Getting set up to quote DLA: a registration checklist

What this is and who it is for

DLA is the Defense Logistics Agency, which buys spare parts for the military. Before a company can quote a DLA part and get paid, it needs several registrations and accounts. This checklist lists them in order and says what each one is for. It is written for shop owners and small resellers who have not sold to DLA before. Each item comes from an official government page that we read. Where DLA's own pages would not open for us, we say so at the bottom instead of guessing.

Step 2. Register the company and get your UEI

UEI means Unique Entity ID. It is the number that identifies your company in federal systems.

• Choose Register Entity. Your UEI is assigned during registration.(source 1)
• A UEI on its own is not enough to bid. SAM.gov says that if you only get a UEI, you cannot apply directly for federal awards.(source 1)
• Registration counts as complete only when all of this is true: you entered all mandatory information, including your UEI and CAGE code; you finished the Core, Assertions, Representations and Certifications, and Points of Contact sections; the Government validated the mandatory fields, including your Taxpayer Identification Number with the IRS; and the Government marked your record Active.(source 2)
• You give consent for the IRS check of your Taxpayer Identification Number as part of registration.(source 2)
• Be registered before you send a quote. The FAR requires quoters to be registered in SAM when they submit an offer or quotation, and at the time of award. It lists a short set of exceptions.(source 2, source 3)
• Start early. FAR 52.204-7 says processing time should be taken into account and that an offeror who is not registered should consider applying for registration immediately on receiving a solicitation. The clause gives no number of days.(source 2)
• If your solicitation includes FAR 52.204-7, write "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by your UEI on the offer. It must match your name and address exactly as they appear in the offer.(source 2)
• Renew every 365 days to keep the registration active. You can update your registration at any time or when you renew.(source 1)

Step 4. Your DIBBS account

DIBBS is the DLA Internet Bid Board System, the website where DLA posts what it wants to buy.

• DLA uses DIBBS to post solicitations, amendments, awards and award changes. Suppliers use it to send quotations.(source 5)
• In procurement note L01, DLA says it sends award notices either as an email with a link to the order form (DD Form 1155) on DIBBS, or by electronic data interchange (EDI) through a DLA-approved value added network.(source 5)
• For certain long-term contracts, procurement note L02 says offerors must register on DIBBS to receive email notification.(source 5)
• A DIBBS account is also one of the requirements for access to export-controlled drawings (see step 5).(source 6)

Step 6. PIEE and WAWF, so you can invoice

PIEE is the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, a DoD website with several applications. WAWF is one of them.

• Payment documents go into WAWF, one of the PIEE applications.(source 8)
• PIEE lists SAM registration as the mandatory first step for new vendors.(source 8)
• Find out who your SAM point of contact (POC) and your Electronic Business (EB) POC are. The EB POC authorizes employees to access vendor data such as contracts, invoices and payments. The SAM POC must enter or update the EB POC in SAM.(source 8)
• A company representative contacts the PIEE Help Desk, by phone or email, to add your CAGE code to a Vendor Group. Give your CAGE code and the group name you want. This is a one-time step.(source 8)
• Every Vendor Group needs at least one Contractor Administrator (CAM). Only the EB POC listed in SAM can appoint one. A one-person company still needs a CAM, and it can be you.(source 8)
• The CAM registers in PIEE as user type Vendor, using your company's primary CAGE code. Only the Contractor Administrator role can be added at first registration. If the CAM account is not active within two business days, PIEE says to contact the PIEE Help Desk.(source 8)
• Changes to the EB POC name or email in SAM may take 5 business days to reach PIEE.(source 8)
• Other users register themselves under your group, and the CAM approves them. Each PIEE login is for one person. Do not share logins or hand them to someone else.(source 8)
• Most vendors type their documents into WAWF by hand on the web. PIEE says companies with many documents or many line items may use SFTP or EDI instead, and that unaffiliated private companies can submit that way for you.(source 8)