Supply Arrangement Authority (SAA)

The Supply Arrangement Authority (SAA) is the official responsible for establishing or issuing a Government of Canada supply arrangement, administering it, and revising it when applicable. Federal procurement documents use "SA Authority" and "Supply Arrangement Authority" interchangeably, and both names point to the same role. The Temporary Help Services supply arrangement assigns the issuance, administration and revision of the arrangement to the SAA.

A supply arrangement is a prequalification-based method of procurement. Suppliers that qualify can then compete for the contracts that follow. The SAA is the party that runs the arrangement itself, which includes deciding whether a supplier is issued an arrangement. It is not the party that buys the goods or services in an individual procurement.

Where the Supply Arrangement Authority sits

The SAA is normally located in Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), formerly Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). For some arrangements it sits in the department or agency that sponsors the arrangement. Parks Canada is one example. Parks Canada documents identify the Parks Canada Agency, National Contracting Services, as the SAA for a supply arrangement, as shown in a CanadaBuys request for supply arrangement.

How the SAA differs from the identified user

The SAA and the Identified User (IU) have separate jobs. The SAA administers the arrangement. The identified user, or contracting authority, conducts the individual procurement under that arrangement and awards the resulting contract. A CanadaBuys notice for office furniture shows the split clearly. Only suppliers that have been prequalified and issued a supply arrangement are eligible to bid, and the SAA is the party that issues the arrangement.

Arrangements and notices that name an SAA

PSPC identifies an SAA for a range of professional-services and informatics methods of supply:

• Professional Audit Support Services (PASS)
• Solutions-Based Supply Arrangement
• Solution-Based Supply Arrangement under the Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) method of supply
• Temporary Help Services
• ProServices
• Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS)

The role also shows up in goods and defence procurements. CanadaBuys notices can direct suppliers to send questions or requests to the SAA identified for the procurement. One CanadaBuys tender notice names PSPC's Land and Aerospace Equipment Procurement and Support Sector in that role.

What the SAA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Check the notice first to see whether it is limited to existing arrangement holders. If you already hold the required arrangement, you can bid on the resulting requirement. If you do not, you may need to submit an arrangement to the SAA for evaluation. The office-furniture notice states that non-holders cannot receive the resulting contract until the SAA issues the arrangement. A second CanadaBuys notice covers the same supplier obligation.

Find the SAA named in the arrangement terms or the tender notice and use that contact for arrangement questions. Direct questions about a specific procurement to the contact the notice names. In some notices that contact is the SAA, and in others it is the contracting authority. Build the time to be issued an arrangement into your bid planning, because the SAA's issuance of the arrangement comes before any contract award.