FedBid contract opens multitude of vendors to Navy

FedBid Inc., an online reverse auction marketplace, is helping the Navy Department batten down expenses with a new five-year agreement for its auction services.

The new contract has no fixed dollar value but FedBid will collect a fee from each vendor after the Navy accepts the bid and pays the total amount to the seller, company officials explained.

Buyers are never obligated to accept FedBid results and can cancel or repost the procurement at any time at no cost, they said.

“The full-service marketplace effectively streamlines the purchasing process and maximizes access to Navy requirements for over 50,000 qualified sellers, including thousands of veteran-owned and service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses,” Bobby Feigler, FedBid’s chief marketplace officer, said in the June 5 announcement.

Buyers realize average savings, inclusive of the FedBid fee, of more than 11 percent, and small businesses receive approximately 80 percent of all federal dollars awarded through FedBid, which totaled $950 million in 2011, the announcement said.

This contract award follows others recently awarded by the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Labor, Commerce and Education departments, and the Library of Congress.