Tuesday Insight – October 20th, 2020

Oct 22, 2020

Schedules Consolidation – An Integrated Commercial Services Marketplace!

GSA’s Schedules Consolidation initiative continues apace, with the agency and its contractors implementing Phase 3, the consolidation of multiple schedule contracts into a single contract for those impacted contractors. Phase 3 comes after GSA created a single solicitation covering all schedule Special Item Numbers and associated NAICs (Phase 1) and modified existing contracts to incorporate an updated set of terms and conditions (Phase 2). GSA is to be commended for its Schedules Consolidation efforts. Consolidation will enhance efficiency in contracting by reducing duplicative contract administration costs. It will increase competition and access to the commercial market, including access to commercial solutions.

Most significantly, Schedules Consolidation has created the first integrated, governmentwide Commercial Services Marketplace (the CSM). In essence, the merger of IT Schedule 70 with the Professional Service Schedule (PSS) created the CSM. In the five years prior to schedules consolidation, IT Schedule 70 and the PSS collectively accounted for $20 billion in annual purchases by customer agencies. The creation of the CSM provides a powerful, best value dynamic. Under the CSM, schedule contractors can offer customer agencies integrated, commercial solutions more efficiently and effectively than in the past by incorporating information technology services and professional services. The CSM has the potential to be a game changer for customer agencies and industry partners.

Building on this Schedules Consolidation foundation, GSA can take additional steps to ensure a robust CSM that delivers best value to customer agencies. These best value reforms include eliminating the anti-competitive Price Reduction Clause (PRC), implementing Section 876, Enhancing Competition at the Task Order, updating/streamlining the FAR 8.4 ordering procedures for services, and enhancing Order Level Materials (OLMs). Critical to the success of the CSM will be training for, and outreach to, GSA’s customer agencies and industry partners. The Coalition stands ready to work with all stakeholder towards implementing these best value reforms.

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