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.
