Category Management
Category management is a strategic approach that involves identifying core categories of federal spend, and developing heightened levels of expertise, sharing best practices, providing streamlined solutions, and managing supply and demand, for each of the categories on GWAC Contract.
The objective is to increase efficiency and effectiveness while reducing costs and redundancies. Category management enables the government to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, and deliver more value and savings from the government’s acquisition programs.
Government-wide Category Structure
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) developed a government-wide category structure to support category management implementation across the federal government. This was done by taking spending data and divided it into 19 categories. 10 common spend categories for all agencies including using GWAC Contract, which account for $275 billion worth of purchases on goods and services; and nine other categories that are defense-centric. (We will focus on the 10 non-military for purposes of this article.)
The OMB then took product services codes (PSCs) and matched them to these 10 non-military categories.
The 10 Common Government Spend Categories are:
| FACILITIES & CONSTRUCTION = $81.2B LED BY GSA • Construction Related Materials • Construction Related Services • Facilities Purchase & Lease • Facility Related Materials • Facility Related Services |
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES = $71.1B LED BY GSA • Business Admin Services • Financial Services • Legal Services • Management & Advisory Services • Marketing & Public Relations • Research & Development • Social Services • Technical & Engineering Services |
IT = $56.7B LED BY GSA • IT Software • IT Hardware • IT Consulting • IT Security • IT Outsourcing • Telecommunications |
| MEDICAL = $43.5B CO-LED BY DOD & VA •Drugs & Pharmaceutical Products • Healthcare Services • Medical Equipment, Accessories, & Supplies |
TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS = $28.5B LED BY DOD • Fuels • Logistics Support Services • Motor Vehicles (noncombat) • Package Delivery & Packaging • Transportation Equipment • Transportation of Things |
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES = $11.1B LED BY GSA • Basic Materials • Fire / Rescue / Safety / Environmental Protection Equipment • Hardware & Tools • Industrial Products Install / Maintenance / Repair • Machinery & Components • Oils, Lubricants, & Waxes • Test & Measurement Supplies |
| TRAVEL = $7.5B LED BY GSA • Employee Relocation • Lodging • Passenger Travel • Travel Agency & Misc. Services |
SECURITY & PROTECTION = $5.4B LED BY DHS • Ammunition • Protective Apparel & Equipment • Security Animals & Related Services • Security Services • Security Systems • Weapons |
HUMAN CAPITAL = $4.5B LED BY OPM • Compensation & Benefits • Employee Relations • Human Capital Evaluation • Strategy, Policies, & Ops Planning • Talen Acquisition • Talent Development |
| OFFICE MANAGEMENT = $2.3B LED BY GSA • Furniture • Office Management Products • Office Management Services |
GSA will therefore be taking the lead in the following 6 out of 10 categories totaling $229.3B
| Category | Spending |
|---|---|
| Facilities & Construction | $81.2B |
| Professional Services | $71.1B |
| IT | $11.1B |
| Industrial Products and Services | $11.1B |
| Travel | $7.5B |
| Office Management | $2.3B |
| Total | $229.3B |