This environment of reform has affected FSS and FTS. However, SOS had a role in the IT area that went beyond what FSS offers through its IT schedules and more closely resembled what FTS offers in assisting agencies with the acquisition of IT systems and related services. Agency Accountability Without Centralized Procurement

Over the last decade, reform in the central government of New Zealand has centered on shifting accountability for results to departments and relying more on the private sector to perform activities of a business nature. Conclusions

Information on the various approaches used by these four countries provides insight into how they performed activities similar to those of FSS and FTS. None of the countries had government organizations that completely mirrored FSS and FTS. For example, in the UK, the government organizations that performed activities similar to FSS and FTS were different in that they had more flexibility to manage personnel and financial matters than traditional government departments. New Zealand sold its central procurement agency to the private sector, and agencies now could use the private sector business that was created to help meet their procurement needs. Also, there were similarities and differences in the programs and policies these countries used in the procurement of supplies, vehicles, telecommunications, and IT. These reforms and streamlining efforts in the United States, as well as those in the four countries, were designed to make government operate more efficiently, improve service delivery, and focus on government’s core mission. In considering the merits of the approaches used by the countries and their applicability to FSS and FTS, it is important to recognize that such factors as differences in political and economic environments, the role of social objectives in the procurement process, and the volume of contracting activity would have to be considered. Furthermore, although the officials we interviewed in the four countries were generally satisfied with the reforms and believed their governments were better off with them in place, performance data on the effectiveness of the various reforms were generally unavailable or were in the early stages of development. Organizations With Activities Related to Supply, Vehicle, Telecommunications, and IT Procurement

	United States General Services Administration’s

Federal  Supply Service (FSS) and Federal Technology Service (FTS)
Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP); GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy (OGP)
FSS has nonmandatory, prenegotiated contract arrangements under which agencies deal directly with vendors to acquire a range of supplies, including IT goods and services; FSS also stocks supplies for resale to agencies from its distribution centers and government stores. Objective, Scope, and Methodology

Our objective was to identify the organizations, policies, and programs that Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand had in place to assist agencies with the procurement of supplies, vehicles, telecommunications, and IT.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how foreign governments perform procurement activities that in the United States fall under the responsibility of the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service (FSS) and Federal Technology Service (FTS).

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) none of the countries had organizations that completely mirrored FSS and FTS; (2) Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) had the closest models in that they had organizations available to assist agencies in the procurement of supplies, vehicles, telecommunications, and information technology (IT); (3) however, these organizations had different features from those of FSS and FTS; (4) the two organizations in the UK differed from FSS and FTS because they were given more flexibility than traditional government departments in the personnel and financial areas; (5) Australia and New Zealand had very different models from the United States; (6) Australia had only an organization that performed activities similar to those of FTS, and its role in assisting agencies with the acquisition of IT systems and related services was minor; (7) New Zealand had no government organizations that performed activities similar to those of FSS and FTS because it sold its central procurement agency to the private sector several years ago; (8) this private sector business assisted government agencies with the procurement of supplies and did business only with the government; (9) GAO's analysis also showed that there were similarities and differences in the programs and policies these countries used in the procurement of supplies compared to those of FSS and FTS; (10) according to officials in these countries, procurement reform evolved over a number of years and was primarily influenced by a desire to rely more on the private sector to perform activities of a business nature so that government could operate more efficiently, improve its services, and focus on its core mission; (11) it is important to recognize that such factors as differences in political and economic environments, the role of social objectives in the procurement process, and the volume of contracting activity would have to be considered in a discussion of whether these approaches had applicability to FSS and FTS operations in the United States; (12) furthermore, some reforms were very recent, and performance data on the effectiveness of the various reforms were generally unavailable or were in the early stages of development; (13) consequently, GAO could not, from an overall perspective, gauge how well these reforms were working; and (14) nonetheless, officials GAO interviewed who were end-users of the procurement organizations and policies GAO observed said they were generally satisfied with the reforms and believed their governments were operating more efficiently than under old policies.