GAO to VA: Make Category Management Real — Why Contractors Should Care

The Government Accountability Office’s new report, “VA ACQUISITIONS: Leadership Accountability and Savings Goals Needed to Improve Purchasing Efficiency” (GAO-25-107398), led by Mona Sehgal, lands at a pivotal moment for anyone doing business with the Department of Veterans Affairs. GAO finds that while VA has embraced the language of category management, the execution is uneven—leaving money on the table and creating uncertainty that smart contractors can turn into advantage.

GAO recounts that VA formally stood up category managers across 10 common spend areas back in 2020, aligning to OMB guidance. But many of those managers—and their day-to-day category leads—haven’t carried out core duties because senior leadership hasn’t enforced them. In short: roles exist, accountability doesn’t. Until leaders hold these officials to task, VA will struggle to translate policy into measurable savings and reduced duplication.  The gap is structural, too. VA never stood up the category management council its own 2020 policy envisioned—an oversight forum that would coordinate strategy, set goals, and knock down execution obstacles. Without it, VA lacks the governance muscle that peers like State and DoD already use.

On the surface, VA’s scorecard looks strong: in FY 2024, 91.7 percent of $67.2 billion in obligations were “managed” under OMB’s spend-under-management model, beating its 90 percent target. Yet only 7.6 percent of FY 2024 obligations flowed through best-in-class vehicles, and category leads told GAO they weren’t setting category-level savings targets. That combination—high managed spend, low BIC usage, and no savings goals—signals process compliance without outcome discipline.  GAO also shows the trend line: from FY 2019 to FY 2024, VA’s managed share climbed from 71.8 to 91.7 percent even as obligations nearly doubled from $34.5 billion to $67.2 billion. Scaling is not the issue; extracting measurable value is.

Training is another weak link. VA reliably hits OMB’s participation tallies, but it doesn’t track who is actually trained and does not require key players—category managers and leads—to complete role-relevant coursework. GAO found seven of ten category leads hadn’t taken such training. That’s a direct drag on implementation quality.   

What should contractors take from this? First, GAO’s six recommendations foreshadow practical changes in how VA will buy: performance requirements for category managers, category-specific savings goals, and mandatory training for key officials. VA agreed with all six. Expect increased emphasis on quantifying cost avoidance and “prices paid” analytics at the category level. Vendors who can help VA prove savings with clean utilization and item-level pricing data will be more persuasive in competitions and during on-ramps.  Second, the long-delayed governance council, once established (or delegated to an existing board), will centralize decision-making about standards, preferred vehicles, and vendor engagement. That usually means more predictable demand patterns—and fewer one-off awards—so shaping the category playbook early becomes paramount.

Third, VA’s relatively low BIC usage suggests meaningful spend still flows through non-BIC or VA-specific vehicles. Contractors positioned on VA-managed portfolios—and those who can show superior terms, performance, and data transparency—can win share even before any pivot to BICs. But if VA starts managing toward explicit category savings goals, expect a tilt toward consolidated solutions that surface granular “prices paid” and unlock negotiated economies of scale.

Finally, vendor-management plans are coming. GAO flags the absence of documented strategies to manage the supply base—especially for mission-critical work—as a risk. When VA formalizes these plans, suppliers who demonstrate resilient supply chains, compliance, and proactive risk mitigation will stand out in source selections and performance reviews.

Bottom line: this report isn’t a paperwork exercise; it’s a roadmap for how VA will expect industry to show value. If you sell to VA—particularly in medical, IT, professional services, facilities, and construction—bring your pricing transparency, category-level savings story, and vendor-risk playbook to the table now. That’s where the door is opening.

Disclaimer: This post is a summary of GAO-25-107398 and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice and may omit nuances or later updates. Readers should consult the source report and qualified counsel for specific guidance.