March 31, 2014—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has started discussions with the furniture industry on another possible strategic sourcing solution focused on federal furniture purchasing. As one of ten new strategic sourcing efforts put in place over the last two years, the proposed furniture solution will center around office furniture including, but not limited to, seating, shelving, tables, workstations and displays.
According to GSA, the purpose of the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) – Furniture community page on Interact is to ensure transparency and collaboration among GSA’s industry partners. The agency is looking for feedback from federal agency customers and industry partners on its approach to building an effective strategic sourcing solution for furniture products and services.
Currently, GSA offers furniture in various categories such as office, worksystems, seating, filing/storage, residential, hospital and specialty furniture. The FSSI Furniture Interact page will serve as the one-stop-shop for all updates and information regarding this initiative.
This online forum will allow industry and government to gather feedback on proposed strategies, discuss ideas, and work together to create the most effective and efficient strategic sourcing solution for furniture products and services that will leverage the federal government’s high volume of furniture purchases to drive savings, and collect granular spending data to drive operational efficiencies and allow for smarter, data-driven purchasing decisions around furniture.
The Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) was established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in May 2005, and reinforced in December 2012. FSSI counts more than 20 federal agencies, both military and civilian, as active participants.
