Introduction to the General Service Administration s Federal Supply Schedules Program. Session 4. Steven Spilker GCAP Procurement Counselor

Transcription

1 Introduction to the General Service Administration s Federal Supply Schedules Program Session 4 Steven Spilker GCAP Procurement Counselor

2 Who, What, Where is the General Services Administration (GSA)? General Services Administration is a federal support agency with head quarters in Washington D.C. GSA FAS (Federal Acquisition Service) assists other federal agencies to acquire products and services by contracting directly with federal and commercial sources through their Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) Program

3 The objective of the GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) Program is to provide Federal agencies and other customers with a simplified process for obtaining commonly used commercial services and products at prices associated with volume buying.

4 GSA s FSS Contract Program The GSA Federal Supply Schedules(FSS) Program accounted for over $40.4 billion in purchases in FY2012 Projected 2013 spending within GSA is expected to increase dramatically per GSA s Director. Federal agencies, federal workers, State and Local governments, and citizens located in governmentowned and leased buildings in more than 2,000 U.S. communities and overseas have the ability to purchase from GSA Schedules.

5 GSA s FSS Contract Program (continued) Over 64,000 Federal specifying, end user, and contract officers have the ability to access and purchase your products and services directly. In addition, under certain conditions and depending on your Contract, these same products and services are also accessible by State and local procurement authorities. And more

6 Who Can Buy From my GSA contract? All Federal Agencies Mixed-Ownership Government Corporations (FDIC, Federal Home Loan Banks, etc.) The District of Columbia Cost Reimbursable Government Contractors authorized in writing by a Federal agency (48 CFR 51.1) State and local agencies during declared States of Emergency State and Local Agencies (Cooperative Purchasing-Schedules 70 IT and 84 First Response)

7 What Types of Products & Services are Procured via the GSA FSS Program? Most GSA contracts are for standard services and "commercial off-the-shelf" (COTS) products and equipment in three major areas: General-purpose supplies, tools, equipment, and labor services; repair and maintenance services; and Information technology and network services. Not construction! For contracting opportunities in the areas of Construction, Architecture, Real Estate or Interior Design please visit

8 Must be in business a minimum of two years* Must be offering products/services in common with NAICS codes as listed on your SAM registration Company must be financially sound Must demonstrate acceptable customer satisfaction levels as outlined in your firms past performance Dun & Bradstreet s Open Ratings report

9 So what is a GSA Contract? Under the GSA Federal Supply Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules) Program, GSA has established long-term IDIQ government wide contracts with over 18 thousand commercial firms to provide access to over 40 million commercial products and services. Pre-negotiated contract where prices and contract terms and conditions have been agreed to in advance and are considered fair and reasonable by the Government Base 5 year contract, extendable to 20 years Products and Services are purchased from your contract via the GSA Advantage e-commerce site GSA administrates the program but all* Federal agencies can buy via this procurement vehicle.

10 Before I begin the process, what would increase my chances of a return from a GSA contract? If one or more Fed contracting officers requested you to obtain a GSA FSS contract. Called and asked your past Federal contracting officers to confirm getting on GSA would be mutually beneficial. THORUGH RESEARCH EFFORT!!!!!! Go to GSA s Vendor Toolbox and complete the Readiness Assessment questionnaire!!! You verified your products/services and your competitors/peers are on GSA Advantage and have solid annual sales records. Your prices and terms are competitive

11 GSA FSS from 30,000 feet a visual GSA E-Commerce Website Organized into 40+ GSA & VA/GSA Schedules Contains over 40,000,000+ Products and Services on-line Supplied by 18,000+ GSA approved Contract Holders

12 What s the difference between a GSA Schedule and a GSA Contract? For more info go to

13 What is a GSA Schedule? GSA Schedules are procurement identifiers established to categorize products and services required by most federal, state, and local agencies throughout the United States and overseas locations. There are 40+ schedules (including Veteran Administration Schedules for medical supplies and services) that cover all of the 20 million plus products and services.

14 Primary GSA Multiple Award Schedules Information Technology Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS) Professional Engineering Services (PES) Environmental Services Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS) Financial and Business Solutions (FABS) Financial and Business Solutions (FABS) Human Resources and EEO Services Temporary Administrative & Professional Staffing (TAPS) Office Supplies and Administrative Services Office Furniture Logistics Worldwide (LOGWORLD) And Many, Many More

15 Getting Started: Is there a Schedule (s) listing for your products or service?

16 GSA E-Library Search by product or service description; contractor; competitor, keyword, key phrases, etc. Locate the schedule or schedules that best fits your offerings

17 GSA Solicitation Upon finding the Schedule that best fits your company s product or service offerings Link to the schedule solicitation on FedBizOpps to download the document

18 What specifically is a GSA Schedule Solicitation? The solicitation document is the Request for Proposal (Admin, Technical and Pricing) directed to you the potential vendor Each schedule has an accompanying Solicitation that requests a proposal (RFP) from you that meets the listed terms and conditions, Statement of work, corporate information, and pricing support so as to enable GSA to initiate negotiations with your firm. As in all proposals there are specific terms & conditions, product descriptions, technical and pricing sections, etc., that are required for a successful submittal

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20 Benefits of the GSA FSS Program Some of the obvious benefits: Maximizes the opportunities for contractors' participation by notifying them of new government requirements for their specific supplies (products) or services; Saves (YOU) contractors money by reducing the cost of finding government business opportunities and reducing lead time and cost to submit quotations; Provides valuable information on the federal marketplace, allowing contractors to expand their customer bases; and

21 FSS Benefits (continued) Ability to form Schedule contractor team arrangements to provide solutions to large or complex requirements; Savings related to reduced marketing costs; Online ordering to you through GSA Advantage electronic website! Credit card ordering and payment, including the use of Government wide commercial purchase card orders; Competing ONLY with those firms that are GSA Contract holders like YOU!

22 FSS Benefits for your customer Save time; Realize cost savings; Experience flexibility and choice; Achieve transparency; Control the procurement; and Provides a procurement vehicle to reward dependable vendors with repeat orders

23 Pros and Cons of a GSA Contract PROS: Been there, done that so. CONS: Time and resource consuming task of preparing proposal, negotiating contract, and uploading to GSA Advantage! Prices must be valid for one year minimum* Must offer MFC (Most Favored Customer) pricing * Must be able to deliver to all 50 States Final Contract is visible for all to see Must maintain accurate records and keep company in compliance with all terms and conditions of contract * Or provide justification as to why not

24 Major Steps to a GSA contract Obtain DUNS number, complete SAM registration Research and identify the appropriate schedule or schedules that best represent your products and/or services, Make sure that all items offered are within the scope of the Schedule solicitation, Download and understand the accompanying solicitation, Apply for a digital certificate that will enable your computer to submit an electronic proposal, Open up an E-offer (or MAS Express offer--more on this later),

25 Major Steps (continued) Prepare a proposal per the guidelines/checklist of the Schedule solicitation, and enter information/data per the E-offer template, Submit proposal to GSA, GSA reviews and completes due diligence, Enter clarification meetings and finalize negotiations acceptable to both parties, The end result: An initial five year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract that is made available to most federal, state, and local agencies with pricing, delivery, and terms & conditions pre-set and approved, Upload final contract to GSA Advantage! website.

26 Issuance/Evaluation/Award Timeline YOU: YOU: Complete Online Complete Registrations E-offer/proposal and Start Past Performance Review YOU: Submit Completed Offer GSA: Evaluates /Reviews Offer *1-9 MONTHS GSA/YOU: Negotiate Offer GSA: Rejects or Accepts the Offer If Rejected, request debriefing within 3 days YOU: Up-load contract information to GSA Advantage! YOU: Proactively market your MAS contract to eligible buyers

27 How do my GSA customers compete vendors within the FSS program? Rule of thumb: $3.5K and under contracting officer can select any vendor without competition and send order. $3.51K to $35K they can review yours and two other vendors on GSA Advantage for best values and select awardee Over $35K they send out request to confirm pricing and select winner based on written response/best value

28 Preparing a GSA FSS proposal Do it yourself Attend seminars/ off-site Labs E-Labs Outside third party (Fedmarket, EZGSA, etc.) GCAP support

29 GSA and Small Business GSA is an advocate for today's small, 8(a), small disadvantaged, women-owned, HUB Zone, veteran, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. GSA has established goals for awarding contracts to these businesses and for subcontracting with small businesses. (Note: GSA customers are not necessarily required to meet these same goals) Some small business programs also have "set asides" under which certain contracts are reserved for competition among small or small disadvantaged businesses. GSA actively seeks out small businesses able to provide nationwide or local services and products.

30 THANK YOU! 30