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GSA Schedule contract

Guard Sale ;-(

If you’re experiencing difficulty with the crazy, required mass mod GSA just released for the Schedule 84 guard services SINs, we wanted you to know that we’re here to help! Didn’t know about the mod? Here are some of the more important details:
  • GSA is calling this a Terms and Conditions mod, but it’s really much much more. In some cases, it will involve a completely new pricelist.
  • The mass mod was released at the end of June; you have until 31 August to accept it, and 30 September to upload your new pricelist (meaning all changes must have been approved at least a week prior to that) to remain in contract compliance.
  • Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) no longer hold precedence on pricing.
  • You will need to use the new, beta-version SAM website to obtain your Service Contract Act (SCA) pricing.
  • Contractors must use market pricing only (no more Commercial Pricelists), based on SCA.
  • Your Most Favored Customer (MFC) will now be based on the highest percentage of sales to a customer type (federal, state/local, commercial, etc.).
Yes, this is a big, bad mod. EZGSA is on top of it, and ready and willing to assist you in keeping your GSA Schedule compliant. Just give us a call at 301-913-5000, or email us at mbotello@ezgsa.com, so we can get right to work for you.

FAR Changes

With the end of the Fiscal Year looming, the push is on to exhaust agency budgets. In an effort to make acquisitions move through the process more quickly and smoothly, DOD, GSA, and NASA have issued an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The amendment fine-tunes the  FAR and eliminates a step in the acquisition process. (Fedscoop, July 15, 2019)

Per the FAR, agencies were required to justify the best procurement approach when using GSA’s IT Schedule 70, Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts, or assisted acquisition solutions. As of June 5, the new FAR amendment allows agencies to skip that step. Agencies are now able to quickly find GSA IT category contracts and acquisition solutions. (ibid)

According to Bill Zielinski, assistant commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition services office, agencies “can now identify and quickly use GSA IT Category contracts and acquisition solutions, especially as they embark on their end-of-year IT spending and acquisition efforts.” Zielinski feels the new change to the FAR reduces the administrative burden for agencies procuring through GSA’s IT Schedule 70 or through GWACs such as 8(a) STARS 2 and Alliant 2, as well as through assisted acquisition programs. (Federal Computer Week, July 15, 2019)

Curious about the new FAR language and how it affects your GSA schedule? Give us a call and we can review it with you.

 

 

GSA Schedules’ Summer Diet

GSA decided it’s high time that 24 multiple award schedules shrink all the way down to one.

To accomplish this, GSA is conducting an analysis across all Schedules, which include 10 million commercial products and services that bring in more than $31 billion in sales annually. Public feedback can be provided on the consolidation through a recently released request for information (RFI); it asks the public to weight in on the contents as well as clauses and provisions being considered. (Nextgov, June 2019)

According to Stephanie Shutt, director of the MAS Program Management Office, streamlining terms and conditions will make if it far easier for vendors to work with the government and vice versa. (ibid)

The current plan is a single schedule for services and products that are “mapped to the current government-wide category structure.” Special Item Numbers (which help identify products) are also falling under review. New SINs will follow shortly and as with the MAS, will be open for public comment. (ibid) We’ve also heard rumors that GSA will be dispensing with SINs all together, and will instead use NAICS codes.

Big changes! Give us a call with any questions about the RFI or how your current contract might be affected.

COMET Commeth!

The General Services Administration (GSA) has released the second and much sought after piece of the IT services procurement known as COMET. The solicitation aims to create a multiple-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA) on top of IT schedule 70.

GSA plans to make between 10 and 12 awards with a minimum of 25 percent set aside for small businesses. The BPA will require a host of IT services, including operations and maintenance, cloud and the continued development, and support of the acquisition systems portal beta.SAM.gov. GSA’s goal is a three-step evaluation approach, including an in-person technical challenge.

In April, GSA issued the RFP for the first and substantially smaller piece of COMET focused on architecture, engineering, and advisory support. (FedBizOpps)

Have questions about COMET and how your company fits in? Give us a call at 301-913-5000.

Submit Your Schedule 36 ERM Demos Now

GSA is accepting demos for the revised the Schedule 36 Electronic Records Management (ERM) Vendor Demo Process. (GSA Interact, June 4, 2019)

This month, GSA updated the original September 2018 notice regarding ERM demos, removing the GSA-recorded demo option. Vendors interested in participating in the demo presentation process must now record their presentations and provide its link to GSA. Once the demo presentation is approved, GSA will post the link to their Discovery tool. (ibid)

Discovery allows customers to explore GSA services contracts, vendors, and vendor contract history. Customers use this information to determine whether a GSA contract meets their needs. Within the next few months, Discovery should be loaded with current ERM vendor contract information.; at that time, contract holders will be notified. While the tool is being updated, vendors may submit their demo link via email to RecordsManagement@gsa.gov.

GSA wants vendors to create demos for the following:

  • ERM.010.L1.02. Determine if the electronic message can be placed under records management control
  • ERM.020.L1.02. Manage the metadata of an electronic message record throughout the lifecycle
  • ERM.030.L1.02. Dispose of approved electronic message records (ibid)

For additional information regarding the use cases, please see Records Express and the Federal Electronic Records Modernization Initiative (FERMI) website. (ibid)

GSA Guidelines for Demos

Technical

  • All scenarios should last no longer than five minutes, with an introduction of up to five minutes. Maximum running time for each demo should be no more than 20 minutes; shorter demos are encouraged.
  • GSA strongly encourages Section 508 compliance for all vendor demos.

Content

  • Data must be included at the beginning of the demo presentation
  • The types of electronic messages to address are email, SMS/MMS, and chat messages
  • Include as much automation as possible as agencies are looking to reduce the number of steps for end users to manage their electronic messages. Be certain to describe where people are involved in managing electronic messages.
  • Traditional, Hosted, Embedded and ERMaas are the types of approaches to records management.
  • Do not mention competitor names in your demo presentation.
  • Do not mention federal or commercial customers or reveal, in any way, other customers, for any reason. (ibid)

NARA/GSA Demo Submission, Review, and Approval

The submitted link or pdf should allow access to all updated or new video demos in the future. Please keep in mind that before any new demos are added to a vendor’s site or channel, they must be submitted to recordsmanagement@gsa.gov for review. Once approved, vendors can add the demo to their site/channel. Unauthorized demos will be removed from Discovery. GSA is asking for vendors to submit their demos as soon as possible. (ibid)

Release of the Vendor Demo Videos

  • Video on Demand
  • Hyperlinks to the Use Cases will be posted to GSA’s Discovery Tool
  • There may be a short period of time between the video approval and the video being posted on Discovery. GSA reserves the right to post videos in the order they are received.

Questions about these guidelines? Give us a call at 301-913-5000.