“The federal government will finally pull the plug on the use of Dun and Bradstreet numbers and fully move to a brand new identifier for contractors, called the unique entity identifier (UEI).
On April 4, GSA will complete a major technology modernization project that started in 2012, picked up steam in 2016 and finally will come to completion after a six-month parallel test…”
“’We’ve had a parallel operating environment for over six months where the agencies have had both the DUNS number and the unique entity ID available in all of the IT systems in the Integrated Award Environment (IAE),’ [Memi Whitehead, the deputy assistant commissioner of GSA’s Integrated Award Environment] said in an interview with Federal News Network. ‘They’ve been able to send and receive tests that’s allowed them to plan the timing of their own transitions. Even before that, we’ve been communicating with them sharing the specifications. This really has been a multi-year project and a multi-year transition.’…”
“In March 2018, GSA awarded Ernst & Young a five-year, $41.7 million contract to run the UEI initiative. Ernst & Young will provide services to validate the identity of each entity (company, individual, organization, etc.) wanting to do business with or receive assistance from the government, GSA stated in a release. The GSA said the contract will reduce unnecessary duplication across the government by ensuring individual agencies do not have to separately contract for these services, but will instead receive the service by way of SAM.gov…”
“The UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric identifier that is owned and managed by the government. It connects agencies and companies throughout the federal award lifecycle whether it’s writing a contract or managing a grant.
‘The benefit that we see from the users’ perspective is that it’s going to be more convenient. They’re not going to have to go to multiple sites and they’re not going to have to interact with a third party directly. They’re going to be able to go to SAM.gov, provide the information or request a unique entity identifier, get the entity validation done and move on with whatever else they need to do,’ Whitehead said. ‘That convenience factor, that ease of experience is something that we’re really looking forward to providing.’…” Read the full article here.
Source: On April 4, say goodbye to DUNS and hello to UEI – By Jason Miller, March 28, 2022. Federal News Network.
