes for such functions as issuing requests for proposals helped customers procure the strategic sourcing products. Agencies are still familiarizing themselves of the bene ts of strategic sourcing. “But so far the numbers (from SEWP) are doing well,” he says, “and we only expect more orders and more agencies using the contract for that purpose.”
REFINED FOCUS
One aspect of SEWP V that puts
it ahead of other contracts so far is the ability to focus on speci c
IT manufacturers in order to lessen supply chain risks. In other words, SEWP V can ensure certain products come from a speci c source or vendor.
To tackle these issues, SEWP V includes the Established Authorized Reseller Program (EARP), which is active and operative by default, although it can be deactivated
by the government customer.
And through this program, SEWP can let customers receive quotes from authorized resellers of just
15 IT manufacturers. However, those include most of the major IT companies, such as Cisco, Oracle, HP, Dell, and so on.
For all the other 5,700 or so manufacturers from whom agencies can acquire technology,
SEWP V provides its government customers with a veri cation
le that shows what the veri ed relationship is between the manufacturer and reseller by contract line item. The de nition of “authorized reseller” can
vary almost from company to company. To Genovese, it means SEWP V contractors must have
a direct relationship with those
SEWP is in the works.
During 2018, SEWP will be
highlighting those companies that have been certi ed against the ISO 20243 standard, which aims
to reduce the risk of maliciously tainted and counterfeit products.
The SEWP program of ce also plans to add more staf ng and infrastructure to focus on such aspects as strategic solutions,
“A more strategic and consolidated acquisition process can provide more control, understanding, and ef ciencies.”
—Joanne Woytek, NASA SEWP program manager
manufacturers in order to respond to request for quotes that fall under the EARP program. SEWP’s own de nition is the manufacturer has to consider a purchase by the government through that reseller to be legitimate.
The SEWP program of ce is
also planning what will be called
a “capabilities page,” which government customers will be able to check on the specialties of the 140-plus contract holders on SEWP V claim for themselves.
Other updates to SEWP, and new additions in process, include:
There is now an Order Status tool that displays the historical and current status of orders.
Q&A functionality was added to the RFQ process, standardizing contract holder questions and government responses.
A commercial product catalog to provide an easy way for customers to locate and purchase common commercial items on
RFQ and order ful llment, and
to provide a “high availability” infrastructure. It will also be extending its famously extensive outreach efforts, with more
online interfaces between the industry and the SEWP program beyond those that exist for current contract holders to add to its onsite training, webinars, and informational video clips.
Because of these developments and the ever-improving focus on customer service, ease of use, and the ability to add products and solutions to the contract
in a matter of hours, SEWP V will almost certainly continue to be the GWAC front-runner for the foreseeable future, says Genovese.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CDW•G’S OFFERINGS, PLEASE VISIT: CDWG.COM/SEWPV