Question Re: Searching MERX / ACAN

[Wookilar]

Ok,.....MERX sucks. There, I've said it.

Now, how do I go about trying to find things in it? I'm specifically looking for contracts that my office has put out, but I cannot get any feedback from PWGSC on whether or not they are even on MERX/ACAN.

Expending funds by the end of the fiscal year is already a concern of mine, as it seems that there is a backlog of some sort at PW. I've been looking for certain contracts since August and I have not found one.

Is it my search skills/paramaters? It seems fairly simplistic (filter by region/dept), but somehow I think I am missing something.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Wook

 

[dapaterson]

In my experience, PW alerts you when your requirement has been posted - though that may depend on who you're working with, and may not be an SOP.

I'd suggest approachng your contact at PW; if they can not or will not reply, go to their boss.  As their client you havea a right to be kept in the loop about what's going on.

 

[The Bread Guy]

In my experience, PW alerts you when your requirement has been posted - though that may depend on who you're working with, and may not be an SOP.

Not SOP - other federal departments I'm familiar with don't get any notification from PW.  I've sometimes had to tell tech folks about stuff that pops up - even if they prepared the package.

I'd suggest approachng your contact at PW; if they can not or will not reply, go to their boss.  As their client you havea a right to be kept in the loop about what's going on.

Good plan.

I hunt for things on MERX, too, so PM me if you think I might be able to help you out.

 

[Wookilar]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm trying to go through our Contract people as much as possible, I want them in the loop (at least)as much as I am. It would seem to me that PW should notify its' clients when something is posted (I hate being a "client"). But, I can also see if they had to contact everyone that they let a contract / did a purchase for, that's a lot of contacting.

Thanks for the offer for help, it is appreciated. I may take you up on your offer in a few weeks. I've got 5 SOW's going to the Contracts Officer today, we'll see how long they take  ???.

Wook

 

[QM]

www.merx.com

I had never before been on merx myself, but after reading your post I searched for and found a tender that my Unit is currently seeking to purchase and have installed by end-March. Finding it took about 3 minutes of clicking. You should be able to navigate the categories quite readily to find your contracts, by category at the very least.

PWGSC does not inform its customers that it has posted a contract on MERX as an SOP. They are simply too busy, and will inform you only once a contract has been awarded. But, they have always been willing to let us know when a contract has been posted. The key is a good relationship with your procurement agent. I find PW personnel to be horribly overworked, but friendly and responsive. Its odd if they won't let you know the status of your tender, as they know full well that you need to expend your funds in time, or return it to higher HQ if you can't. I would keep calling your buyer, or go visit him if he's non-responsive. Assuming you're  the procurement agent for your HQ, you are well within your rights to be upset if PWGSC is not providing your information about your current procurement projects.