Recent changes to the Postal Service’s purchasing regulations
are promising but require ombudsman revisions and continued
oversight, the Government Accountability Office has said.
It said the agency is revoking and superseding its former
purchasing regulations, handbooks, circulars, manuals, and
guidelines and replacing them with streamlined regulations
and interim internal guidance. Further, USPS is establishing
new provisions for entering business relationships with
suppliers — including the process for declining to accept
or consider proposals — and is creating a new process for
resolving disputes with suppliers or potential suppliers,
including the establishment of an ombudsman.
The policy has received a mixed reception, leaving some
stakeholders questioning the justification for the changes
and concerned that they might not be able to appeal USPS
decisions, according to GAO-06-190.
It said stakeholders have also questioned how postal
officials would be held accountable for the fairness of
purchasing decisions and its results, given this additional
flexibility and discretion.
USPS said the changes would yield a more flexible, efficient
and businesslike purchasing system, but GAO cited
inconsistencies and concerns that warrant continued oversight.
It said that while the agency’s new regulations and draft
internal guidance generally followed key principles of
reform practices of leading organizations, a new ombudsman
position does not.
Further, GAO said it remains concerned about how USPS would
implement the purchasing changes because of the delayed
issuance of USPS financial guidance, and questioned whether
USPS would be able to become more efficient with the new
flexibilities while ensuring the fair and consistent
treatment of suppliers.
