The following describes how this gateway works from a Contracting Officer perspective:

	Before Contracting Officers come on line, Contract Primes have loaded their contract information; both Contract Primes and Providers have registered on the gateway and entered key word lists and catalogs/price lists to assist Contracting Officers in finding the best match for their requirement.
	Contracting Officer, after registering and receiving a log-in password, logs on and begins using the gateway.
	The Home page for the Contracting Officer presents a set of feature tabs that are customized to the role of the Contracting Officer.  Tabs enable the ability to search based on a range of requirements, access detailed  catalog and contract information, create orders and RFP requests, plan and manage projects, and much more.
	nGAP enables Contracting Officers to conduct a number of searches consistent with their responsibilities.  You can search to find products, vendors, contracts, and buyers. Contracting Officers can search by multiple means.  If the item has a standard identifier code such as a NAICS or NIGC, multiple providers who have this identifier in the data they submitted are presented to the Contracting Officer in a comparative format.  If more qualitative requirements exist, Contracting Officers can search on key words.
	As part of this selection process, Contracting Officers can specify contract type and/or set aside (8a, Disadvantaged Small Business, etc) they want to see included in the results.
	Once selected and saved, items are put into a Shopping Cart and the cart is given a unique numerical designation.
	If Contracting Officer is not ready to create an order, the Shopping Cart can be filed and a screen of the information they have viewed can be printed for use in gaining further approval.  When a decision is made, Contracting Officers can go back on line and pull up the Shopping Cart to complete its use.  If desired at this point, Contracting Officer can create a Purchase Requisition using one of multiple standard formats used in government procurement. Or they can bring their own Requisition document online and fill it by selecting an nGAP vendor.
	Once an award is created, order information is entered in nGAP so it can be used to provide a record of information for further use and audit, and to enable nGAP to charge any fees associated with the award to the applicable vendor.
	nGAP provides a Projects Planning tool for your use.  With Projects you can get a head start on future acquisitions by obtaining and storing quotes for later use, attach soft copies of documents to each project folder as they are available (e.g. SOW), and maintain a complete history of all activities in one place.

Look for the upcoming demo to get a fuller understanding of how nGAP works and how it can save you time and money.  In the meantime, please call and talk to one of our contract professionals.

Check out nGAP.  Click here to sign up as a Contracting Officer and see how easy nGAP can make finding and ordering the right item at the best price.