GSA is moving full speed ahead with plans to consolidate all 24 GSA Schedules into 1 Multiple Award Schedule Contract. You may have heard of it referred to as the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Transformation or MAS Consolidation. We are now about 6 months away from the target release date, October 1, 2019, of the new GSA Schedule. While there’s not a significant amount of new information, below is a recap of what we know so far and what we’ve learned since our initial posting.
MAS Consolidation Recap
Below is a high-level summary of initial information on the MAS Consolidation. You can read more at our blog post here.
- The MAS Consolidation does not include the nine VA Schedules, so if you offer medical or dental related products or services through a VA Schedule you will not be impacted.
- The new, single GSA Schedule will still consist of Special Item Numbers (SINs) or a SIN-like structure. GSA is reviewing all existing SINs to consolidate duplicates and redefine where applicable.
- Cooperative Purchasing and Transactional Data Reporting will not be extended to SINs that do not currently have these options.
- The timeline is broken down into three phases – read more about the phases and timing here.
Lastest Information on the MAS Consolidation:
- The Order Level Materials (OLM) SIN will be available to all GSA Schedule Contract holders.
- GSA is hoping to release the draft list of consolidated/revised SINs June of 2019.
- The new GSA Schedule SINs will be available in eBuy January of 2020.
How Should Your Company Prepare for the MAS Consolidation?
The GSA MAS Consolidation will have a wide ranging impact, affecting existing GSA Schedule contractors and companies in the process of getting a GSA Schedule. Based upon our previous experience with GSA’s consolidation of seven Schedules into the Professional Services Schedule (PSS) Contract, we are very likely to see significant delays in the review of new offers and processing of contract modifications.
During a webinar earlier this month, GSA acknowledged that “New contracts after October 1, 2019, may take a little longer due to the possible surge of incoming offers.” GSA also recently advised cloud vendors on the IT Schedule to submit modifications as soon as possible, indicating contracting resources would be stretched in the coming months due to the consolidation effort.
With this in mind….
For prospective contractors: If you’ve determined your company qualifies and would benefit from holding a GSA Schedule (feel free to contact us if you’d like help reviewing this), you should consider moving forward now to avoid future delays.
For existing GSA Schedule Contract holders: There are no actions you need to take to specifically prepare for the MAS Consolidation at this point. If you hold one GSA Schedule Contract, you will keep your existing contract number and will receive a mass modification from GSA in the early half of fiscal year 2020. If you hold multiple GSA Schedule Contracts, GSA will work with you during the latter half of fiscal year 2020 to migrate your contracts to the single Schedule.
However, based upon GSA’s advice to cloud vendors, the agency anticipates a contracting resource crunch that will impact contract modifications. If you need to make changes to your contract, such as updating your pricing or adding products/services/SINs within your existing GSA Schedule, you should move forward with these modifications right away.
If you hold just one GSA Schedule that is approaching the end of its 20-year term, you should consider submitting your new streamlined offer as soon as possible.
If you hold a GSA Schedule and are considering obtaining another GSA Schedule, you may still want to consider submitting a new offer now. Especially if you’re pursuing the additional GSA Schedule for a specific opportunity that is time sensitive. Consider your target timeline and GSA’s initial recommendation to contractors, “Don’t wait. Go ahead and do business as usual. We will work with you through all of this, but do not halt or wait for us to get caught up.”
GSA MAS Consolidation Resources:
- MAS Consolidation Frequently Asked Questions
- Travel, Transportation and Logistics (TTL) MAS Consolidation Industry Meeting
Get Help Navigating the MAS Consolidation
We’ve been helping companies obtain and manage their GSA Schedule Contracts for over 30 years. Contact us to discuss how we can help you speed up your plans to secure your GSA Schedule Contract or update an existing GSA Schedule.