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DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the Carl Levin and Howard P. Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. This section requires the contract file shall contain certain documentation if the Federal Government makes a purchase of supplies and services offered under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), but the FSSI is not used. The contract file for the purchase shall include a brief analysis of the comparative value, including price and non-price factors, between the supplies and services offered under the FSSI and those offered under the source(s) to be used for the purchase.

The rule will raise the visibility of these strategic sourcing solutions, the analysis used when not using an FSSI contract vehicle, promote their use, and help to better leverage the Government's buying power when using FSSI vehicles. Strategic Sourcing drives both dollar savings and process improvements. The Federal Government, suppliers and ultimately the U.S. taxpayers benefit when government can better articulate its requirements and provide committed purchase volumes, and in return, industry suppliers can provide better pricing and more valuable solutions.