Update on the GSA Office Products Schedule 75 Contract
In an unprecedented move, GSA closed the Office Products and Supplies Schedule 75 Contract to new offers in October of 2010. While existing Schedule 75 Contractors can continue to maintain their contracts, GSA is not currently awarding any new Schedule 75 Contracts. While the closure was originally announced for a 24-month period, the Schedule remains closed to this day.
However, GSA recently announced it is currently considering three options for reopening Schedule 75 to new offers. GSA is requesting feedback on the three options and any additional suggestions by 3:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 19th.
A video posting on GSA’s Interact website lays out GSA’s goals for reopening Schedule 75 and details the three options for moving forward, along with the benefits and disadvantages of each option.
GSA’s Goals for Reopening Schedule 75
- Increase small business participation by 5%
- Improve customers’ value on Schedule 75 by offering more favorable terms, conditions, and savings
- Improve market share by increasing FAS sales by 10%, capturing sales currently purchased outside of the Schedule
3 Current Options for Reopening Schedule 75
1. Reopen with No Changes
2. Reopen with Significant Transformations
– Changes to terms & conditions
– Changes to small business preferences
– Addition of SINs for OCONUS, Requisition Channel, and 4PL
– Mandatory incorporation of market basket pricing concept used for FSSI
– Addition of new SINs providing small business preferences during offer evaluation
– Pricing criteria that will decrease price variability within SINS by narrowing acceptable price ranges
– Revision of solicitation format and language to improve Schedule comprehension
– Time limit on Schedule open periods
3. Reopen with Less Significant Transformation (a Hybrid of Options 1 & 2)
– May reclassify SIN 75-200 as a small business preference
– SIN 75-210 would remain the same
– New SIN for OCONUS
Option 1, reopening with no changes, would have the shortest lead-time and require no additional training for industry or customer agencies. However, it comes with the longest list of disadvantages from GSA’s perspective, including:
- Limited market research
- More vendors competing for diminishing dollars
- Not adequately reflecting changes in industry
- Limited opportunity to raise evaluation criteria for quality, performance, and pricing
GSA estimates that the transformation planned under Option 2 could take 24 months. However, Option 2 will allow for:
- Increased opportunity to capture new products and contractors
- Retention of current, successful contractors
- Implementation of higher-level evaluation factors
Option 3 is the middle of the road path forward. Both the timeframe for completion and the anticipated market share is expected to be between that of Option 1 and 2.
Keep in mind, GSA is still uncertain about timelines and has yet to make a final decision. This will be determined by the volume and content of the feedback they receive. GSA will not respond to individual feedback submissions, but will post general responses on Interact. GSA plans to hold an industry day to review findings, updates, and the path forward for reopening Schedule 75.
Submitting Feedback on Schedule 75 Reopening
Feedback must be submitted by 3:00pm EDT on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Anyone wishing to submit feedback should refer to the survey found on the Interact Schedule 75 community page here.
