Twitter
Facebook
Changes are coming soon for Government Purchase Card participants, who will now be required to take timely action or risk a break in GPC service.
The changes are associated with the new Purchase Card On-Line System.
“GPC participants at all levels need to familiarize themselves with the changes,” said Susan Wilson, the GPC Agency/Organization program coordinator at the 700th Contracting Squadron. “Action will be required by many participants, but the good news is that PCOLS makes these actions easy.”
PCOLS is a Department of Defense electronic system being fielded to improve overall management for GPC participants. The system is comprised of four Web-enabled automated tools.
The first of the four tools is known as the “Enterprise Monitoring and Management of Accounts,” or EMMA. GPC participants will use EMMA both to accept “provisioning” and to “provision” other participants in the EMMA hierarchy. Provisioning is simply the means by which users assign and accept functional roles in PCOLS.
In the provisioning phase, GPC participants will receive e-mails with a secure link carrying an electronic “token.” Simply click on the secure link to accept your token, and the system will guide you from there. The e-mail will be automated, from a “no_reply” address. Users will need to be CAC-enabled to complete the process.
Certain GPC participants will then need to provision those under them in the PCOLS hierarchy. Using EMMA, Approving/Billing Official supervisors will provision A/BO pool members, and A/BO pool members will provision cardholder supervisors.
Cardholder supervisors need only accept the electronic token through the automated e-mail. No further EMMA action is required of either cardholder supervisors or individual cardholders.
A second PCOLS tool, known as “Authorization, Issuance and Maintenance,” or AIM, will further permit participants to initiate, approve and accept new account and role nominations.
The remaining two PCOLS tools are Data Mining (DM) and Risk Assessment (RA). These tools will provide accountability measures to include automated audit features related to individual transactions.
Some of these PCOLS changes are a response to past problems with certain GPC transactions.
“GPC users possess significant fiscal responsibility,” Mrs. Wilson said. “PCOLS is designed to give managers and system authorities greater insight into the integrity of our GPC transactions.”
Training is available to assist users with the transition to PCOLS. Defense Acquisition University sponsors a Web page with various PCOLS learning links.
Users may select from basic overview information, a role-based training module “CLG005,” a webinar opportunity, FAQs and more. To access using your CAC, visit https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=213561.
Mrs. Wilson advises GPC participants to prepare to engage early with PCOLS.
“E-mails are expected to flow to users beginning early March,” she said. “It’s critical that organizations act on those notifications to keep their GPC accounts current.”
(Courtesy of 700th Contracting Squadron)
