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GSA Southwest Supply and Acquisition Center Holds Schedule 84 Industry Days

The General Services Administration (GSA) held its annual Industry Days conference for Schedule 84 contractors (Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, Clothing, Marine Craft and Emergency/Disaster Response) in Fort Worth, Texas on May 9 and 10, 2018.  Approximately 170 schedule holders were in attendance.  Key topics addressed were as follows:

Commercial Supplier Agreements (CSAs)

CSAs as defined in GSAM 502.101 include terms and conditions that are customarily offered to the public by vendors of supplies or services that meet the definition of “commercial item” and are intended to create a binding legal obligation on the end user.  A solicitation refresh is scheduled to be issued in June 2018.  This is a mandatory modification to address unenforceable obligations and clauses.  The GSA class deviation implements standard terms and conditions intended to minimize the need for negotiating the terms by making unenforceable, conflicting or inconsistent terms addressed by the class deviation, so long as an express exception is not authorized by Federal statute.  The GSAR Final Rule reverses the order of precedence at 552.212-4 which gave solicitations precedence over awarded contract terms and conditions, deletes the requirement for contractors to provide full text CSA terms and applies clause 552.212-4(w) to micro purchases made against FSS Contracts.

Order Level Materials (OLMs)

A solicitation refresh is scheduled to be issued in July 2018.  This is an optional modification to allow the use of OLMs in schedule orders with Time and Materials/Labor Hours included.  OLMs must be in direct support of the services ordered, and the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) applies.  While acceptance is optional, it is highly recommended to allow for future “unknown and unknowable” requirements.

OLMs are supplies or services acquired in direct support of an order placed against a Schedule contract or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), but were not included in the original order for reasons explained in BH Sky’s March 2018 blog.  OLMs give Contracting Officers the authority to acquire Order Level Materials when using authorized GSA MAS Schedules, enabling agencies to procure “total solutions” and reduces the number of separate procurements.

Spend Under Management (SUM) and Best In Class (BIC)

SUM and BIC are part of the President’s Management Agenda (April 2018).  SUM refers to monies spent on contracts that meet defined criteria for management maturity and data sharing metrics.  BIC is a designation by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a preferred government-wide solution that meets rigorous category management performance criteria as defined by OMB guidance.  2018 metrics for SUM and BIC are described in the President’s Management Agenda.

All federal agencies are required to have 60% of their contracts SUM by 2020.  What does that mean to schedule holders?  GSA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) are considered Tier 2 SUM contract vehicles defined as those obligated under multi-agency contracts that satisfy rigorous standards set for leadership, strategy, data, tools, and metrics, making Tier 2 contracts more attractive than Tier 1 contracts from a marketing perspective.

Find Out How BH Sky Can Help Your Business Comply with the Latest Schedule 84 Requirements

If you are a Schedule 84 contract holder and would like to receive further information pertaining to the latest solicitation refresh addressing unenforceable obligations and clauses; the latest refresh related to OLMs; or the new SUM and BIC requirements described in the President’s Management Agenda, contact BH Sky directly by calling 866-468-7420 or email.