A review and approval authority must be a contracting officer within the purchasing organization’s management chain in the purchasing organization who has been delegated a sufficient amount of contracting authority to perform the action being reviewed. If no contracting officer in the purchasing organization has a sufficient amount of delegated contracting authority to perform the review and approval, the review and approval must be performed by the Category Management Center manager; the relevant Portfolio manager; or the VP, SM, depending on the estimated total dollar value of the proposed action. The appropriate approval authority for any action subsequent to award will depend on the dollar value of the individual action (e.g., modification, delivery, or task order against an indefinite-delivery contract). In no case may the individual seeking the review and approval of the action be the same individual performing the review and approval. This measure is to ensure a separate and independent evaluation as to the review and approval.
Contract awards, modifications, or ordering agreements, including exercise of options and contract renewals, valued at less than $250,000 require no further reviews and approvals beyond that of the contracting officer who has $250,000 delegated contracting authority. Contract awards, modifications, or ordering agreements, including exercise of options and contract renewals valued at $250,000 or more, require review and approval by a contracting officer who has delegated contracting authority equal to or above the amount of the contract action. Such review and approval must be provided prior to execution. Contract awards, modifications, or ordering agreements, including exercise of options and contract renewals valued at $20 million or more, must be reviewed and approved by the VP, SM prior to execution. Refer to Section 2-41.4, Review and Approval Process for Competitive Actions and Section 2-41.5, Review and Approval Process for Noncompetitive Actions for further guidance on conducting reviews and approvals. Required reviews and approvals on delivery and task orders against indefinite-delivery contracts is described in Section 2-41.3.4, Reviews and Approvals of Delivery and Task Orders Against Indefinite-Delivery Contracts. For orders (if valued at $10,000 or more) against Ordering Agreements see Section 4-1.5, Orders Against Ordering Agreements.
Portfolio Manager review and approval of the period of performance is required for new contracts or contract extensions, at any dollar value, which in the aggregate exceeds a contract term of eight years. For example, a planned solicitation with a base period of performance of three years and two-three-year options for a total of nine years must be justified by the contracting officer and approved as to the planned period of performance by the relevant Portfolio Manager irrespective of the estimated dollar value of the action. For requirements where lower level contracting officer review and approval authorities are sufficient for approval of the action and the period of performance in the aggregate does not exceed eight years, Portfolio Manager approval is not required.
For contracts in which the term in the aggregate exceeds eight years inclusive of options, when exercising any existing option, contracting officers should document that prior approval of the period of performance was received from the Portfolio Manager for the solicitation resulting in award. When extending a contract beyond an eight-year total period of performance by a supplemental agreement, a justification by the contracting officer and review and approval by the relevant Portfolio Manager for the period of performance extension are required. Portfolio Managers will determine if approving a contract term beyond eight years is necessary or beneficial to the Postal Service, or if shorter and more frequent re-competition opportunities best serve the business interests of the Postal Service.
All purchase plans for competitive and noncompetitive contracts, including modifications that significantly change the scope or nature of the goods or services from that which was fairly and reasonably contemplated by the original contract (see Sections 2-1, Develop Purchase Plan and 5-8.9, Change Orders) where the total estimated contract or modification is valued at $1 million or more must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate authority, and plans valued at $20 million or more must be reviewed and approved by the VP, SM. When a purchase plan is required and the planned period of performance in the aggregate, inclusive of all options, exceeds eight years, contracting officers must document the relevant portfolio manager approval of such planned performance term no matter the dollar value. For requirements where lower level contracting officer review and approval authorities are sufficient for approval of the action and the planned period of performance in the aggregate, inclusive of all options, exceeds eight years, the portfolio manager approval is limited only to the period of performance. Approved purchase plans must be included in the contract file. Unless other arrangements have been made and approved by the appropriate authority, the purchase plan review and approval must be done before the publication of any requirement, prequalification of potential suppliers, or release of any solicitation or request for proposal. In the case of a noncompetitive action, the submitted Request for Noncompetitive Purchase should be approved prior to the completion and submission of the purchase plan for review and approval. The Noncompetitive Purchase Request must be approved and included with the purchase plan. (See Section 2-41.5, Review and Approval Process for Noncompetitive Actions.) If, during the supplying process and subsequent to the approval of the purchase plan, market conditions, Postal Service requirements, or other factors change to an extent that the plan must be substantially revised, the revised plan must also be reviewed and approved by the appropriate authority.
Note: When a purchase plan valued between $1 million and $10 million includes a life-cycle support plan (see Section 2-11, Develop Life Cycle Support Plan), that plan must be reviewed and approved by the manager, Asset Management Planning. When a purchase plan valued at more than $10 million includes a life-cycle support plan, that plan must be reviewed and approved by the manager, Asset Management.
Under a single-award indefinite-delivery contract, any fixed-price order for goods or services issued by a contracting officer that is based upon quantities applied to fixed unit prices specified in the contract, does not require further reviews and approvals. The review and approval, up to the maximum amount, of the indefinite-delivery contract serves as the delegated authority. (See 2-41.6, Actions Exceeding a Contracting Officer’s Delegated Authority, and 7-1.1, Contracting Officer Levels.) However, the contracting officer will provide advanced notification to the VP, SM, for all such orders valued at $20 million or more and include the advanced notification within the contract file. See Section 4-1.4.3.2, Ordering Procedures and Documentation – Single Awards, for information on advanced notifications.
When the contracting officer is establishing the price of any order for goods or services that is based upon a pricing method other than quantities applied to fixed unit prices and the order is valued at $1 million or more, higher level reviews and approvals are required by a contracting officer with appropriate delegated authority. If the order is under $1 million, higher level reviews and approvals are not required. The review and approval, up to the maximum amount, of the indefinite-delivery contract serves as the delegated authority. (See 2-41.6, Actions Exceeding a Contracting Officer’s Delegated Authority, and 7-1.1, Contracting Officer Levels.) Review and approval authority is described in Section 2-41.3.2, Reviews and Approvals of Contract Awards, Modifications, and Ordering Agreements, including VP, SM approval for orders valued at $20 million or more.
The review and approval for orders to be issued as documented in the Order Placement Memorandum (OPM) should concentrate on the following:
Where multiple indefinite-delivery contract awards for goods or services have been made to support Postal Service requirements and the order to be issued by the contracting officer is valued at $1 million or more, higher level reviews and approvals are required by a contracting officer with appropriate delegated authority. If the order is under $1 million, higher level reviews and approvals are not required beyond that of the contracting officer with appropriate delegated authority. (See 2-41.6, Actions Exceeding a Contracting Officer’s Delegated Authority, and 7-1.1, Contracting Officer Levels.) Review and approval authority is described in Section 2-41.3.2, Reviews and Approvals of Contract Awards, Modifications, and Ordering Agreements, including VP, SM approval for orders valued at $20 million or more.
The review and approval for orders as documented in the OPM should concentrate on the following:
The client and contracting officer should consult to adequately plan for order placement when requirements are being developed. If the contract provides the opportunity for further competition of orders; and, an order for goods or services, valued at $1 million or more, is planned to be issued without further competition, the client must prepare a request with rationale detailing the compelling business justification (CBJ) that supports order placement with a single supplier. A PCES manager from the requesting organization must provide written concurrence with the rationale. The contracting officer makes a written contracting officer determination (COD) as to whether placing the order with a single supplier is in the best business interest of the Postal Service. Prior to requesting a proposal from the supplier, review and approval of the COD is required.
The requesting organization is not required to provide a CBJ for orders less than $1 million; however, a COD is required for all orders issued to a single supplier from among multiple contract holders. The SM CMC manager provides review and approval of the COD for orders of $1 million up to $5 million. The SM Portfolio manager provides review and approval of the COD for orders of $5 million up to $10 million. The VP, SM provides review and approval of the COD for all orders of $10 million or more. The decision to compete among only a limited number of awardees under multiple-award indefinite-delivery contracts must also be documented by the contracting officer in the COD, but does not require a separate review and approval.
No contract priced at or with a potential termination liability exceeding $1 million may be terminated without the prior approval of the VP, SM. Contract termination actions of less than $100,000 do not require higher level review and approval. In addition, no contract regardless of price that is considered sensitive or highly visible may be terminated without the VP, SM’s approval. Contracts with a potential termination liability of $100,000 or more, but not exceeding $1 million, must be reviewed and approved by the Portfolio manager before termination. Contracting officers should also consult with the general counsel. For more information, see Section 5-13, Terminate Contract.
Reviews and approvals are not required for administrative modifications (see Section 5-8, Contract Modifications) such as, change of finance number, change of contracting officer or contracting officer representative, or incremental funding actions. Contracting officers may execute incremental funding actions (e.g., adding funds during the performance term) regardless of their delegated contracting authority if the amount to be funded is a component of, or was already reviewed and approved as part of the estimated total dollar contract value (see Section 1-5, Assess Resources). For Cost-Reimbursement contracts, see Section 2-18, Select Contract Type and Period of Performance. However, administrative modifications involving a termination action are subject to review and approval. See Section 2-41.3.4, Reviews and Approvals of Delivery and Task Orders Against Indefinite-Delivery Contracts for the discussion on exemptions specific to orders under indefinite-delivery contracts.
