Overview
FAR 47.105 establishes the specific organizational channels that civilian and military agencies must use to obtain expert technical assistance regarding transportation matters and logistics management.
Key Rules
- Civilian Activities: Agencies lacking internal transportation officers must seek assistance from either the GSA Regional Federal Supply Service Bureau or the transportation element of the designated contract administration office.
- Military Installations: Assistance must be obtained from the transportation office of the contracting activity unless another specific military entity has been designated.
- Military Escalation: If local military transportation offices require further support, they are directed to request aid from the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC).
- Designated Support: The regulation ensures that every contracting action has a defined path for resolving technical freight or shipping issues, regardless of the agency's internal expertise.
Practical Implications
- Technical Resource Access: Contracting Officers (COs) are not expected to be logistics experts and are mandated to leverage specialized government resources (like GSA or SDDC) to ensure shipping requirements are legally and technically sound.
- Consistency in Logistics: By funneling requests through specific bureaus and commands, the government maintains standardized shipping rates and procedures across diverse geographic locations and contract types.