GSA Schedule | The Contracting Education Academy

March 7, 2018 By cs

GSA says rule change will simplify Schedule buys, reduce proliferation of multiple-award contracts

The General Services Administration believes it’s fixed at least one of the reasons behind a proliferation of overlapping indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) multiple award contracts across the government.

Until now, there was no way for agencies to buy products and services from GSA’s Schedules program while simultaneously getting the ancillary services and goods they might need to actually make use of them.

A change to the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR), published last month, lets agencies buy what are known as “order level materials” (OLMs) via the schedules themselves. Previously, officials said, acquisition often had to undertake two contracting actions if they wanted to buy ancillary services from the schedules.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition-policy/2018/02/gsa-says-rule-change-will-simplify-schedule-buys-reduce-proliferation-of-multiple-award-contracts/

February 22, 2018 By cs

Other Transaction Authority: A tool in the toolbox

Last week, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a five-year, $950 million award to REAN Cloud to provide cloud adoption services to DoD agencies. DoD utilized its Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for the $950 million award as a follow-on to what was originally an OTA award to REAN for migration services valued at approximately $6 million.

The OTA process enables DoD to enter into agreements with industry and/or academia to provide research and development or prototyping work. In particular, the OTA process provides a means for DoD to access nontraditional vendors, such as those who have not engaged in cost contracting for a period of time. These agreements are not contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, and they are generally exempt from the rules and regulations found in the FAR or DFARS. Recently, Congress expanded this authority for DoD.

When utilized effectively, OTAs can provide many benefits, including reducing red tape, increasing competition, enhancing DoD access to cutting-edge technologies, and allowing for quick implementation of innovative solutions. As with any procurement decision, however, there are many trade-offs that should be considered, especially considering the fact that the OTA process also can be less transparent than a FAR-based contract.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2018/02/other-transaction-authority-a-tool-in-the-toolbox/

February 20, 2018 By cs

New GSA administrator seeks to shine light where the shadows of federal procurement live

The General Services Administration is exploring how it can add more transparency to the procurement process, particularly with its $35 billion schedules program.

Since its inception, GSA’s schedules program has been hidden behind a wall where only vendors with a contract could see the solicitations and awards. The lack of transparency about what happens on those “members-only” contracts has frustrated good government groups, the media and vendors who aren’t on the contracts, but may want to join.

So GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, who was confirmed by the Senate about two months ago, has made transparency one of her four goals and is seeking not just an agency solution to this challenge, but one that would work governmentwide.

“It was one of the first conversations I had with the Office of Management and Budget. I’ve had conversations with the Office of Governmentwide Policy. I’ve had conversations with the Office of General Counsel and the Federal Acquisition Service. They are looking at all of it and are supposed to coming back to me with options on we can try and be more transparent,” Murphy said in an exclusive interview with Federal News Radio. “I think this needs to be addressed not just in the microcosm of the GSA schedules. If we are looking at task orders, we need to be looking across government and making sure we are not disadvantaging the schedules program versus other programs, and we are not putting our vendors or our customers at a competitive disadvantage. At the end of the day, it’s their data.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition-policy/2018/02/new-gsa-administrator-seeks-to-shine-light-where-the-shadows-of-federal-procurement-live/

February 13, 2018 By cs

New rule allows other direct costs and order level materials on GSA Schedule task orders

The General Services Administration (GSA) has finalized a major change to its Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program, allowing the purchase of incidental materials.

On FSS contracts, the new rule allows vendors to include other direct costs (ODCs) or order level materials (OLMs) on individual task orders. ODCs or OLMs are costs that aren’t specifically identified in the contract, such as a specialized tool or test equipment. GSA says the change will help create parity with commercial sector best practices.

The new rule was originally proposed in the Federal Register at 81 FR 62445 on September 9, 2016, but only recently finalized. It addresses the importance of providing the same flexibility for the FSS program that is currently authorized for other indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) vehicles, which will help reduce contract duplication and the associated administrative costs and inefficiencies.

Details at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/24/2018-01232/general-services-administration-acquisition-regulation-gsar-federal-supply-schedule-order-level

February 1, 2018 By cs

Urban Myths: Are GSA’s prices fair and reasonable?

Over the years, some have questioned whether GSA Schedule prices are fair and reasonable, and such concerns have led to the General Services Administration launching efforts, such as Transactional Data Reporting and horizontal pricing analysis, to demonstrate that it is dedicated to offering its customers “competitive” (however defined) prices.

Now comes an MBA Professional Report published by the Naval Postgraduate School, which provides a business case analysis comparing GSA Advantage to Amazon Business from the standpoint of prices and processes. The study was completed in response to a request from the Air Force, which is considering entering into a pilot with Amazon Business in order to strategically source micro-purchases using an online platform.

The results of the study may be surprising in light of the recent legislative activity and discussions surrounding online acquisition options for government. They also might inform those who cast a skeptical eye toward the value and vitality of the GSA Schedules Program. The authors gathered data on the top 60 commercially available items purchased by the Air Force using government purchase cards (GPCs) and compared the acquisition outcomes on GSA Advantage and Amazon Business.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2018/01/urban-myths-are-gsas-prices-fair-and-reasonable/

The General Services Administration believes it’s fixed at least one of the reasons behind a proliferation of overlapping indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) multiple award contracts across the government.

The General Services Administration is exploring how it can add more transparency to the procurement process, particularly with its $35 billion schedules program.

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