OIG Pushes USPS for Contractor Eligibility Reporting

USPS should change its contracting policies to require suppliers to prove their eligibility for a contract prior to accepting a bid, according to a watchdog review. 

The Aug. 17 report — Management of Suppliers’ Contractual Performance — evaluated suppliers’ contract performance relative to any reports of performance failures, to ensure that the two generally aligned.  

The data was cobbled together from a sample of 94 Postal Service suppliers (with 143 contracts) with a managed spend of $1 million and above per contract from 2019 to 2021. 

According to the OIG, the findings show that contracting officers do not always include “required, accurate or complete information” in their files to support contract management decisions, nor did they always document required performance reviews.  

The latter increases the Postal Service’s risk of awarding a contract to a supplier with “a history of inferior performance or unprofessional behavior.” 

Confirm Eligibility First 

Thus, the OIG recommends that the vice president of supply management revise the rules to require contractors to confirm their eligibility for contract award by including a specific confirmation. It also wants supply management to reinforce that supplier performance reviews need to be conducted at the end of contracts and to conduct and document lessons learned workshops. 

On the issue of not always including required information to support management decisions, the report also recommends that USPS update its policies to require a digital or written signature on all contract awards, purchase plans, award recommendations and orders placed, as well as requiring these documents to be filed in the Contract Authoring Managing System. 

Along with that, the last recommendation was that the Postal Service reinforce to contracting officers the need for administrative oversight of contracting files. 

“Management generally agreed with the findings and recommendations,” according to the report.