Contracting

New mandates on how evaluation criteria must be stated in Postal Service solicitations are required by the recently revised USPS Supplying Principles and Practices (SPP) manual. The SPP revisions were issued on December 12, 2011. The full text of the new SPP is available by clicking here. In addition to these changes, the Postal Service has introduced a new “Simplified Purchasing” method. Simplified Purchasing will be more streamlined than the traditional method, will commonly use oral solicitations, and may be used on procurements valued at up to $1 million. 

Doing business with the U.S. Postal Service has always been different from contracting with other federal agencies and commercial entities. As a starting point, the Postal Service is exempt from most federal procurement laws and regulations. such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA). The Postal Service has its own special purchasing policies called the Supplying Principles and Practices. On top of these differences, the Postal Service is on the brink of insolvency. To help contractors understand and succeed within this special environment, our firm is presenting a full-day seminar on October 21, 2011 in Chicago on “What Every Postal Service Contractor Should Know.”  

The USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently announced that it will be auditing the Postal Service’s Suspension and Debarment program. Debarments most frequently result from a criminal conviction of a company, or its employees. But a contractor can be debarred for any type of improper conduct that negatively reflects on its honesty, ethics, or competence. Resulting debarments have government-wide impact. The thrust of the audit appears to be whether USPS is debarring enough contractors. Read on for more details about OIG’s upcoming audit.

The major developments that impacted Postal Service contracting in 2010, and trends for 2011, are explored in this one-hour webinar now available on the Husch Blackwell LLP website. Topics include:  USPS financial condition; impact of USPS Office of Inspector General investigations, newly issued procedures and policies for noncompetitive procurements; changes to the USPS Supplying Principles …

The Postal Service recently issued a revised version of its purchasing policy manual, called the Supplying Principles and Practices (SPP).  The changes adopt recommendations made by the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) in two high-level reviews conducted in 2010. The revisions add new procedures and requirements applicable to noncompetitive procurements, and establish an internal Competition Advocate.  For more details, read on.