III. Contracting Authority/Responsibility, Systems, and Contracting Data

Contracting Authority/Responsibility

The authority and responsibility for all procurement contracting actions within the Postal Service (with the exception of real estate and related services contracts) are consolidated within the Supply Management (SM) organization. Real estate contracting authority is delegated to the vice president, Facilities.

As provided in Handbook AS-709, Local Buying and Purchase Card Policy and Procedures, local purchases of up to $10 thousand (K) can be executed by individuals through delegated local buying authority. Local purchases and contract actions valued at less than $10K are not subject to the competition requirements. Table 1 provides the approval levels for noncompetitive contract actions.

Table 1

Level of SM Approval for Non-Competitive Contract Actions

 

Estimated values of proposed contract action	Approval by:
$10K to $250K	CO/Manager
>$250K to $10M (except for Professional & Consultant Services)	Portfolio Manager
$10 million or greater	Vice President
$1 million if Professional & Consultant Services	Vice President

Contracting Systems and Capture of Competitive/Noncompetitive Contract Action Classifications

Postal Service contracting actions are captured within one of three contracting systems: CAMS, TCSS, and eFMS. Contract actions are defined as new contract, delivery order, task order, work order, and modification to or termination of a contract. To promote data consistency across the contracting systems, the same competitive classification codes are maintained in all three contracting systems.

Contract Authoring and Management System (CAMS)

CAMS is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) system that supports the purchase of supplies, services, equipment, and mail transportation (excluding surface transportation). In FY14, the system underwent a significant upgrade. The upgrade provided ease of use, improved navigation, dashboard reporting, and other features that will help to streamline contract administration.

Contracting actions are coded using the following competition classification codes:

1. Below Competitive Threshold (BCT) (less than $10K).
2. Competitive.
3. Competitive — Simplified Purchasing.
4. Noncompetitive — Compelling Business Interests.
5. Noncompetitive — Industry Structure or Practice.
6. Noncompetitive — Sole Source.
7. Noncompetitive — Superior Performance.
8. Ordering Agreements — Comp Code Not Applicable.
9. Required Source — Policy/Legally Mandated.
10. Required Source — Regulated Utility.
11. Unauthorized Commitment.

For purposes of this report, the Below Competitive Threshold (BCT) actions are excluded because they are exempt from the competition requirements. All other classifications other than competitive are considered noncompetitive.

From October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, there were a total of 7,416 contract actions executed equal to or above the competitive threshold ($10K) with commitments totaling $5.6B in CAMS. The commitment value of competitive contracting actions in CAMS equaled $4.3B or 78% of total CAMS contract actions. The number of competitive contracting actions totaled 5,576 or 75% of total contracting actions in CAMS.

See Appendix C for more details related to CAMS contract actions.

Transportation Contract Support System (TCSS)

TCSS is a custom-built Postal Service system. TCSS is used to manage highway transportation contracts and payment processes. It supports the award of new contracts, modification to contracts, and renewal of contracts. Renewals of contracts are considered outside the scope of the competitive requirements because Title 39, Chapter 50, Section 5005, allows for contracts to be renewed at the existing rate by mutual agreement between the contractor or subcontractor and the Postal Service. The renewal business process requires the comparison of the existing rate to comparable contract rates and to proceed with the renewal only when the rates are competitive with similar contracts. These renewals are not included in the competitive/noncompetitive reporting due to the Title 39 requirements.

From October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, there were a total of 1,169 contract actions, (less renewals) executed equal to or above the competitive threshold ($10K) in TCSS with commitments totaling $886M. The commitment value of competitive contracting actions equaled $886M or 99% of total contract actions. The number of competitive contracting actions totaled 1,168 or 99.9% of total contracting actions.

The committed values of the contracts were calculated by multiplying the annual value of the contract by the contract term because TCSS only captures the annual value of the contract to calculate payments. See Appendix D for more details related to the TCSS contract actions.

From October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, there were a total of 2,715 renewal fixed-price contract actions executed equal to or above the competitive threshold ($10K) in TCSS with commitments totaling $2.02B. As stated above, these actions are not included in the competitive/noncompetitive classification due to Title 39 requirements but are included here for general information.

Facilities Management System (eFMS)

eFMS is a custom-built Postal Service system. eFMS is used to manage work orders, contracts, and payments for facility construction, repair, and alteration contracts, along with real estate contracts. As noted above, contracting authority for real estate contracts has been delegated by the Postmaster General to the vice president, Facilities, and therefore such activity is not within the scope of this report. Facility construction and repair and alteration contracts are managed within SM.

From October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, there were a total of 4,348 contract actions executed equal to or above the competitive threshold ($10K) in eFMS with commitments totaling $348.6M. The commitment value of competitive contracting actions equaled $345M or 98.9% of total contract actions. The number of competitive contracting actions equaled 4,280 or 98.4% of total contracting actions.

See Appendix E for more details related to eFMS contract actions.

Summary of Contracting Actions

Table 2 provides the total commitments and contracting actions across the three contract management systems for the October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, reporting period.

Table 2

Aggregated Competition Classifications

 

System	Competitive/Noncompetitive Classification	Committed $	# of Contract Actions	% of Total Committed $	% of Total Contract Actions
CAMS	Competitive	$4,376,849,132	5,576	64.0%	43.1%
eFMS	Competitive	$345,025,118	4,280	5.0%	33.1%
TCSS	Competitive	$886,522,202	1,168	13.0%	9.0%
	Competitive Total	$5,608,396,452	11,024	81.9%	85.2%
CAMS	Noncompetitive	$1,231,920,779	1,840	18.0%	14.2%
eFMS	Noncompetitive	$3,549,123	68	0.1%	0.5%
TCSS	Noncompetitive	$14,621	1	0.0%	0.0%
	Noncompetitive Total	$1,235,484,523	1,909	18.1%	14.8%
Grand Total		$6,843,880,975	12,933

This report does not include Highway Contract Renewals (HCRs) reported in the TCSS contracting system.

Sixty-one federal departments reported contract actions and commitments via the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) and classified them as competitive or noncompetitive during the same reporting period as the Postal Service. This information is available via an annual Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation Competition Advocate report. For the period spanning October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, the FPDS-NG CA report identified $444.6B in contract commitments of which 66.2% were awarded competitively. This compares to $6.8B in contract commitments reported by the Postal Service, of which 81.9% were awarded competitively.

See Appendix F for more details related to the FPDS-NG Competition Advocate report.