Category Management:
Leveraging Common Contracts and Best Practices to Drive Savings and Efficiencies

•   Goal Statement
  The Federal Government will buy common goods and services as an enterprise to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, and deliver more value and savings from the government’s acquisition programs. By the end of FY 2020, the Government will have achieved $40 billion in savings for taxpayers in five years by applying category management principles—or smart decision-making where agencies buy the same kinds of goods and services through best-value contract solutions—to 60% of common spend. The Government also will reduce duplicative contracts by 50,000, potentially reducing administrative costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, by the end of FY 2025, 75% of common spend will be through managed solutions while continuing to meet small business objectives.
•   The Challenge
  The Federal Government spends over $350 billion on common goods and services each year. However, agencies buy in a fragmented manner and taxpayers often do not get the benefit of the Government’s position as the largest buyer in the world. Hundreds - and in some cases thousands – of duplicative contracts are awarded to the same vendors for similar requirements. This fragmentation leads agencies to pay significantly different prices – sometimes varying by over 300% – for the same items.
•   The Opportunity
  The Government will not only save taxpayer dollars, but this effort also will improve mission outcomes. For example, this will allow our law enforcement personnel to have easier access to equipment, such as ammunition and body armor, to ensure their safety; medical professionals can order medical supplies through electronic catalogues to save time and focus more on patients; and agencies can buy standardized computers to reduce cyber risk by having greater control over infrastructure and access points.
•   Action Plans and Updates

  January 2021

  September 2020

  July 2020

  December 2019

  September 2019

  June 2019

  April 2019

  December 2018

  September 2018

  June 2018

  March 2018

•   Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

  View the KPIs for this CAP Goal on our new KPI page! Our new page hosts enhanced visualizations and interactive dashboards that allow you to view key data sets in new and innovative ways.

  View KPIs
•   Resources

  Acquisition Gateway

  Best-in-Class (BIC) Resource Hub

  Category Management Plans and Progress Hub

News

January 07, 2021

Today, we published progress updates for both Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals and Agency Priority Goals (APGs) for the final quarter of FY2020. These updates highlight recent milestones and accomplishments as well as related initiatives that support progress towards a more modern and effective government.

September 17, 2020