General Services Administration History (GSA)
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, which was passed by the 81st Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman on July 1, 1949, established the GSA. In the 1950's, GSA concerned itself with the disposal of war surplus, management and storage of the government's records, emergency preparedness, and stockpiling strategic materials that would be in short supply in time of war. GSA established the first federal motor pool in 1954. GSA first used the term "telecommunications system" to describe telephone services in 1957 and inaugurated the FTS inter-city telephone system in the early 1960s. GSA introduced the federal government to charge cards in 1984. Today more than 2 million GSA cards are used by government employees for small purchases. GSA in 1996, spurred the development of electronic commerce through GSA Advantage!™. GSA acts as a catalyst for nearly $66 billion in federal spending--more than one fourth of the government's total procurement dollars.
GSA's Federal Supply Schedules, also known as Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), are contracts that allow federal customers to acquire more than 4 million services and products 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 services and products using the “GSA Advantage!” online ordering system.
To become a GSA Schedule contractor
- You must first be awarded a contract.
- In order to obtain a GSA Schedule contract, you must submit an offer in response to the applicable Schedule solicitation.
- GSA awards contract’s to responsible companies that offer commercial items falling within the generic descriptions in the Schedules.
- 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. The negotiation objective is commonly known as "most favored customer" pricing.
- In order to make this comparison, GSA requires you to furnish commercial price lists and disclose information regarding their pricing/discounting practices.
What does this mean to you!
If you provide a service or product that is considered commercial then you may be eligible to receive a GSA Schedule. You need to think of the GSA Schedule as a commercial agreement with a published catalog (GSA Advantage) and the entire government as your customer base. To be successful you should be in business over two years, have sold to commercial accounts and be profitable Your customer (the government agency) no longer is required to write a Request for Quote (RFQ) when they buy goods and services between $100.00 and 1,000,000. They can look in their catalog (GSA Advantage) find your price list and order from you directly. As a buyer the decision is not very hard, spend time writing a RFQ and waiting for a response or order what I need today from the catalog.
How does SBCA Help?
The Small Business Consulting Agency provides packaging services for its clients on GSA Schedules. We take the paperwork out of your hands and provide you with templates to generate acceptable price lists and other documents. We prepare the solicitation and help you put together the discount matrix based on your commercial sales practices. We then send the package to you ready to sign and mail. How can you get on the Schedule? The Small Business Consulting Agency provides a short Assessment to assist us in determining if you qualify and your prospect of increasing your business through GSA sales.
Click here: GSA Schedule Assessment
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