Reorganization and Goals at the GSA

The General Services Administration has spent the last couple years reorganizing both contracts and personnel with a large goal in mind. Create a simple and intuitive way for government agencies to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars they spend each year while making the smartest decisions. Leading the way the consolidated contract known as the Professional Services Schedule (PSS).
The goal of “PSS” is to simplify complex contract requirements. That’s really all it is. There’s no reason for all the professional services to be separated out when so many of them are interconnected and any different ones are needed to complete a single requirement.

On the personnel side, senior procurement executives are receiving more training and are focusing on how agencies are spending and knowing how best to help them. There’s more analytical work going on than ever before. The GSA seems to be catching on to big data and how that can help agencies purchases the best products and services while making sure they stay within budget.

That focus on simplification and efficiency seems to circle around bigger and better digital tools, for everyone involved; buyers, contractors, and contracting officers alike. On the contracting officer side, the GSA is looking to provide tools for information sharing between COs.

Looks like the GSA is moving, rather slowly, but moving into the digital age, although it’s a process with hurdles of its own. Data protection and fear of hacking has lead the CIO Council to issue a BPA for data breach services. They understand the need for instant in help in the case of data hacking.

So there it is. Slowly but sure the GSA is trying to modernize and protect itself while they do it. Only time will tell if works.

What’s changing for WOSBs

Woman Owned Small Business are going to be granted the same privileges as 8(a) businesses when it comes to set aside a rules. The SBA is planning on amending the WOSB and EDWOSB set aside, allowing contracting officers award sole source contracts and setting the procurement goal at 5% of all small business.

The SBA was looking for input on the proposed program changes are the responses have been positive. Here’s some great highlights.

·         “Fast tracking” the Sole Source Authority for WOSBs will promote Women Owned Small Businesses to contracting officers who have found the business they want to work with. There won’t be a need for the long and drawn out RFQ/RFP process under the value thresholds of $6.5 million for manufacturing contracts and $4 million for all others.

·         Setting the procurement goal at 5% on par with 8(a) programs will create the “level playing field” that WOSB have long desired. This will have the great effect of promoting WOSB to the government in not only “underrepresented” industries but across the board.

·         Efforts to meet the new deadline for January 2, 2016 to determine “underrepresented” industries within the WOSB is a great approach to determining where WOSBs are needed

But what will change for Women Owned Small Business? Most importantly, self-certification will be a thing of the past.

If you’re interested in taking a look at the proposed rules, check out the Federal Register document here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-05-01/pdf/2015-10331.pdf. The document also give you the chance to cross reference some FAR and CFR regulation on Women Owned Small Business programs that will be changes once this proposed rule goes into effect.

Small Business Goals

For the second year in a row the Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that the Federal Government has met its small business goal. 24.99% of federal contracts were given to small businesses, this is the highest percentage since the 23% goal was established in 1997. Though 24.99% is only a quarter of federal contracts that were awarded to in FY 2014, it accounted for $91.1 Billion in federal contracts.

The small business goals for FY 2015 are as follows:
Small Business 23%
Women-Owned Small Business 5%
Small Disadvantage Business 5%
HUBZone 3%
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 3%
Veteran-Owned Small Business 3%

If your business falls into one of these categories, or you think you may fall into one of these categories, and you are not doing as much government business as you want setup a time to discuss your situation with one of your consultants. At the very least our consultant will be able to answer questions and point you in a direction.

Schedule your free consultation today: http://government-contract-services.reservio.com/ 

Cloud computing and the GSA

Among the constant changes at the General Services Administration, one that has come in slightly under the radar is the release of a new special item number under schedule 70.
The recently released “Cloud” special item number is created to streamline the purchase of all cloud services through a single SIN. This small change with shorten time for procurement and will clear any confusion on whether the GSA is looking for a cloud-based or premise-based solutions.
SIN 132-40 includes commercially available cloud computing services but the most exciting part for contractors is the inclusion of Infrastructure as a Services (IaaS), Platform as a Services (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). While SaaS has been growing commercial as the best way to deliver the newest and best software, the GSA has been lagging in adapting of this delivery and service option. With the ability to purchase SaaS clearly as that, the GSA will be moving forward with technology updates!

If you’re interested in seeing whether your software falls within the Cloud Computing umbrella, take a look at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) “Definition of Cloud Computing”. http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf.
There’s also a great checklist that you can use to make sure that your offerings fit. NIST has created this for contractors to avoid confusion.
 http://www.gsa.gov/portal/mediaId/227403/fileName/Response_Template_and_Checklist_for_Cloud_SIN_05202015.action (It’s on Page Two!)

For contractors looking to add this SIN to their GSA offerings, make sure that you include the corresponding NAICS code (518210 data processing, hosting, and related services) on your SAM. Always make sure that you are compliant.

This small change to schedule 70 does mark the GSA moving forward, technology wise. More and more companies are offering their products and services in a cloud computing model which benefits the buyer and seller equal.

Just like submitting any modification, adding SIN 132-40 requires some paperwork. Make sure you read through the solicitation document and follow the instructions closely. And check out the GSA’s page on the Cloud Special Item Number Project- http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/199547.
 

New Contractor Assessment Report

Do you have a Contractor Assistance Visit (CAV) coming up? The GSA has made some changes to the Contractor Assessment Report, you will want to be aware of what they are looking for.

For those of you have been through a CAV previously you know that there were certain items listed as "critical" which were the items that your Contracting Officer would list as "serious concerns exist" and ensure that corrections are made. The second category was "mandatory, but not critical" which is exactly what it sounds like. And lastly, "the extras" which include essentially everything else.

With the new Contractor Assessment Report the categories described above are non-existent. The new categories are broken into the following:

• Sales Reporting
• Did the contractor meet the sales requirement?
• Are they reporting on time?
• Are they reporting all GSA sales?
• Pricing
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with pricing requirements?
• Are you pricing based on your awarded price list?
• Prompt Payment Discounts
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with prompt payment discounts?
• If you were awarded them are you actively using them?
• Scope
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with scope of contract?
• Are you on selling what is on your contract?
• Trade Agreements Act
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with Trade agreements act?
• eCommerce
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with eCommerce requirements?
• Did you accept government pay cards?
• Did you fill all GSA Advantage orders?
• Delivery
• Did the contractor demonstrate compliance with delivery requirements?
• If you are awarded FOB Destination are you including shipping in your price?
• If you are FOB Origin are you charging for shipping correctly?

The questions are not all inclusive and are just examples of what will fall under each category. Before your CAV be sure that you are aware of your specific contract information and can answer the above and it will go smoothly. 

00CORP- you don’t have to start over!

Your company has been working diligently, collecting paperwork and filling out documents for months now, all to submit a proposal against one of GSA’s service schedules. Countless hours have been spent and lots of confusion understanding government documents has happened. But you’ve figured it out, worked with the system and are almost ready to submit.

Then you heard the news: the services schedules are no longer accepting solicitations against them! All that work for nothing. Not so fast…

The recent refresh to the solicitation for services contracts had the following blurb: “New offers for GSA Schedules 520 (FABS), 541 (AIMS), 738II (Language), 871 (PES), 874 (MOBIS), 874V (Logistics), and 899 (Environmental) are no longer being solicited or accepted.” If you read on, the solicitation directs all potential applicants to 00CORP.

So all that hard work later you think, “Great.. Now I have to start over with a new solicitation?!”

Not quite.

00CORP does have some of its own extra requirements, but a lot of the work that you’ve done is still valid! The special item numbers you’ve selected still apply and the narratives that you’ve worked so hard to craft still work. But here are some quick tips in case 00CORP has your company stressed out!

Tip 1: make sure you transfer all your info to the templates for the 00CORP Solicitation. The headers are correct on the documents found at this link- https://goo.gl/9kCqkM

Tip 2: The special items that you selected are still correct. Just add a “c” in front of them to signify consolidated

Tip 3: The summary of offer document for 00CORP is very different than the services one was. Make sure you read through it carefully and provide all the necessary information!

Professional Services Schedule

Our industry has been hearing about the elusive Professional Services Schedule for years. Well after countless push backs and mysteries it is finally here.

Although the time has come and gone for submitting your migration request of June 1st, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. This is what we know:

• If you have more than one of the following schedules then you should have submitted your migration request: 520, 871, 874, 874 V, 738 II, or 899.
• Once the migration is complete you will have 1 GSA Contract with a brand new Contract number and term. Which means that you will only have to worry about the $25,000 minimum sales requirement for one Schedule. 
• The GSA has promised that all migrations that were submitted by the June 1st deadline will be completed before October 1st.
• If you did not submit your migration request by June 1st you need to contact your contracting officer and explain your situation ASAP!
• GSA has stated that contractors who have not done so are not guaranteed migration by Oct 1st and after Oct 1st they will be canceling one of those contractors multiple schedule. Of which you have no choice and it will be done at random.
• For new contractors going under any of those schedule you will directed to submit a 00 Corp.
• However, you will be at the back of the line waiting for the GSA to complete all of the migrations first. 

For as long as the GSA has been discussing this we know very little. We do not have any inkling how the GSA will handle those contractors who only have 1 of the included schedules.

For the time being, if you have not submitted your migration please please please contact your contracting officer. If the GSA decides to enlighten us with additional information the GCS team will be sure to share it.