“Making it easier” – rebranding GSA

The “Making it Easier” initiative was launched by GSA in April of this year but we’ve been wondering how effective it’s been so far. Do all the changes and new tools help contractors or just create more confusion because of all the changes?  Although the program is very new, breaking down what its accomplished so far should give us a clear view.

The IT Schedule 70 Plain Language Roadmap clearly breaks down all the requirements that vendors need to complete to submit for a GSA schedule. Overall though, it’s nothing more than a breakdown of what’s already in the solicitation written out on the GSA website. Breaking down the process into 3 large steps with every requirement listed underneath should make the process clearer for vendors but it’s already broken into three volumes with the solicitation document too. If someone isn’t used to reading large solicitations, the clarity with which IT 70 is broken down is great and for a new contractor who has never dealt with GSA procedures, it’s a great tool.

*GCS rates this tool 3/5.

The IT Schedule 70 Startup Springboard is without doubt one of the best new initiatives. Previously, the requirement for all schedules was at least two years in business for companies looking to get a GSA schedule. This has put the government far behind the IT curve of adopting technology and having the ability to be flexible with innovations. Who can forget all the bad publicity about the Navy still using Windows XP? With Springboard, companies can use other methods to show experience like Professional Experience of their Executives, Documentation showing company’s financial responsibility, and project information. This puts the government on par with commercial entities in innovating IT practices!

*GCS rates this tool 4/5.

The GSA Forecast of Contracting Opportunities will be one of the more important tools for contractors looking for ways to get ahead of the buying curve. While many companies wait for solicitations to be posted and respond the best they can, the most successful contractors forecast and target opportunities a year (or sometimes even more!) in advance! Searching allows you to narrow opportunities by agencies, set-asides, and NAICS and gives you all the data you need to forecast for you company!

*GCS rates this tool 5/5.

Looks like so far, “Making it Easier” is successful with what it has done and stays true to its name, simplifying the process for new potential contractors, innovative technologies, and current contractor holders. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the initiative to see what other tools and rules are being released.

Less paperwork from the GSA?!

When the government implements a new regulation it takes some time for contractors to adapt and to "buy in" to the new regulation. However, the latest change to the GSA's Federal Supply Schedule Program should be quite the opposite because it means less work for contractors. 

The GSA's latest change, implemented on June 23rd of this year, to the Transnational Data Reporting (TDR) Rule changes how the GSA requires contractors to track and disclose Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) and Price Reduction Clause (PRC) information. All information will now be electronically submitted and tracked in the GSA's system. 

For those that regularly submit modification to their contract they understand how cumbersome it was to submit the information via the eMod system and then again upload the required CSP information. This new regulation will increase the transparency and ease of purchase for those buyers utilizing GSA Contracts and therefore not only save contractors time but will also increase the sales for them as well.

This new regulation is highly linked with the GSA's new Formatted Product tool check out our blog for more information: What is this Formatted Product Tool and what does it mean for your company?

Also, take a look at GSA Interact for more information on the changes. 

Consulting Firm Debarred by GSA

If you have done business with the Government long enough you have heard about companies getting debarred, or black listed, from doing business with the government. A Florida-based consulting firm, Federal Verification Co,, Inc., was the latest to get this exclusion from the General Services Administration (GSA).

In the past they have done business under at least 60 different names including GSA Applications, GSA Processors, and GSA Specialists, to name a few. Many complaints have been filed with the Florida Attorney General, more than one coming from some of our current clients who were unfortunately taken by the Florida Company.

The GSA cited the following as their reasoning for the indefinite exclusion:
"Preliminary ineligible based upon adequate evidence of conduct indicating a lack of business honesty or integrity, or a lack of business integrity, or regulation, statute, executive order or other legal authority, pending completion of an investigation and/or legal proceedings; or based upon initiation of proceedings to determine final ineligibility based upon regulation, statute, executive order or other legal authority or a lack of business integrity or a preponderance of the evidence of any other cause of a serious and compelling nature that it affects present responsibility."You can view the exclusion in it's entirety via SAM.

If you have been notified or believe you will be notified to remove their names from your GSA Contract give us a call and we will complete the modification on your behalf with no cost to you. Give us a call at 234-212-3400 and schedule a free consultation.

Also, we recommend taking a look at the training that the GSA offers: GSA Training

Schedule 70 is growing, growing, growing!

Since the introduction of the Cloud IT SIN (132 40) has proven to be a successful experiment in subdividing IT purchasing, the next step in that progression is to continue that particular mission. Health IT, which is just about anything IT related, especially related to Electronic Health Records, used in hospitals, by doctors, nurses and other professionals is going to get its own SIN on GSA.

Under the existing SINs, any health IT software or service would be categorized under 132 32 (term software), 132 33 (perpetual software), 132 40 (cloud services) or even 132 51 (IT Professional Services) but the expertise behind the selling of health IT software and services just isn’t enough to truly support GSA and its customers. By grouping all health IT together, GSA is providing agency customers with a pool of highly skilled, experts to help them best understand what they really need.

Schedule 70, as a whole, has been more successful than ever. With $14 billion dollars in annual sales channeling through the acquisition vehicle, buyers are urging the GSA to make its use as easy as possible for them! The new health IT services SIN, 132 56, will allow buyers to access the expertise that they need to make the best decisions all in one place.

The final solicitation, which will include the new SIN, is expected to be rolled out this month. Current IT 70 schedule holders should be on the lookout for Mass Mod notifications to incorporate the new SIN into their contracts.

If you’re looking for more information about the health IT SIN, check out the GSA Interact posting from earlier this year all about it! And if you want to learn more about the government’s use of health IT, browse through HealthIT.gov.  

What is this Formatted Product Tool and what does it mean for your company?

First of all, this new tool only apply's to product companies so if you are a service only company look away. If you sell strictly products or products and services then this will eventually apply to how you manage your GSA Contract. The Formatted Product Tool was built to make managing your contract easier and to streamline the modification process.

First of all, we can all celebrate the impending death of the Schedule Input Program (SIP)! This new tool will be replacing it eventually. Also, the new tool will removing a step from the process. Now, you submit a modification and once that modification is submitted you update your SIP files. The new process will include updating your GSA Advantage files when you upload the modification itself.

FPT will also automatically run comparisons. For example, if you are submitting a product addition modification or a pricing modification the system will tell you where you stand compared to other vendors with the same product on Contract. This increased transparency will hopefully speed up the modification process and make small businesses more competitive because there is more information at their fingertips.

So, sounds like the government is making improvements to make vendor's lives a bit easier. In the long run, yes. However, for all current vendors you will need to go into the system and complete what GSA is calling "base-lining". Essentially this means taking what you already have approved on GSA Advantage and uploading this through FPT.

The GSA is rolling out this tool through a mass modification beginning in Mid-July. The mass mod will begin with Schedules 58 I and 72 and will be rolled out with Scheduled 51V, 73, 75 and 70 int he coming weeks. Base-lining is not mandatory within the mass modification but is highly recommended because it will become mandatory as the GSA begins adoption of the process.

If you want to keep on the latest the GSA has an Interact page dedicated to FPT. You can take a look at it here: https://interact.gsa.gov/document/important-update-gsa-begin-rollout-formatted-product-tool-fpt-starting-solicitation.

As always, if you have any questions you can reach out to the team here at GCS. We are also offering free base-lining to the first 10 vendors that sign up here: https://government-contract-services.reservio.com/

And of course...Happy Independence Day!