UPDATE 10/12/2018: The Automated Contact Center Solutions (ACCS) SIN is here! GSA issued a GSA IT Schedule 70 Solicitation Refresh last night, which includes the contact center SIN. According to the solicitation, SIN 132-20 includes the following subSIN categories:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Callback
- Chat Bots
- Email Delivery
- Hosted Email Web Form
- Hosted FAQ Service
- Hosted Online Ordering
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Robotic Process Automation
- Text-to-Speech
- Voice/Speech Recognition
- Voicemail
- Web Callback
- Professional Support – Technology Sharing/Utilization
- Professional Support – Engineering/Technical
- Management Support – Other
UPDATE 9/24/2018: FEDSched attended the webinar GSA held on Friday, September 21st regarding the new Automated Contact Center Solutions SIN. GSA clarified that while companies may include contact center services under the new SIN, the preponderance must be IT focused. GSA made a point of stating the SIN is not considered a follow-on to USA Contact. GSA originally presented the contact center SIN as “the next generation USA Contact solution”. However, the SIN will not allow for human contact center support if a technology component is not the primary offering, so it cannot fully replace USA Contact.
After a year of talk, one RFI, and an industry day, GSA has officially announced plans to create a new Special Item Number (SIN) under GSA IT Schedule 70 for Contact Center Solutions. The new SIN will help to fill the gap created by the USA Contact contract that ended on September 10, 2018.
According to the timeline posted on GSA Interact, SIN 132-20, Automated Contact Center Solutions (ACCS), will be added to Schedule 70 on October 1, 2018. Since the contact center SIN is part of the GSA Schedule, it will not have a ceiling value or an open/close period. Companies can submit to obtain the contact center SIN any time after its release. GSA plans to hold a webinar to discuss the ACCS SIN on September 21st. Registration details will be posted on GSA Interact early next week.
What Can Be Offered on Contact Center SIN 132-20?
SIN 132-20, Automated Contact Center Solutions (ACCS), will be open to qualified companies that offer contact center services and technologies focused on customer engagement. According to the draft SIN description posted on GSA Interact and detailed below, this includes hosted online ordering, chat bot, and automated callback solutions.
Contact Center SIN Draft Description:
SIN 132-20: Automated Contact Center Solutions (ACCS). The intended scope of this SIN is to offer ACCS. ACCS is defined as any combination of products, equipment, software and/or services that are required to establish and maintain contact center capabilities managed by the contractor for an agency. These include a wide range of automated and attended managed solutions that allow agencies to respond to inquiries from the public. Permissible offerings under this SIN may include any technologies or services required to deliver and support ACCS to agencies, including automated services such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chat Bots, Robotic Process Automation, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Voice/Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech, Voicemail, Callback, Web Callback, Email Delivery, Hosted Online Ordering, Hosted Email Web Form, Hosted FAQ Service, etc.
Contact Center SIN 132-20 Requirements
Similar to the Health IT Services, COMSATCOM, HSPD-12, and HACS SINs, companies interested in pursuing SIN 132-20 must submit Relevant Project Experience. Companies that do not currently hold a Schedule 70 Contract will also have to submit Corporate Experience, Past Performance, Quality Control factors in accordance with the IT Schedule 70 Solicitation. The Solicitation should be refreshed in early October to include the ACCS SIN and finalized requirements.
How to Offer Contact Center Solutions Under SIN 132-20
If you currently have a GSA Schedule 70 Contract, you can submit a modification to add the ACCS SIN 132-20, provided you meet the SIN requirements. If you do not already hold a Schedule 70 Contract, you’ll have to submit a proposal to obtain the contract. You can find more information on the proposal process and download our Beginner’s Guide here.
Contact us for help pursuing contact center SIN 132-20. FEDSched has over 30 years of experience helping companies obtain and update their GSA IT Schedule 70 Contracts.