Beth  Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                   

          
September 8, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1760)

Susie Marucci
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/358-1896)

RELEASE:  94-148

NASA ON-LINE SYSTEM SPEEDS UP MIDRANGE PROCUREMENTS

          A new on-line system available over the Internet is
speeding up the way one NASA center does its MidRange
procurements and ultimately should save substantial amounts of
time compared to traditional, non-electronic methods.

          Instead of relying on hard copies of information
available from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Ala., interested companies can now view and download relevant
information quickly and easily from their offices.

          NASA's MidRange, a simplified procedure for
procurements between $25,000 and $500,000, was approved on a test
basis at Marshall by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. 
The test has been in effect at Marshall since July 1993, and is
planned to last four years.  It has proven so successful that
NASA recently began expanding the program to other NASA centers,
which should be using MidRange by October 1994.

          Approximately 80 percent of all NASA's contract
actions--accounting for 11 percent of contract dollars--fall into
the MidRange category.  Streamlined solicitations and contracts,
MidRange buying teams, best value selection, and the use of the
on-line system to announce opportunities and disseminate
solicitations are all part of the MidRange procurement process.

          One of the highlights of this program is the Marshall
Procurement Home Page, which lists upcoming procurements,
solicitations, and other items of interest for businesses
interested in working with Marshall.  While NASA will continue to
provide information to the Commerce Business Daily, as required 
by law, the same information and the solicitation and model
contract are available from Marshall via the Internet.  Other
centers are beginning to add their information as well.  

     The Marshall MidRange information can be found on the
World-Wide Web on "http://procure.msfc.nasa.gov".  

          For more information, contact Jim Bradford at
Marshall, 205/544-0306, e-mail address,
jim.bradford@msfc.nasa.gov; Michael Lalla at 205/544-3948, e-
mail address, michael.lalla@msfc.nasa.gov; or Tom Deback at NASA 
Headquarters, 202/358-0431, e-mail address,
tdeback@proc.hq.nasa.gov.

-end-

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