Electronic Commerce plays an ever-expanding and important role in effective distribution of products and services.

EC is dramatically changing federal procurement and has impacted all suppliers and vendors. The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 created incentives for federal agencies to move aggressively toward EC, and goals are in place for all defense and civilian agencies to handle their procurements electronically. Within two years the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies will be conducting over 80 percent of their purchasing through Electronic Commerce.

One of the most significant developments in the world of Electronic Commerce has been the Internet. Trade and commerce on the Internet is doubling or tripling every year -- and in just a few short years hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services will be sold.

If an environment in which electronic commerce can grow and flourish is established, then every computer can be a storefront open to every business, large and small, everywhere in the world.

GSA is no longer mandating that contractors become fully EDI capable but is encouraging voluntary participation. EDI requirements include submitting EDI Pricelists, accepting EDI purchase orders and in the future, issuing EDI invoices.

For the government, the interim implementation mandate and incentive for FACNET use has been removed and now the definition of what constitutes Electronic Commerce has been expanded to include any electronic methodology which permits computer to computer exchange of standardized transaction forms.

The two longest running federal EC/EDI programs that are used for purchasing activities include:

• GSA Advantage!
• FACNET

With the changes that have recently taken place, many more programs and EC initiatives have become widespread.

Selbre can help you solve the Electronic Commerce puzzle. Implementing a program that addresses both the requirements of GSA and the concerns of various departments within a company can be an expensive, time-consuming activity filled with technical confusion.

Selbre's electronic commerce services include:

1. Total management and maintenance of your GSA Advantage! pricelist including product coding, line item text message links, header files for terms and conditions, and line item pricelists. Selbre's Web Links services makes up-to-date contract pricelists available to customers worldwide.
2. Consulting on other federal government EC opportunities. This includes the identification of agency EC initiatives, understanding the scope of the requirements, the benefit of participation, and helping you implement and fully capitalize on the initiatives.
3. Marketing communications. Selbre assists our clients in concept design, text content and formatting, product presentation and more to make sure your product or service is most effectively presented.