Two Ways to Buy Software: Traditional Procurement vs. Cooperative Purchasing
How federal and SLED agencies can cut procurement timelines from months to days
Procurement Guide
Traditional Procurement
1
Market Research
Identify vendors, review capabilities, document findings in a market research report
2–4 weeks
2
Solicitation Development
Draft RFP, develop evaluation criteria, legal review, and publish on SAM.gov
4–8 weeks
3
Proposal Period
Vendors prepare and submit proposals; questions and amendments managed
3–6 weeks
4
Evaluation & Award
Source selection, negotiations, award decision, protest risk period
4–8 weeks
5
Contract Execution
Contract finalized, implementation begins
1–2 weeks
Total time to deploy: 6–18 months
Cooperative Purchasing (GSA MAS / PSA)
1
Identify Contract Vehicle
Confirm vendor is on GSA Schedule or PSA cooperative — competition already completed
1 day
2
Request a Quote
Contact vendor for pricing based on user count and modules needed
1–3 days
3
Issue Task Order
CO issues order against the contract vehicle — no new competition required
1–5 days
4
Begin Implementation
Vendor configures platform; most agencies are live within days of kickoff
Days to weeks
No solicitation. No evaluation. No protest period.
The competition happened when GSA or PSA awarded the contract.
Total time to deploy: Days to weeks