The Office of Acquisition Management at DEA headquarters in northern Virginia is the central procurement activity for purchasing the products and services that support DEA’s mission. DEA field offices have limited procurement authority to purchase local requirements; these actions are generally limited to the simplified acquisition transactions under $25,000.
Contracting Opportunities with DEA
DEA depends on contractors to supply the products and services needed to support its world-wide mission. Annually DEA awards contracts in excess of $600 million, involving more than 2,000 vendors. DEA’s largest service acquisitions in terms of total dollars spent are:
- Translation and Interpreting
- IT and Telecommunications
- Maintenance and Repair of Aircraft
- Professional, Administrative and Managerial Support
DEA also purchases a variety of other products and services including:
- Law enforcement supplies
- Chemicals and lab equipment
- Hazardous waste cleanup
- Agent training
- Office equipment and supplies.
How to do business with DEA
Register your company in the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) that replaced the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. SAM is the primary vendor database for the Federal Government.Current and potential vendors must register in SAM to be eligible to bid on contracts. Visit http://sam.gov/ for more information on SAM.
DEA is constantly researching sources of supplies and services. Small Businesses are invited to email their capability statements to DEA’s Small Business Coordinator. All information submitted will be added to the DEA small business database. This database is available to DEA’s contracting officers and program manager’s. Vendors may submit materials to the DEA Small Business email address: deasmallbusinessprogram@usdoj.gov
Commercial vendors seeking Federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor, and retrieve opportunities for the entire Federal contracting community on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website : https://beta.sam.gov/help/contract-opportunities DEA publishes all contract actions over $25,000 on the FBO website.
DEA issues many delivery orders using federal supply schedule procedures. “GSA Advantage” provides DEA procurement officials a helpful mechanism to source many requirements. For more information on GSA Advantage visit: http://www.gsaadvantage.gov
The DOJ Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) schedules monthly business outreach sessions. These monthly sessions allow vendors an opportunity to meet small business specialists from each of DOJ’s component agencies. OSDBU also maintains an annual forecast of contracting opportunities for all DOJ components. For a calendar of small business events and the latest forecast, see the OSDBU’s website: http://www.justice.gov/jmd/osdbu/
DEA and other law enforcement activities may require U.S. citizenship, security clearances and background checks for contractors providing services or who are otherwise involved with DEA requirements. Clearing employees can be a rigorous process and contractors seeking business with the DEA must anticipate and be prepared for delays between contract award and contract performance.
