Reader's Guide
The Commerce Business Daily (CBD) lists notices of proposed government procurement actions,
contract awards, sales of government property, and other procurement information. Each edition contains approximately 500-1,000 notices.
Each notice appears in the CBD only once. The CBD databases online via GPO Access contain notices
from December 2, 1996 to January 2, 2002.
All Federal procurement offices were required to announce proposed
procurement actions over $25,000 and contract awards over $25,000, that are
likely to result in the award of any subcontracts, in the CBD.
General Exceptions: The CBD usually does not list procurement notices for; (1)
classified services or supplies, (2) services or supplies that are required
immediately due to an unusual or compelling emergency, (3) services or supplies
that are required from specified sources as a result of the terms of an
international agreement or treaty, (4) services or supplies where U.S. law
specifies a specific source or requires that the procurement be made by another
federal agency, (5) certain utility services where only one source is available,
(6) a contract action where an order is placed under a requirements contract, (7)
a contract action that would result from the acceptance of a proposal under the
Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, (8) a contract action that
would disclose or jeopardize innovative research, (9) perishable supplies, (10)
resale of brand name commercial items, (11) supplies or services obtained under
the terms of an existing contract that was previously announced in the CBD, (12)
services and supplies obtained by the Department of Defense which will be
performed or made outside the U.S., its possessions, Puerto Rico, and only local
sources will be solicited, and (13) contract actions made through FACNET that
meet acquisition threshold regulations. For complete information regarding
exceptions, see the Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 5.202.
If you wish to review previous editions of the CBD contact your local public
library for assistance. Copies of the CBD are maintained in over 700 Federal
Depository Libraries located throughout the United States.
Common Abbreviations Used in the CBD
The CBD contains many abbreviations. Listed below are simple explanations of
the most common abbreviations that appear in the CBD:
- A-E:
Architect-Engineer
- ARO:
After Receipt of Order
- BAA:
Broad Agency Announcement--A notice from the government that requests
scientific or research proposals from private firms concerning certain areas of
interest to the government. The proposals submitted by the private firms may lead
to contracts.
- BLS:
Bureau of Labor Statistics--An organization in the U.S. Department of Labor.
- BOA:
Basic Ordering Agreement--A general outline of the supplies or services to be provided by the contractor.
- BOD:
Bid Opening Date--The final date that a bid must be received by the appropriate government office.
- BPA:
Blanket Purchase Agreement--An agreement between the government and a
vendor. The agreement gives the government the option to purchase goods or
services from the vendor when needed on a on-call basis.
- CAGE:
Commercial and Government Entity Code--An identification code assigned to
the awardees of DOD contracts. The codes are used by DOD for record keeping
purposes. Offerors do not need a CAGE code to submit a bid for a contract.
- CBD:
Commerce Business Daily
- CFR:
Code of Federal Regulations--A collection of publications that contains
regulations for all Federal Departments and Agencies.
- CICA:
Competition in Contracting Act--A law that requires full and open competition for Federal contracts.
- CID: Commercial Item Description
- CNT: Contract
- COB: Close Of Business
- COE: Corps of Engineers--An organization in the U.S. Department of the Army.
- CONUS: Continental United States
- DARO: Days After Receipt Of Order
- DCSC: Defense Construction Supply Center--An organization in the U.S. Department of Defense.
- DEL: Delivery
- DESC: Defense Electronics Supply Center--An organization in the U.S.
Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency.
- DFAR: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations--Procurement regulations
used by organizations in the Department of Defense. Also called Defense
Acquisition Regulations (DAR).
- DGSC: Defense General Supply Center--An organization in the U.S.
Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency.
- DISC: Defense Industrial Supply Center--An organization in the U.S.
Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency.
- DOD or DoD: Department of Defense
- DTD: Dated
- ECP: Engineering Change Proposal
- EDI: Electronic Data (or Document) Interchange--Electronic exchange of
information, paperless office.
- FAR: Federal Acquisition Regulation--Procurement regulations used by
both civilian and defense organizations.
- FAT: First Article Testing--When DOD buys certain goods they may perform
extensive tests on the first item delivered.
- FFP: Firm Fixed Price--A type of contract under which the government
agrees to purchase goods or services at a set price.
- FFRDC: Federally Funded Research & Development Center--A facility funded
by the government that conducts research and development work. The facility is
operated by a university or a related non-profit organization.
- FIRMR: Federal Information Management Resources
Regulation--Government-wide regulations that govern the purchase of computer
goods and services.
- FMS: Foreign Military Sales
- FSC: Federal Supply Classification--A code number used by the government
to identify various items of equipment which are purchased by the government.
- FSN: Federal Stock Number--A code number used to identify documents sold
by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents.
- FSS: Federal Supply Service--An organization in the U.S. General
Services Administration.
- GAO: General Accounting Office
- GFE: Government-Furnished Equipment
- GFM: Government-Furnished Materials
- GOCO: Government-Owned, Contractor Operated
- GSA: General Services Administration
- IAW: In Accordance With
- IFB: Invitation for Bid--A solicitation issued by the government to
prospective bidders. An IFB describes what the government requires and how the
offerors will be evaluated. Award is based on the lowest bid. Negotiations are
not conducted.
- LSA: Labor Surplus Area--A Federal program to set-aside certain
contracts to businesses located in areas with high unemployment.
- NLT: No Later Than
- NSN: National Stock Number--A unique number assigned by the General
Services Administration which catalogs a wide range of items by commodity, group,
and class.
- NSNA: No Stock Number Assigned
- o/a: On or About
- OICC: Officer in Charge of Construction
- OSD: Office of the Secretary of Defense
- OSDBU: Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
- PIN: Pre-Invitation Notice--A summary of a solicitation package sent to
prospective bidders, who may then request the entire solicitation package.
- P.L.: Public Law
- P/N: Part Number
- PO: Purchase Order
- POC: Point of Contact
- R&D: Research and Development
- RFP: Request for Proposal--A solicitation issued by the government to
prospective offerors. An RFP describes what the government requires and how the
offerors will be evaluated. Negotiations may be conducted with offers. Award is
based on a combination of lowest price and technical merit.
- RFQ: Request for Quotation--A request for market information by the
government, used for planning purposes.
- ROICC: Resident Officer in Charge of Construction
- SBSA: Small Business Set Aside--A solicitation restricted to competition
completed only among small businesses.
- SDB: Small And Disadvantaged Business--A small business that is owned and
operated by a socially or economically disadvantaged individual.
- SF: Standard Form
- SIC: Standard Industrial Classification--A code number used by the
government to classify goods or services by their principal purpose.
- SOL: Solicitation--A document that describes the specifications of what
the government requires. A solicitation is usually an IFB or a RFP.
- SOW: Statement of Work--A description of the government's requirements
for purchasing a good or service.
CBDNet is provided through an alliance of the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Government Printing
Office.
Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User Support Team by Internet e-mail at cbd-support@gpo.gov; by telephone at 1-202-512-1530 (locally in the D.C.-Metro area) or toll free at 1-888-293-6498 (outside the D.C. area); by fax at 1-202-512-1262.
URL: http://cbdnet.gpo.gov/read-gd.html February 14, 2002