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