Strategic Sourcing: Pennywise But Pound Foolish?

The General Services Administration says the strategic sourcing initiative for office supplies has saved $39 million over the last 18 months and is on track to save $208 million by 2013.

And office supplies are just the beginning of the products that soon will be part of the governmentwide Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI). The Obama administration plans to use the power of the government's size to buy everything from print management to mobile devices and services to IT hardware.

But some small businesses not on the contract are demanding the White House step back and analyze the broader, unintended costs of these efforts. A growing number say they are in grave danger of losing their businesses, and thousands more could be right behind them

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