DOE signs four BPAs and starts Web buying pilot
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The Energy Department has trimmed its PC blanket purchasing agreements from six to four and has set up a Web buying pilot. Energy signed the new BPAs—with Dell Computer Corp., Gateway Inc., Government Technology Services Inc. of Chantilly, Va., and Micron Electronics Inc. of Nampa, Idaho—in late February and early March, said Jeffrey Rubenstein, Institutional Services Division director at Energy headquarters.
The Energy Department has trimmed its PC blanket purchasing agreements from six to four
and has set up a Web buying pilot.
Energy signed the new BPAswith Dell Computer Corp., Gateway Inc., Government
Technology Services Inc. of Chantilly, Va., and Micron Electronics Inc. of Nampa,
Idahoin late February and early March, said Jeffrey Rubenstein, Institutional
Services Division director at Energy headquarters.
The nonmandatory agreements, worth a combined $10 million, replace 1996 BPAs held by
Canon USA Inc. of Lake Success, N.Y., Dell, GTSI, Intelligent Decisions Inc. of Chantilly,
Va., International Data Products Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., and Presidio Corp. of Lanham,
Md.
After reviewing buying records, Energy officials noticed that the four new contractors
had handled most of the departments information technology orders, Rubenstein said.
The BPAs are good for one year with option years to follow.
All the contractors must integrate their business processes and BPA data with
Energys EC-Web Direct electronic catalog form. Energy began a 60-day electronic
commerce trial that it calls the Open Buying Internet.
Dell will give buyers 7.42 percent discounts from its schedule contract prices for
OptiPlex and Dell Workstation PCs and a 4.42 percent discount on PowerEdge servers.
GTSIs discounts range up to 4.25 percent from its schedule prices.
Micron will mark down its NetFrame servers by 10.95 percent and its ClientPro PCs by
7.95 percent. Millennia desktop PCs and TransPort Trek notebook computers carry a 4
percent discount from schedule prices.
Gateway will shave schedule prices at least 4 percent for its desktop and notebook PCs
and servers. Plus, single orders over $250,000 will receive an extra 1 percent discount.