Abstract : We are on the verge of a new era in electronic commerce, where companies transact business spontaneously over the Internet. In restructuring its procurement processes, The Federal Government has a unique opportunity to exploit this electronic marketplace, and to influence its development in ways that benefit us all. This report describes a vision of the electronic marketplace, the requirements it must satisfy, an architecture for addressing those requirements, and a graceful migration path to the marketplace from current EDI technology and practice. It identifies five key concepts for government electronic commerce, and concludes by recommending that the government act to shape the electronic marketplace for the benefit of all by (1) including Internet gateways to VANs; and (2) encouraging pilot projects in procurement over the Internet.