GSA pilots supply chain monitoring for GSA Advantage!
The General Services Administration has tested a new supply chain monitoring process to remove about 75,000 products and services offered by unauthorized suppliers from its online shopping system.
GSA used data from its Verified Products Portal (VPP) to identify the risky items on GSA Advantage! and remove them with industry.
VPP launched in 2020 as a manufacturer- and wholesaler-facing website for authoritative product content like standardized part numbers, product specifications and supplier authorization information that GSA is making actionable with government continuing to implement security measures in last year’s Supply Chain Executive Order.
“We’ve reduced the risk of customers purchasing counterfeit, fraudulent or otherwise illegitimate products,” said Sonny Hashmi, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, in the announcement. “This promotes fair competition in the federal marketplace and improves our customers’ ability to purchase with confidence.”
GSA is also working with industry to improve how commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products are represented in the federal marketplace with better images, descriptions, PDFs and other details.
The agency encourages manufacturers and wholesalers looking to better represent their COTS products to visit gsa.gov/VPP for more information.
