According to new contract requirements made by the NYS Office of General Services (OGS), if your company distributes tangible goods, you need to feature all of those products on an online catalog. If this online catalog fails to meet Section 6 of the NYS OGS Contract Requirements, OGS holds the right to suspend your ability to sell products under the contract until your website is in compliance with their requirements.
We urge you to review the requirements below to ensure that OGS doesn’t suspend your sales. These requirements are very similar to a WooCommerce website, which is an ecommerce platform for WordPress that we maintain for our clients everyday. If you’re ready to get a move on, our team can redevelop your website to be OGS compliant. Not sure if this NYS OGS requirement affects your contract? Give us a call to make sure at 866-669-5404.
What are the requirements for a NYS OGS compliant website?
Below is a list of the requirements OGS calls for contractors to have on their website. These requirements mainly concern how you present your products to authorized users.
Create an online distributor catalog
First, you must feature an online catalog of available products that includes your prices.
Make catalog easily accessible
Authorized users must be able to access your online catalog through any commonly used browser (e.g., Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox) with no need to download additional software (e.g., Java, Adobe Flash Player, QuickTime Player). You must also make sure your website is ADA compliant.
Make catalog available 24/7
Your online catalog must be available 24/7 (with the exception of scheduled maintenance).
Provide catalog search options
Make sure that your online catalog allows for searches by:
- OEM
- Product
- Product descriptions
- Manufacturer
Provide contact information
The website that hosts your catalog must also include the contact information of your customer account representatives.
Only display state-specific products
If certain states restrict the distribution of any products you offer, your catalog should only display the products that authorized users are allowed to obtain in their state. If requested, your website must also include links to state websites.
Provide catalog login information
OGS requires that you provide directions to authorized users on how to log into your online catalog by one of the following ways:
- Assign different login codes to each authorized user
- Establish a single set of login codes & distribute them to authorized users
Include ability to obtain quotes & order online
Your catalog must include a function for online ordering.
Provide quotes within 4 hours
OGS also requires you to provide quotes within 4 business hours after receiving a request for a quote (if the product is listed in your catalog).
Honor quotes for 30 days
Once provided, you are required to honor all quotes for 30 days (regardless if prices increase). Also, you must accept requests for quotes through email or online, and must provide quotes through email or online (as requested by the user).
Confirm delivery
Your quote must clearly indicate how the product will be delivered. If you’re delivering software, you must indicate whether it will be delivered through media, download, etc.
Get your website OGS Compliant!
We hope this information helped alert you of this potentially urgent situation. If you need to develop an online catalog to meet NYS OGS requirements, just drop us a line.
Posted on: November 1, 2016
