Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to right sidebar Skip to footer

Contract management

One and Done!

Earlier this week, Phase 3 of the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Consolidation began. Each contractor with one or more contracts now has its offerings under one contract or unique entity identifier (UEI) number. (GSA Interact, August 3, 2020)

GSA designed Phase 3 to make sure contract numbers remain the same Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) remain in effect. Contractors affected by Phase 3 received emails from the MAS Program Management Office (PMO) with guidance on consolidating their contracts. All contractors should review the contractor checklist & planning spreadsheet for outlining the elements of their contracts as well as planning for consolidation. (ibid)

Also as of this week, contractors that haven’t signed the Mass Mod are no longer visible on GSA eTools. Contracts are not canceled, but contractor information is hidden from view until the Mass Mod is signed. Additionally, all 24 legacy Schedules are no longer visible in eLibrary, eBuy, or on GSA.gov. (All eBuy changes may be viewed on this resource.) (ibid)

If you are a contractor with multiple contracts, consider joining one of the two training opportunities below:

Monday, August 10th (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET): Register here. (please select NON-GSA User if from industry)

Wednesday, August 26th (2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET): Register here. (please select NON-GSA User if from industry)

Training is recorded for those unable to attend the live training. Information will be provided on the MAS Interact page. (GSA Interact, August 3, 2020)

Through the Multiple Award Schedule, GSA has generated long-term government contracts with the commercial sector that provide nearly 10 million supplies and services for government agencies. To that end, the government spends upwards of $30 billion through the GSA schedule. It is crucial if you have a GSA schedule contract that you sign on for the mass modification immediately. (Nextgov,August 3, 2020)

Questions about the MAS consolidation or your current GSA schedule contract? Give us a call.

Practical Applications on the Chinese Tech Ban

On 23 July, the Defense Department released a memo explaining requirements for companies and contractors when the ban of telecommunications equipment made by Huawei and other China-based companies goes into effect. (Federal Computer Week, July 27, 2020)

Beginning 13 August, no contracts will be issued or extended to contractors using technologies or services and equipment made by Hikvision, ZTE or those listed in section 889(a)(1)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. Any contract, task/delivery order, and off-the-shelf items purchased after 13 August must include language invoking regulation for the ban. Additionally, indefinite delivery contracts are required to be modified. (ibid)

There is a waiver process, however, pursuable by agencies. According to Alan Dhvotkin PSC executive vice president and counsel, the waiver “will most likely begin with issues identified by the telecommunications provider to its federal agency customer. The federal agency then asks for an ODNI review, which will conduct a risk assessment.” A granted waiver lasts two years and may be requested at any time. (Federal Computer Week, July 22, 2020)

Have questions or need a waiver? Give us a call.

 

What Brand is Your Telcom and Video?

Section 889 of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act was passed to fight national security and intellectual property threats to the United States.  The legislation includes two prohibitions Part A and Part B. (GSA Section 889 Industry Focused Flyer, GSA.gov, July 16, 2020)

Part A, which became effective on August 13, 2019 bans telecommunications/video surveillance equipment made by the following companies:

  • Huawei Technologies Company
  • ZTE Corporation
  • Hytera Communications Corporation
  • Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company
  • Dahua Technology Company

Part A can be found in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at FAR subpart 2.1.

Part B, effective 13 August 2020, prohibits the government from contracting with any organization that uses equipment or services of any of the companies listed under Part A. Part B applies, whether or not that usage is in performance of work under a Federal contract. In other words, if you use any of the banned companies in the fulfillment of a  non-government contract, you will be prohibited from working with the government. All contractors must verify whether they do or do not use prohibited telecommunications/video surveillance equipment or services. Part B has been added to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at FAR subpart 4.21. (ibid)

GSA recommends companies to complete an in-depth review of all in-house technology to rule out using banned companies in Part A . If prohibited equipment or services are being used, companies that wish to continue doing business with the government must eliminate them. GSA does not take responsibility for changes contractors make, unless done so by a modification to a current contract.

However, two possible waiver procedures with extremely high standards are available. This is to ensure waivers are not used to get “around” the prohibitions.

GSA is modifying all solicitations, Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (IDVs), GWACs, and other IDIQ contracts, to include Section 889 Part B requirements immediately. These requirements will be added to GSA’s existing non-IDV contracts as those contracts have their periods of performance extended.

GSA is hosting the following events so that industry may obtain additional guidance:

  1. The GSA Office of Small Business Utilization webinar on Section 889, July 30, 2020, 2:00 p.m. EST, registration may be found here.
  2. GSA recorded virtual webinar August 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. EST, registration forthcoming. This webinar will include leaders from GSA’s business lines explaining how they are implementing Section 889 into their business lines and panelists will answer pre-collected questions. (Questions may be sent to gsaombudsman@gsa.gov to arrive by COB August 5, 2020.) (ibid)

GSA recommends that vendors study the tools and publications to aid their understanding and compliance, as provided in Acquisition.gov.

Not certain if your contract is affected by Section 889 Part B and if so, what you can do? Give us a call.

Time to Sign the Dotted Line

If you are one of the 15 percent of contractors who have yet to accept GSA’s consolidation Mass Modification, do it now. The deadline is 31 July 2020. All contractors failing to accept the Mass Mod will have their offerings removed from GSA’s eTools platform. (Fedscoop July 13, 2020)

Jessica Salmoiraghi, the associate administrator of the Office of Governmentwide Policy, recently said contractors that fail to accept the mass mod are basically losing out on business, while the contractors who have accepted are realizing orders. (ibid)

As GSA moves further into Phase 2 of MAS consolidation, they are automating parts of the contracting process. This includes its Truman bot, designed to automatically review new contractors based on the MAS. The bot is automating the new offer review process by checking the excluded parties list and pre-filling templates. (ibid)

The third and final phase of MAS Consolidation is expected in the second half of 2020.

Need assistance getting your acceptance to GSA’s mass mod completed in the next two weeks? Give us a call.

Migrate to MAS — Or Else!

This is a time-sensitive reminder that before you submit changes to your catalog through SIP/EDI, migrating to MAS is essential. Even if you have updated your Text File information, you must make sure the migration step has been completed for all of your contracts. (GSA, June 16, 2020)

GSA is deleting all legacy catalogs (product and service) from Advantage, on July 31, 2020. You can continue to use the migrate to MAS function in SIP. Additionally, Catalogs pending approval in CORS should not be impacted by the deletion of legacy catalogs.

Beginning 1 July 2020 updates to legacy catalogs will no longer be allowed. They may only be made once you sign the MAS Mass Mod and migrate your catalog to MAS SINs. (ibid)

Need some help with your contract migration? Give us a call.