FedCenter.com, Commerce Team on Procurement Pilot

By Jennifer Freer, Staff Writer


AUG. 9 ? FedCenter.com, a one-stop, online marketplace for federal government purchasing, is working with the Commerce Department on a pilot project to enhance the agency's Web-based procurement services. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.


The pilot project, announced Aug. 9, is to help the Commerce Department obtain online commercial purchasing solutions. FedCenter.com, an e-commerce division of Digital Commerce Corp. of Herndon, Va., will help Commerce purchase computer products and services more efficiently and save money, company officials said.


The Commerce Department hopes to increase the use of small, minority and women-owned businesses, improve management decisions through the Internet and electronic commerce, and help save money and processing time, said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Robert Mallett.


"FedCenter.com's pilot program will help the Department of Commerce overcome existing barriers by streamlining the online government procurement
process," said Tony Bansal, president and CEO of Digital Commerce Corp. "This pilot is intended to demonstrate how FedCenter.com could serve as a comprehensive and ongoing solution for departmentwide e-procurement services."


FedCenter.com's six-month pilot program is in its initial phase in the office of the secretary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Md.; and in field activity offices in Norfolk, Va., and Boulder, Colo. Once the pilot program is complete, FedCenter.com and the Commerce Department plan to discuss expanding the pilot departmentwide, company officials said.