Centralizing Federal Buying: Promise, Pressure, and the Path Through GSA
The federal government’s latest push to centralize buying aims to make “what” agencies buy more standardized while preserving some flexibility in “how” they buy it. In a recent conversation with Federal Drive host Terry Gerton, former GSA Administrator Emily Murphy unpacks an Office of Management and Budget directive that would make existing governmentwide contract vehicles the default route for many purchases, while tightening the business case needed to keep operational contracting dispersed across agencies. The first half of the policy distinguishes contract vehicles from operational execution and proposes rewriting the Federal Acquisition Regulation—particularly Part 8—to elevate GSA’s schedules and flagship multi-award vehicles such as Alliant and OASIS, and to rationalize overlaps with SEWP and CIO-SP. Category managers would be empowered to scan governmentwide spend and decide where new vehicles are warranted, with competition preserved via multiple-award structures and a high—but not insurmountable—bar for agencies to opt out when they have truly unique needs. That opt-out would require secretary- or administrator-level signoff, shifting the burden toward shared solutions while recognizing legitimate specialization.
Timelines are strikingly aggressive. Murphy notes that when she worked FAR cases two decades ago, a single case might take forty weeks; today’s plan envisions an overhaul of the FAR in roughly 180 days, with key elements of the vehicle policy drafted in about 60 days and implemented the following fiscal year to avoid fourth-quarter disruptions. The speed is intentional—an acknowledgement that duplicative, low-value contracting churn absorbs talent and time that agencies need for mission work.
Small businesses factor centrally in the calculus. Murphy argues the schedules and other GSA vehicles already perform well for small firms and could, if paired with thoughtful rewrites of Parts 12 and 19, reduce the “chase” across proliferating, low-demand vehicles. Instead of a “build it and maybe they’ll come” environment, the government’s buying power would flow more predictably through fewer, better-used channels. That predictability helps small contractors allocate scarce bid and proposal resources where real task-order demand will follow.
The second half of the memo addresses operational contracting consolidation. Contrary to early speculation about GSA “swallowing” civilian contracting shops, OMB is demanding rigorous business cases before moving work: GSA must demonstrate capacity, efficiency, real savings, risk controls, enforceable service levels, and a credible path to recover costs under the Acquisition Services Fund’s fee-for-service model. Murphy notes that assisted acquisitions historically found a viable “sweet spot” at larger dollar thresholds; emerging automation and AI might lower the floor, but only if service quality and cost recovery pencil out. With workforce churn from recent departures, she counsels a deliberate pace—first fully digesting the OPM and SBA moves already underway, then scaling on evidence rather than aspiration.
Culture and governance may decide the outcome. Agencies have long believed their needs are special; centralization starts by proving they often aren’t for common goods and steadily earning trust as complexity rises. Requiring cabinet-level approval to deviate changes the default: leaders must publicly justify why their programs cannot ride standardized solutions. That socializes the cost of fragmentation and raises the value of common vehicles that still allow tailoring through tools like blanket purchase agreements.
Murphy’s bottom line is measured optimism. Expect stronger, easier-to-use GSA vehicles to thrive quickly, with selective and business-case-backed consolidation of operational contracting to follow. The prize is fewer duplicative vehicles, clearer demand signals for industry—especially small businesses—and a workforce redirected from process overhead to mission delivery, achieved without erasing the flexibility agencies need when their requirements truly are unique.
Credit: Interview by Terry Gerton with Emily Murphy, Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s Baroni Center for Government Contracting and former GSA Administrator.
Disclaimer: This summary is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or procurement advice. While care was taken to accurately reflect the source interview, readers should consult the original material and applicable regulations before making decisions.