Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, joins Off the Shelf for a review of some of the key procurement events of 2023.   Allen highlights the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) reorganization and its impact on FAS operations and explains the potential positive impact on customer agencies and contractors through the restructuring of the management structure to eliminate regional stovepipes and enhance customer focus.  He also discusses the slow march towards Transactional Data Reporting and the updating of pricing policies for the Multiple Award Schedule program.  The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) Better Contracting Initiative was launched in the Fall and Allen provides his sense of the where it is headed and what it means for the procurement community. Finally Allen will talk about the current state of play in the IT GWAC and major IDIQ contracting world, including the growth in protests and the implications of the impending follow-on procurements.