By: Joseph A. Hackenbracht

Federal contractors need to prepare for another change in the online environment. Currently scheduled to take place in late July of this year, the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system will no longer exist. The Federal government is starting a new registration system called the System for Award Management, or SAM [Uncle, get it?] for short. In addition to replacing CCR, SAM will incorporate the Federal Agency Registration [FedReg], the Online Representations and Certifications Application [ORCA], and the Excluded Parties List System [EPLS]. For all those contractors already registered in CCR and ORCA, you can breathe a sigh of relief; the Federal government is going to transfer your information into the new system. Although some of the terminology is changing, enough has remained the same that SAM should be familiar, so when the time comes for a contractor to renew its registration, it will not have too much trouble.  A quick introduction to the new system is attached.

The government, however, is not through with its centralization of procurement information. Contractors familiar with the FedBizOpps system for reviewing solicitations, amendments, and other procurement actions can look forward to it being incorporated into SAM, along with the PPIRS, Past Performance Information Retrieval System, and many other data sites.

That’s life in the digital age, changing so quickly that it is hard to know whether you’re coming or going.

Joseph A. Hackenbracht is a Partner in the firm and a member of the Federal Contracting Practice Group.