Amazon Business’ Anne Rung: E-Commerce Platform Would Offer Spending Visibility for Agencies

Anne Rung, director of government sector at Amazon Business, has said adopting an e-commerce platform could help federal agencies manage spending transparency and compliance with acquisition policies, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Rung told the station in an interview that the federal government should implement an approach that begins with the identification of clients’ requirements.

“The customers in this space are both federal buyers and federal sellers so let’s talk to the customers about the challenges they have in this space generally or with solutions today,” she said.

“What do they need to be more efficient and effective and to provide the best value for the taxpayers, and then let’s work backwards from there.”

She said the General Services Administration has begun that effort through two requests for information issued to platform providers and suppliers.

The agency also held a town hall-like meeting Thursday to gather insights on how it will establish an e-commerce portal for agencies.

Rung, former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, also noted about the potential benefits of increasing the micropurchase threshold to $25,000 for commercial items procured through the e-commerce portal.

“To me, raising the micropurchase threshold to $25,000 provides a more efficient means by which you can make those purchases, it provides greater access to a commercial marketplace and it’s also a great means by which small businesses can better reach buyers in a more streamlined fashion,” she said.