14 FAM 250
Category management
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
(Office of Origin: A/LM)
14 fam 251 Policy and Objectives For
Category management
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
The purpose of this policy is to:
(1) Provide guidance to ensure the successful
implementation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements concerning
Category Management; and
(2) Ensure the consistent implementation of the
Departments Category Management policy and procedures to guarantee that
Category Management initiatives are well coordinated across the Department.
14 FAM 251.1 Goals and Objectives
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. The purpose of this subchapter is to establish the
policy vision, structure, and approach for the Department of State's Category
Management program.
b. The objectives of a successful and impactful
Category Management program are:
(1) Enhance mission performance
through improved demand management, reduced contracting complexity, and
increased insight into procurement data;
(2) Increase procurement efficiency
by optimizing existing contract vehicles (including replacement or elimination
of duplicate or underperforming contracts);
(3) Improve data collection
efforts and analysis to drive improvements in categories of spend to increase
savings, improve outcomes and reduce duplication;
(4) Achieve socio-economic goals
through improved contracting management;
(5) Leverage industry/commercial
intelligence and key partner relationships through improved supplier
relationship management;
(6) Develop targets and demonstrate
progress against OMB key performance indicators (KPI's) of increasing
spend under management (SUM), increasing savings, reducing contract
duplication, and increasing small business utilization; and
(7) Improve acquisition coordination
and integration with the top contract users and organizations with the
largest category spend across the Department of State.
14 FAM 251.2 Scope and
Applicability
(CT:L0G-226; 07-12-2017)
This policy is applicable to all Department posts, bureaus,
offices, and other elements that contract for supplies or services worldwide.
14 FAM 251.3 Authorities and
Background
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. On December 4, 2014, OMB issued a memorandum titled
Transforming the Marketplace: Simplifying Federal Procurement to Improve
Performance, Drive Innovation, and Increase Savings. This memorandum
introduces the concept of Category Management, which encompasses Strategic
Sourcing Initiatives. Additionally, the Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council
(SSLC) was formed and is taking steps to implement Government-wide category
management for purchasing common goods and services.
b. On June 10, 2015, OMB issued memorandum M-15-14,
titled Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology. The
memorandum provided implementation guidance for the Federal Information
Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA Public Law 113-291) and related
information technology (IT) management practices.
c. On October 16, 2015, OMB issued memorandum M-16-02,
titled Category Management Policy 15-1: Improving the Acquisition and
Management of Common Information Technology: Laptops and Desktops. The
memorandum instructed agencies to:
(1) Standardize laptop and desktop configurations for
common requirements;
(2) Reduce the number of contracts for laptops and
desktops by consolidating purchases and using a fewer number of
high-performance or best-in-class contracts; and
(3) Develop and modify demand management processes to
optimize price and performance.
d. On June 2, 2016, OMB issued memorandum M-16-12,
titled Category Management Policy 16-1: Improving the Acquisition and
Management of Common Information Technology: Software Licensing. The
memorandum established the Enterprise Software Category Team (ESCT), co-managed
by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Defense (DoD),
and OMB, which guide the development of Government-wide software license agreements
for mandatory agency use. OMB encourages and directs use of best-in-class
existing software licensing agreements.
e. On August 4, 2016, OMB issued memorandum M-16-20,
titled Category Management Policy 16-3: Improving the Acquisition and Management
of Common Information Technology: Mobile Devices and Services. The memorandum
instructed agencies to:
(1) Report agency usage and eliminate unnecessary
inventory and service on a quarterly basis;
(2) Reduce the number of contracts for mobile devices and
services and transition to Government-wide solutions; and
(3) Modify demand management practices to optimize
plan pricing and device refresh schedules.
f. On July 29, 2016, the "Making Electronic
Government Accountable by Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act of 2016" also
called the MEGABYTE Act of 2016 became Public Law 114-210. The law required
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a directive
to require the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of each executive agency to develop
a comprehensive software licensing policy. The law requires the CIO of each
executive agency to report to OMB, beginning in FY 2017 and in each of the
following five fiscal years, on the financial savings or avoidance of spending
from improved software license management.
g. On March 20, 2019, OMB issued Memorandum M-19-13,
Category Management: Making Smarter Use of Common Contract Solutions and
Practices. This Memorandum on page 3 provides five key category management
actions that Agencies shall undertake to better achieve mission goals in order
to leverage common contract solutions and practices:
(1) Annually establish plans to reduce unaligned spend
and increase the use of BIC solutions for common goods and services, consistent
with small business and other statutory socio- economic responsibilities;
(2) Develop effective vendor management strategies to
improve communications with contractors, especially those that support
mission-critical functions;
(3) Implement demand management strategies to eliminate
inefficient purchasing and consumption behaviors;
(4) Share data across the Federal Government to
differentiate quality and value of products and services in making buying
decisions; and
(5) Train and develop the workforce in category management
principles and practices.
14 FAM 252 RESPONSIBILITIES
14 FAM 252.1 Senior Accountable
Official (SAO) for Category Management
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. The Department's Senior Accountable Official (SAO)
has the authority to coordinate the Department's internal Category Management
activities and the participation in government-wide activities, including the
interagency Category Management Leadership Council.
b. The Under Secretary for Management is the
Departments SAO.
c. The Department's SAO appoints members to the
Department's Category Management Council.
14 FAM 252.2 Category Management
Council
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. The Category Management Council is established and
is the organization with ultimate responsibility and decision authority for the
Department of State Category Management program:
(1) The Council must select Category Management
initiatives, based on program recommendations that benefit from the pursuit of
a Category Management solution; and
(2) The Council approves goals and monitors metrics to
track progress, performance, and accountability for all Category Management
initiatives.
b. The Category Management Council is chaired by the
Procurement Executive in the Bureau of Administration (A/OPE).
c. The Category Management Council consists of members
appointed by the SAO. Council membership varies with representation from:
(1) Management/Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation
(M/PRI);
(2) Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO);
(3) Chief Financial Officer;
(4) Budget and Planning (BP);
(5) Comptroller and Global Financial Services (CGFS);
(6) Chief Information Officer;
(7) Information Resource Management (IRM);
(8) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Unit
(OSDBU);
(9) Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics
Management (A/LM);
(10) Functional and regional bureaus that represent the
most contract spend will be invited to join the Council; and
(11) Advisor to the Council: Category Management
Director in the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive,
Office of Acquisition Management (A/OPE/AQM).
d. The Category Management Council provides overall
governance for the Category Management program.
e. The Council reviews spend analysis conducted by the
Category Management Director and identifies appropriate Category Management
initiatives that benefit the Department.
f. Category Implementation Teams are established and
execute the identified initiatives and report progress to the Council.
g. The Category Management Council annually selects
candidates to guide Category Management initiatives.
h. The Category Management Council:
(1) Reviews and recommends initiatives for
Department-wide Category Management;
(2) Approves the establishment of Category
Implementation teams;
(3) Approves agency-wide roll-out of Implementation
initiatives;
(4) Monitors overall program progress; and
(5) Tracks and reports Department Category Management
performance to OMB.
i. Key bureau-level executives support the council by
championing Category Management activities within their respective bureaus.
14 FAM 252.3 Category Management
Director
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. The Category Management Director, located in the
Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, Office of
Acquisition Management (A/OPE/AQM), has primary responsibility for
recommending, implementing and overseeing guidance associated with Category
Management, in coordination with program, procurement, budget and planning
offices.
b. The Category Management Director provides
supplemental guidance in the implementation of Category Management initiatives.
c. The Category Management Director serves as the
designated Category Management Data Analyst.
14 FAM 252.4 Category Management
Functional Support Teams
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
The Council creates functional support teams to assist the
Director, Council, and Implementation teams. The functional support teams
provide expertise with data analysis, contracting, budgeting, and planning
activities in support of Category Management activities.
14 FAM 252.5 Category Management
Implementation Teams
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. The Category Management Council creates Category
Implementation teams as needed to implement Category Management initiatives
within identified areas of opportunity.
b. The Council approves Category Implementation team
leads and members selected for each major category initiative, with these
positions ideally populated from the bureaus and programs with the greatest
category spend or mission impact.
c. These teams conduct category-specific Department
outreach, develop detailed category profiles, create and obtain approval for
acquisition strategies, develop implementation plans, and define metrics for
tracking progress and success of initiatives.
d. Category implementation teams are responsible for
implementing each approved initiative.
14 FAM 253 Definitions
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
Category management: Requires
the use of a structured procurement and supply chain management approach
focused around defining products and services that behave in a similar
manner. It creates contracting for common goods and services managed by
categories across Federal agencies and allows the Federal Government to buy
smarter and more like a single enterprise (reference OMB, Government-Wide
Category Management Guidance - May 21, 2015).
Key performance indicator (KPI):
A quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization,
employee, etc., in meeting objectives for performance.
Strategic sourcing: The
collaborative and structured process of critically analyzing spending and using
this information to make business decisions about acquiring supplies,
equipment, and services more effectively and efficiently (reference OMB
memorandum, Implementing Strategic Sourcing May 20, 2005)
14 FAM 254 Category management
Governance
(CT:L0G-273; 08-09-2019)
a. Governance for the Department of State Category
Management program is structured to ensure that key internal and external
stakeholders from appropriate levels of the organization are involved in
relevant stages of analysis, decision-making, and implementation.
b. The key tiers of internal and external involvement
are:
(1) Internal Decision Makers Category Management
Council;
(2) Internal Program Advisors Category Management
Council;
(3) External Category Management Authority Office of
Management and Budget; and
(4) External Market Stakeholders Suppliers.
14 FAM 255 THROUGH 259 UNASSIGNED