Hello martins654:
Thank you for the interesting question.
The General Services Administration (or GSA) has the following to say about itself:
About GSA
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/home.do?tabId=6
Quote: "GSA supports over one million workers...
GSA secures the buildings, products, services, technology, and other
workplace essentials federal agencies need. 13,000 GSA associates
support over one million federal workers located in 8,000
government-owned and leased buildings in 2,000 U.S. communities and
overseas. GSA associates:
* Provide superior workplaces for federal workers;
* Facilitate procurement of state of the art commercial products and a
wide range of services;
* Offer best value and innovative solutions on IT products and services; and
* Develop and implement governmentwide policies."
By "contarct schedules", I am assuming you mean you want to know about
the GSA's Supply Schedule contracts. The following page on the GSA
website provides a brief overview of these contracts:
Schedules - Getting on Schedule
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelPage=%2Fep%2Fchannel%2FgsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-13464
Quote: "GSA Schedules, also known as Multiple Award Schedules (MAS),
are contracts that allow federal customers to acquire more than 6.8
million supplies and services directly from more than 8,600 commercial
suppliers.
GSA Schedules cover a vast array of commercial items?from office
supplies and copier paper to systems furniture, from computers to
laboratory equipment, and services ranging from accounting to graphic
design to landscaping. Customers can order supplies and services using
the GSA Advantage!® online ordering system.
To become a GSA Schedule contractor, a vendor must first submit an
offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation. GSA
awards contracts to responsible companies that offer commercial items
falling within the generic descriptions in the GSA Schedule
solicitations.
Contracting officers determine whether prices are fair and reasonable
by comparing the prices/discounts that a company offers the government
with the prices/discounts that the company offers to its commercial
customers. This negotiation objective is commonly known as "most
favored customer" pricing. To make this comparison, GSA requires
offerors to provide commercial pricelists and disclose information
regarding their pricing/discounting practices."
Who can order from GSA Schedules? The following page outlines the process:
Basic Schedule Ordering Guidelines
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelPage=%2Fep%2Fchannel%2FgsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-13463
Point #17 on the list on that page list eligibility requirements:
17. Authorized Users
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelPage=%2Fep%2Fchannel%2FgsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-13463#au
Quote: "The agencies and activities named below may use contracts
established under GSA Schedules:
* All federal agencies and activities in the executive, legislative
and judicial branches;
* Government contractors authorized in writing by a federal agency
pursuant to 48 CFR 51.1;
* Mixed ownership government corporations (as defined in the
Government Corporation Control Act);
* The government of the District of Columbia; and
* Other activities and organizations authorized by statute or
regulation to use GSA as a source of supply."
Further detailed requirements can be found at:
Eligibility to Use GSA Sources
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?P=FX7&contentId=8128&contentType=GSA_BASIC
As for becoming a vendor on the GSA Schedule, the process is spelled
out quite clearly at:
Schedules - Getting on Schedule
URL: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelPage=%2Fep%2Fchannel%2FgsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-13464
Note: Go to the "Getting Started" section.
Quote: "Identify the GSA Schedule solicitation that covers the
vendor's supplies or services. This step may be accomplished by any of
the following methods:"
The first three steps outlined there are:
* Review the GSA Schedule Solicitations link to determine the
applicable GSA Schedule and corresponding solicitation number under
which the supplies or services may be offered...
* Search Schedules e-Library by keyword to identify supplies or
services covered by GSA Schedules...
* Visit FedBizOpps to obtain a copy of the GSA Schedule solicitation...
As best as I can tell at this point, that is the information you asked
for. If you need further clarification of these points, please let me
know specifically what you need *before you rate this answer* and I'll
try to help some more.
Search Strategy:
* General Services Administration
* then used the GAS internal search tool
Thanks.
websearcher |
