Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements Application (SOSA App)

The Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements Application (SOSA App) is a secure, web-based Government of Canada application for finding federal standing offers and supply arrangements in one location. It is associated with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and it is described on CanadaBuys as the place to manage, update and search these procurement instruments.

The application is built for buyers, not suppliers. It consolidates arrangements held with pre-qualified suppliers so that authorized public-sector users can find the right instrument and obtain its terms, pricing and supplier information. Businesses cannot log in, but they can still see information about standing offers and supply arrangements through public channels.

Standing offers and supply arrangements behind the SOSA App

The SOSA App exists to organize two types of procurement instrument. Each works differently, so suppliers should keep them apart.

• Standing offer: a method of supply in which a supplier agrees to provide specified goods or services, at stated prices or under stated conditions, when ordered by an authorized buyer.
• Supply arrangement: an arrangement with pre-qualified suppliers that lets buyers solicit bids or issue contracts under the arrangement's terms.

The application covers federal standing offers and supply arrangements for goods and services. PSPC describes it as the place where authorized users can view and use the complete list of these instruments, as listed on the CanadaBuys public service applications page.

Who can sign in to the SOSA App

Access is limited to authorized users. Federal departments and agencies can use the application, as can eligible organizations participating in the Canadian Collaborative Procurement Initiative (CCPI). Users log in with a myKey or GCKey.

Businesses and suppliers cannot access the SOSA App. Instead, they can download SOSA open data from the Open Government Portal, and they can consult CanadaBuys for information about standing offers and supply arrangements.

How CCPI organizations gain access

The CCPI is a federal initiative through which eligible provincial, territorial and other organizations can reach federal procurement instruments. These organizations obtain SOSA App access after joining through their province or territory and receiving registration information from a PSPC account manager. The steps are set out on the PSPC page after you join.

How federal buyers use the application

The SOSA App turns up across several areas of federal procurement.

• Language training: PSPC directs buyers to the SOSA App for the full text of standing offers for professional language-training services, including offeror and reference information, as explained on its page on how to find a copy of a standing offer.
• Environmental considerations: the application includes a green filter that identifies procurement instruments incorporating environmental considerations, noted in a PSPC departmental results report.
• Procurement planning: Correctional Service Canada identifies the SOSA App as the source for information on PSPC standing offers and supply arrangements in its 2024-2025 procurement plan.

What the SOSA App means for a supplier

A supplier does not use the SOSA App as an ordinary account. To appear in it, a supplier must first obtain a standing offer or qualify for a supply arrangement through the relevant procurement process. Once that instrument is in place, it may be visible through SOSA open data or CanadaBuys, while authorized buyers work with it inside the secure application.

For bid teams, the practical point is that being on an instrument is what puts a company in front of federal buyers who search the SOSA App. Review the open data to see how existing instruments are structured and which categories already have pre-qualified suppliers, and watch CanadaBuys for the solicitations that create new standing offers and supply arrangements.