CWTSatoTravel and Northrop Grumman Corp. formed a
"teaming agreement" to bid on e-Gov Travel Service 2.0, the U.S.
General Services Administration's travel and expense management systems,
according to a joint statement.
CWTSatoTravel—Carlson Wagonlit Travel's government travel
division—will "serve as the prime contractor" while Northrop will
"apply corporate competencies to ensure a seamless transition to an
enhanced E2 Solutions application service for federal agencies," according
to the statement.
Northrop will be added to current CWTSatoTravel
subcontractors including Sabre's GetThere, RightNow Technologies and ImageTag.
"CWTSatoTravel will provide the overall program
management, travel management, account management, and system development and
support resources necessary to deliver an application service designed to meet
government agency travel requirements," according to the statement.
However, "Northrop Grumman will commit its system integration, usability
engineering and account management resources in delivering travel and expense
management services that are well integrated with government agency financial
and human resources systems, and leverage existing functionality for unique
agency needs."
The two aligning "are pivotal to a successful and
cost-effective ETS2 transition," said CWTSatoTravel president Kelly Kuhn
in the statement. "Through the development of effective system and data
migration plans, this partnership can minimize the cost and service impacts
associated with the transition to ETS2."
CWTSatoTravel for more than eight years held the first ETS
contract with the federal government, and developed a web-based travel service
named E2 Solutions. CWTSatoTravel also was responsible for the creation and
implementation of FedRooms, GSA's federal hotel booking tool. However, the ETS2
solicitation proved challenging for CWTSatoTravel, according to a protest lodged by CW Government Travel—another CWT subsidiary—against GSA. The protest
claimed GSA's solicitation included "ambiguous" language that did not
communicate effectively what would be required of bidders.
The massive solicitation covered travel management services
for more than 70 federal agencies, which would have a base period of three
years with three optional four-year extensions, potentially resulting in
15-year relationships. The solicitation asks bidders for mobile travel
management capabilities, carbon footprint tracking and reporting, abilities to
book telepresence alternatives, incorporation of electronic miscellaneous
document capability and much more.