GSA Schedule Task Order Competition

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GSA Schedule Task Order Competition Presented by: Jennifer N. Aubel Wade E.

2 Agenda An Overview of the Competitive Advantage of the GSA Schedules Program New Competition Rules for Product Orders New Competition Rules for Services Orders New Competition Rules for Blanket Purchase Agreements Why GSA ebuy is More Important than Ever Interim Rule Allowing for GSA Small Business Set-Asides 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 2

3 Refresher: What is a GSA Schedule? It is a Government-wide contract awarded by GSA with pre-negotiated terms, conditions & pricing for commercial items or services, which allows for easy procurement by Federal Agencies and other Eligible Users All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 3

4 Schedule Contract Traits Evergreen and Multi-Year (5-year base year options) Multiple Award: There may be more than one vendor awarded offering the same or similar goods and services Only for Commercial Items and Services No Government-specific products or Government-only Services Negotiated Prices - Based on fair and reasonable pricing with a Basis of Award 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 4

5 Schedule Contract Traits No limit on order size (Maximum Order Threshold) Wide array of eligible users Federal Civilian Agencies DoD Agencies In some cases: State and Local Governments Authorized Government Contractors Other Authorized Users (such as The Red Cross, The Kennedy Center and International Pacific Halibut Commission) Hunting License 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 5

6 Advantages of GSA Schedules for you, the Schedule Contractor (or Offeror ) Pre-negotiated contract with established rates Easier government-wide access - can sell to any government agency from a single contract Flexibility and Ease of Use Facilitates teaming with other GSA Schedule holders in proposing a Total Solutions Approach Competitive Advantage over non-schedule holders Shorter task order award time and lower administrative costs Mature program (over 100 new MACs every year) 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 6

8 Billions GSA Schedules Billion $ Club ,723,563, ,107,855,428 2,869,069,272 2,597,879,517 1,603,668,142 1,318,677,051 1,150,134, IT MOBIS PES LAW FURN FABS LOG 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 8

0 2009 2010 2011 MACs GSA & VA Schedules

10 Advantages of GSA Schedules for the customer ( Buying or Ordering Agency ) Save time - Streamlined and quick ordering process for your federal customers Shorter lead-times and lower administrative costs Easier access to a variety of commercial products and services Flexibility, Ease of Use, and Choice Easy to use Online Proposal and Procurement Tools Cost-Savings due to the availability of pre-negotiated prices 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 10

11 History of the New GSA Competition Rules Incorporates Section 863 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2009 into Multiple Award Contracts, including the GSA Schedules Interim rule issued March 16, 2011 (effective May 16, 2011) with significant rewrites to FAR Part 8.4 Final rule issued March 2, 2012 with minor changes (effective April 2, 2012) Reference: FAC , FAR Case All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 11

12 Major Changes to GSA s Ordering Procedures Increased competition and transparency Change from Maximum Order Threshold (MOT) to Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) New Interpretation of Rule of Three Significant Restrictions on Single-Award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) New Limited Sources Requirements 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 12

13 Levels of Competition Above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) >$150, Above the MPT and at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) >$3, to $150, At or below the Micro- Purchase Threshold (MPT) $3, All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 13

14 Orders for Supplies (FAR ) The Contracting Officer should 1. Provide an RFQ describing the supplies to be procured and the evaluation criteria. 2. Post RFQ on ebuy -OR- provide to as many contractors as practicable to reasonably ensure receipt of at least 3 quotes*. 3. After fairly considering all offers, place the order that provides the Best Value to the agency. Review pricing information or request quotes from at least 3 Schedule holders before selecting Best Value*. Place order with contractor that best fulfills the agency s needs. *May trigger limited sources requirements 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 14

15 A Quick Refresher on Best Value Although the current climate has created a more pricedriven market, don t forget your Best Value proposition: Past Performance Special features required for effective performance Trade-in considerations Probable life of comparable items Warranty considerations Maintenance availability Environmental and energy efficiency considerations (Executive Order 13514) Delivery terms 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 15

16 Limited Sources Requirement Triggers for Supply Orders Brand Name Specifications (RFQ required) Failure or inability to consider at least three Schedule contractors. Failure to receive at least three quotes for an order that exceeds the SAT if the opportunity was NOT posted on ebuy. Written justifications must be prepared and publicized in accordance with FAR All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 16

17 Orders for Services(FAR ) For procurements for hourly-priced services over the MPT, the Contracting Officer must prepare a Statement of Work (SOW) and Request for Quotation (RFQ) Minimum SOW requirements are found at FAR (b), but performance-based SOWs, as described in FAR 37.6, are to be used to the maximum extent practicable RFQ shall include the SOW and evaluation criteria for proposals as well as specify the type of order to be issued (FFP, as appropriate) 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 17

18 Orders for Services(FAR ) The Contracting Officer should 1. Post RFQ on ebuy -OR- provide to as many contractors as practicable to reasonably ensure receipt of at least 3 quotes* and provide a copy of RFQ to any contractor who requests it 2. After fairly considering all offers, place the order that provides the Best Value to the agency and notify unsuccessful bidders. Provide the RFQ to at least 3 Schedule contractors that offer services that will meet the agency s needs*. Place order with contractor that best fulfills the agency s needs. *May trigger limited sources requirements 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 18

19 Limited Sources Requirement Triggers for Services Orders Failure or inability to consider at least three Schedule contractors. Failure to receive at least three proposals for an order that exceeds the SAT if the opportunity was NOT posted on ebuy. Written justifications must be prepared and publicized in accordance with FAR All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 19

20 Establishing BPAs: FAR (a-b) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) may be established under any Schedule contract to fill repetitive needs for supplies or services Competition requirements for establishing BPAs for supplies or services follow the same rules as previously described for task orders To the maximum extent practicable, the Contracting Officer shall give preference to establishing multipleaward BPAs rather than a single-award BPA 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 20

21 Single-Award vs. Multiple-Award BPAs Single-award BPAs with estimated value >$103M require written determination from head of agency Multiple-award BPAs generally should not exceed five years in length, whereas single-award BPAs cannot exceed one year with up to four one-year options When Contracting Officer exercises an option for a single-award BPA, he must make a written determination whether it still represents the best value and whether additional discounts can be obtained 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 21

22 Ordering from BPAs: FAR (c) The Contracting Officer should 1. Provide all BPA holders a copy of the RFQ for the opportunity. 2. Afford all BPA holders an opportunity to submit a quote. 3. Fairly consider all responses and make an award based on the selection procedures from the RFQ. Provide each BPA holder a fair opportunity to be considered for each order not necessary to contact each holder if sufficient information is available to ensure fair opportunity Place order with BPA holder that best fulfills the agency s needs, attempting to distribute among all BPA holders Single-award BPAs: Authorized users may place orders for supplies or services directly as the need arises All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 22

23 Price Reductions: FAR May request price reductions at any time Shall seek price reductions for any order or BPA that exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) Price reductions granted for an individual order or BPA do not have to be extended to all Schedule users 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 23

24 Limiting Sources (FAR ) Required whenever sources are intentionally restricted. Only circumstances justifying limited sourcing: 1. Urgent and compelling need 2. Only one source available (unique and/or highly specialized items) 3. New work is a logical follow-on to an original Schedule order that was awarded according to the ordering procedures (not sole- or limited-source procurement) 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 24

25 Brand Name Specifications Shall not be used unless the brand name, product, or feature is essential to Government s requirements Use of brand name specifications triggers the Contracting Officer to develop documentation and justifications that must be completed and approved at the time the requirement is determined Can be triggered by call orders under BPAs if a brand name justification was not completed at the BPA level 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 25

26 Brand Name Justifications Prepare a full justification in accordance with FAR (c)* This justification must be posted to ebuy along with the RFQ Document the basis for restricting consideration to an item peculiar to one manufacturer. If the value of the order is >$25,000, the justification must be posted to ebuy along with the RFQ *This requirement also applies to any proposed limited source order or BPA with an estimated value exceeding the SAT All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 26

27 Justification Approvals For a proposed order or BPA for supplies or services with an estimated value exceeding Estimated Value < $62.5M ($85.5M): Justification must be approved by the senior procurement executive of the ordering agency $12.5M < Estimated Value $62.5M ($85.5M): Justification must be approved by head of procuring agency or a designee who is a general or flag officer (armed forces) or above GS 15 (civilian) $650,000 < Estimated Value $12.5M: Justification must be approved by the ordering activity s competition advocate SAT Estimated Value $650,000: Certification that justification is accurate and complete by Contracting Officer 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 27

28 Publicizing Contract Actions Within 14 days of placing a limited-source order or establishing a limited-source BPA that exceeds the SAT the ordering activity shall: Publish a notice in accordance with FAR Post the justification on FedBizOpps and the ordering agency s website for at least 30 days Orders justified by urgent and compelling need must be publicized within 30 days All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 28

29 Exceptions and Limitations to Publicizing Requirements Posting requirement does not apply when disclosure would compromise national security of create other security risks Contracting Officers must be vigilant about removing contractors proprietary data in accordance with exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 552) Contracting Officer may afford the contractor the opportunity to redact the justification prior to posting 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 29

30 ebuy ebuy is an online Request for Quote (RFQ) tool for: Services Quantity or high $ product purchases Purchases with Complex Requirements Request for Information (RFI) Competing BPA Task Orders State and Local Purchasers 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 30

32 ebuy Number of RFQs increased from 55,000 in 2007 to 75,000 in ,000 RFQs expected in 2012 and even more in coming years resulting from the competition requirements Biggest Users Air Force, Navy, Army, VA, DoD, DoL, GSA, HHS, DHS 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 32

33 Upcoming or recent system enhancements Increase in attachment file size Watch feature allows vendors who were not originally selected by the buyer to receive notices if an RFQ is modified or cancelled Q&A allows vendors to easily view all correspondence and Q&A responses Multiple contract holders can have single login for all contracts Identifying RFQ as set-aside & type of set-aside ebuy 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 33

34 Impact of the Small Business Jobs Act The President signed into law on September 27, 2010 the Small Business Jobs Act. It has been called the most significant piece of small business legislation in over a decade. The goal of this law is to provide critical resources to help small businesses continue to drive economic recovery and create jobs. Source- GSA Expo 2012 Small Business Jobs Act presentation 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 34

35 Impact of the Small Business Jobs Act cont. On May 16, 2012, SBA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to address the use of set-asides on multiple award contracts and to clarify the regulations on bundling and contract consolidation. Federal Register Docket No.: SBA You must submit your comments electronically on or before July 16, All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 35

36 Impact of the Small Business Jobs Act cont. The Small Business Jobs Act amended the Small Business Act to permit Federal agencies to: Set-aside part or parts of multiple award contracts for small business concerns Set-aside orders placed against multiple award contracts Reserve one or more contract awards for small business concerns under full and open competition, when the agency intends to make multiple contract awards For Partial Set-asides SBs are allowed to bid on Non-set-aside portion Set-aside portion Both 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 36

37 Impact of the Small Business Jobs Act cont. Preservation of agency discretion There is nothing in the rule that compels an agency to award a multiple award contract with a partial set-aside, contract reserve, or contract clause that commits (or preserves the right) to set aside orders when the rule of two is met. The rule only requires that agencies consider these tools before awarding the multiple award contract and, if they choose not to use any of them, document the rationale All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 37

38 Impact of the Small Business Jobs Act cont. Service requirement Total set-aside Partial set-aside Reserve Five year requirement for IT services and IT supplies. No individual order expected to exceed $250,000. Total requirement not expected to exceed $10 million over 5 years. Description of Requirement. Five year requirement for IT services and IT supplies. No orders expected to exceed $250,000 for IT services in certain geographic regions, but some orders for IT services could exceed $500,000 in other geographic re-gions and delivery of IT supplies must be accomplished in short period of time. Total requirement not expected to exceed $100 million over 5 years Five year requirement for IT services and supplies. Orders for IT services and supplies could range from $250,000 to $2 mil-lion. Total requirement not expected to exceed $100 million over 5 years. Market Research Shows that many small businesses can meet the projected needs. Shows that many small businesses can provide the services and sup-plies in certain geographic regions and in a certain time allotment, but none can provide the IT services and supplies in other regions in the abbreviated timeframe. Shows that many small businesses can provide IT services and supplies at certain dollar thresholds, but none can provide IT services and supplies for all orders proposed to be issued up to $2 million. Action Total set-aside of contract for small businesses. Partial set-aside for small businesses break the requirement into separate CLINS for IT services and IT supplies in certain geographic regions. Compete orders for IT services and supplies in those regions only among small business awardees. Reserve for small businesses announce in solicitation that agency will make one or more awards to small businesses and if there are two or more awards to small businesses, apply the rule of two when placing orders. From Proposed Rules Notice examples of how a set-aside, partial set-aside and reserve could be used for a multiple award contract 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 38

39 Goals: Schedules Demand-Sizing Initiative Streamline the way they do business, Save taxpayer dollars, and Ensure the most efficient delivery of services to our customer agencies Minimize duplication Decrease GSA Contracting Personnel workloads so they can focus on adding innovative solutions to the schedules, improving pricing, and simplifying the buying experience for our customers How it will accomplish those goals: stopping the proliferation of low performance contracts and cutting products or services that are no longer mission-critical to the government = Underperforming Contracts will be canceled. SINs and even entire Schedules will begin to bar new offers for 12 months or longer 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 39

40 Impact of Schedules Demand-Sizing For Schedule-holders: Decrease competition Decrease in GSA Contracting Personnel workloads: Better focus on contract issues? Faster mods? For Non-Schedule-holders = the opportunity to get a contract may be going away for a long period of time All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 40

41 Questions We will answer questions during the webinar as time permits. We encourage everyone to please submit your questions, as we will post answers to all questions received on our blog next week All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 41

Aronson s Government-Focused Blog www.aronsonblogs.

About Aronson LLC Multi-disciplined Professionals Focused On Government & Technology Services Team of Professionals Dedicated To GSA Schedules provides a one-stop solution for GSA Schedule

43 About Aronson LLC Multi-disciplined Professionals Focused On Government & Technology Services Team of Professionals Dedicated To GSA Schedules provides a one-stop solution for GSA Schedule contracting Lead you through the process of identifying, obtaining and maintaining a GSA Schedule contract that is best suited to achieve your specific goals Premier GSA Schedule Services advisor Proven track record helping companies achieve their government contracting goals One of the largest CPA firms in the DC Metro Area 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 43

44 Jennifer N. Aubel, Managing Consultant Jennifer Aubel is a Managing Consultant in Aronson LLC s Government Contract Consulting Group. She is responsible for leading clients successfully through the GSA lifecycle, from obtaining a new GSA Schedule contract through administering ongoing contracts. She works closely with clients to custom-tailor GSA Schedule solutions that meet current and future organizational needs by developing scope and pricing strategies, maintaining contract compliance, providing audit support, and improving the profitability and versatility of the GSA Schedule contract. Ms. Aubel has over fifteen years experience in the Federal Contracting market, working for both contractors and as a consultant to GSA Schedule contract holders and is a member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). Prior to working with Aronson, she managed a multi-million dollar GSA program with six GSA Schedule contracts with more than 10,000 contract line items. She has also managed a team that developed and delivered specialized training on the GSA Schedules Program to small businesses across the country 2012 All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 44

45 Wade E. Prince, Managing Consultant As a Managing Consultant in Aronson LLC s Government Contract Services Group, Wade Prince guides the GSA Schedule efforts for companies across a wide variety of industries. Mr. Prince assists his clients with GSA Schedule proposal preparation, contract management and provides guidance when utilizing the contract. He also coaches client senior management and C-level executives on the Government sales cycle and how best to pursue Government contract opportunities. Mr. Prince has over 12 years of Project and Government Contract Management experience with more than seven in GSA Schedules Contract Consulting and Government Procurement Market Intelligence. He received his Bachelors degrees from Georgia State University and served in the United State Marine Corps as a member of 2D Reconnaissance Bn from All Rights Reserved Aronson LLC Slide: 45

GSA Schedules 101 YOUR MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED GSA SCHEDULES 101 0

GSA Schedules 101 YOUR MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED GSA SCHEDULES 101 0 Unlocking GSA Schedules Doing business with the Federal Government is an attractive proposition. As the world s largest buyer and