GSA Schedule | The Contracting Education Academy

September 26, 2019 By cs

Watchdog warns on GSA’s contracting data trial

The General Services Administration’s watchdog again raised concerns over plans to move ahead with a three-year Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) pilot program, at the expense of two other contract provisions it says helps federal buyers save money.

This is the case that GSA made for Transactional Data Reporting when it issued a proposed rule in 2015 to capture transactional data on procurements across all of its government-wide acquisition vehicles.

In comments on the GSA’s strategy to extend its TDR pilot for another year after its planned conclusion this December, the GSA Office of Inspector General said it remains concerned TDR could cripple the agency’s buying schedules, which include IT Schedule 70, because it has yet to produce useable pricing data. The comments were dated July 26 but publicly released this week.

GSA’s TDR pilot collects pricing data from vendor volunteers, including prices paid by government customers, for products and services sold under agency contracts. It hopes the data gathered could level out pricing for federal buyers. When it was launched, the GSA OIG characterized the pilot as “the most significant change to GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules Program in over 20 years.” However, it warned at the beginning of the pilot and again in recent comments that the effort had produced no significant measurable pricing data federal agencies could use.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2019/08/28/watchdog-warns-pricing-trial-rockwell.aspx

September 9, 2019 By cs

The danger in GSA’s online marketplaces

A little commentary from the General Services Administration on our website urges government buyers to use the agency’s multiple-award schedule contracts.

The venerable MAS contracts generate about $45 billion in annual sales.

Over the years, GSA has continually tinkered with the awards schedules to keep the program relevant. Now it’s about to collapse the 24 individual schedules into one. GSA will release the new consolidated schedule and its terms and conditions on Oct. 1, with a goal of moving all vendors to one schedule by the end of fiscal 2020. GSA let industry know about the consolidated schedule plan late last year.

No change in federal procurement is ever simple.

Center Law Group’s Barbara Kinosky, whom I’ve interviewed from time to time, wrote this about the consolidation: “We understand modifications to add the new consolidated [special item numbers] will not be accepted after Sept. 30 until sometime in mid-January 2020 after contractors have accepted the mass modification incorporating the new consolidated schedule terms and conditions.”

See what I mean?

Once the conversion is done, buyers and sellers will, in theory, have a simpler, more uniform contracting system to deal with. The consolidation is one of many updates and improvements GSA is making to modernize the MAS and the supporting tools like e-modification.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/tom-temin-commentary/2019/08/the-danger-in-gsas-online-marketplaces/

August 28, 2019 By cs

GSA extends a pilot to save the government millions

The General Services Administration (GSA) decided to extend its Transaction Data Reporting (TDR) pilot through fiscal year 2020, a program GSA has said saves the government millions, according to a recent news release.

The TDR rule allowed GSA to remove “complex and burdensome” tracking and disclosure requirements mandated on contractors, in addition to asking contractors to electronically report specific procurement data, like prices paid, quantity and product description. The rule requires monthly reporting of transaction sales data from governmentwide contracts, which the GSA wrote increases transparency. GSA estimated when it made the initial announcement about the new rule in 2016 that it would save the government around $29 million a year.

“This rule also supports the government’s shift towards category management by centrally collecting and analyzing information on what federal agencies are buying and how much they are paying,” the GSA wrote in 2016. “This new transparency helps the government leverage its vast buying power and drives competition.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/gsa/2019/08/19/gsa-extends-a-pilot-to-save-the-government-millions/

August 20, 2019 By AMK

GSA releases fact sheet to aid agencies buying on consolidated Multiple Award Schedule

The General Services Administration (GSA) is modernizing federal acquisition by consolidating the existing 24 Schedules into one single Schedule for products, services, and solutions.

One contract vehicle will make it easier for federal agencies and other customers to find total solutions, ensure terms and conditions meet their needs, and eliminate duplicate contracts.

Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) Consolidation is one of the four cornerstone initiatives of GSA’s Federal Marketplace (FMP) Strategy, a plan to modernize and simplify the buying and selling experience for customers, suppliers, and acquisition professionals.

Throughout the MAS Consolidation process, customers can continue purchasing through GSA vehicles as they normally would. GSA anticipates no disruptions to customers. Once the consolidation is completed, customers will experience a more streamlined and simplified buying experience.

GSA’s MAS program management office has just issued a fact sheet that describes in detail what Schedule buyers can expect during each of three phases of MAS consolidation. You can access the fact sheet on the Federal Marketplace website here: MAS Consolidation Customer Fact Sheet – 08.2019

May 15, 2019 By AMK

How GSA is making software contracts more like commercial sales

The General Services Administration has adjusted some components of its IT Schedule 70 contract, the federal government’s largest IT purchasing vehicle, to give agencies a more efficient way to buy software services, the agency announced April 16.

Three special item numbers on the contract, which more narrowly define IT services the government wants to purchase, were updated to help agencies better comply with policy and purchase new technology.

“Now our offerings align better with the way software is sold commercially,” Bill Zielinski, acting assistant commissioner of GSA’s Office of Information Technology Category, wrote in a blog post. “Now it’s easier for our customers to get what they need, including transferring software licenses among federal entities.”

The three changes adjusted language related to term software, perpetual software license and software maintenance service contracts.

The updates better define term software as distinguished from software-as-a-service, include identification tags and transferability rights for perpetual software licenses, add utilization limitations across all three special item numbers and define commercial supplier agreements to include enterprise user license agreements and terms of service agreements.

Keep reading article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2019/04/17/how-gsa-is-making-software-contracts-more-like-commercial-sales/

The General Services Administration’s watchdog again raised concerns over plans to move ahead with a three-year Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) pilot program, at the expense of two other contract provisions it says helps federal buyers save money.

A little commentary from the General Services Administration on our website urges government buyers to use the agency’s multiple-award schedule contracts.

The General Services Administration (GSA) decided to extend its Transaction Data Reporting (TDR) pilot through fiscal year 2020, a program GSA has said saves the government millions, according to a recent news release.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is modernizing federal acquisition by consolidating the existing 24 Schedules into one single Schedule for products, services, and solutions.

The General Services Administration has adjusted some components of its IT Schedule 70 contract, the federal government’s largest IT purchasing vehicle, to give agencies a more efficient way to buy software services, the agency announced April 16.

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