GSA unveils details of reorganization

The General Services Administration released details Thursday of its plan to organize its new acquisition unit into six offices throughout the country. The newly created Federal Acquisition Service combines the Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service.

The offices will report to a national office, which will set policy and lead initiatives such as strategic sourcing, the effort to leverage agencies' buying power in purchasing goods and services. Thursday's announcement marked the first time detailed plans of the reorganization were made public since GSA unveiled its plans in January. A draft was released in June.

GSA's acquisition units have been criticized for mismanaging funds, most recently in a Pentagon inspector general report released Friday, which suggested that the Federal Technology Service had violated federal acquisition laws.

Perry said the reorganization was not intended to address past contracting problems. "If we had not had a single violation of any [Federal Acquisition Regulation] or GSA policy or procedures, this step would still be a necessary step," he said, adding that the new system should allow for more management controls.

Perry emphasized that GSA sought the input of all groups affected by the changes, including members of Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, contractors and GSA employees. "We've done a very good job…on having this be an inclusive process," he said.

Barbara Shelton, the Federal Acquisition Service's acting commissioner, said that combining the Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service into one organization will resolve confusion over the definition of technology.

Rosanne Satterfield, a senior vice president for ITS Corp., a technology services provider based in Oxnard, Ca., said blending the two funds "goes a long way toward eliminating the issues of the past," which she said involved some regional offices classifying the same service differently. Satterfield said the integrated solutions many agencies buy today are not easily classified as either technology or other types of engineering or professional services.

Perry said that the 11 regional GSA offices that currently exist will continue to provide building management services to agencies, and that GSA employees involved in acquisition will most likely be able to remain in their current offices while reporting to one of the six zonal offices.