![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.8in" height="0.7076388888888889in"}

[LOGISTICS]{.underline}

+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Meeting   | **Thursday, February 16, 2006**                        |
| Date:**     |                                                        |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Time:**   | **8:30 a.m. -- 3:30 p.m.**                             |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Venue:**  | **Radisson Hotel,**                                    |
|             |                                                        |
|             | **Crystal Ballroom, Fort Worth, Texas**                |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+

[ATTENDANCE]{.underline}

[Contractors (54)]{.underline}

Teresa Ambrose, Wayne Bardsley, Vicki Bloomfield, Tim Bohannon, Andrew
Brooks, Denny, Buterbaugh, Dana Denson, Bill Deringer, Richard Evans,
Mike Felder, Greg Geurtz, Chuck Grace, Andy Gruendel, Deb Hall, Charles
Hastings, Mohsen Hekmatyar, Henry Hobdy, James Hyfantis, Charles Jones,
James Kasparek, Steve Kneifl, Pat Liu, Kristi MacArthur, Kevin McKerley,
Verna Melton, Arthur Melton, Carlos Millan, Renae Myers, Arthur Pacione,
Rhonda Paschal, Richard Pett, Joe Pleszkoch, Kenneth Plummer, Mark
Price, Jerry Pugh, Karen Reese, Skip Reitmeier, Ellin Reitmeier, Jeanne
Reuter, Monica Rosa, Michael Ruddo, Larry Schmoll, Renee Schureck, Ken
Shaner, Deb Sharkey, Scott Stackhouse, Paul Stone, Gary Stuckey, Shannon
Tracy, Christina Ward, Rik Williams, PennyWright, Tina Wurth, TerryYoung

[GSA Associates (77)]{.underline}

Larry Ayers, Cheryl, Allen, Cheryl Applewhite, Richard Armstead, Carol
Batesole, Kori Bertino, Jeri Bird, Sonny, Bowen, Sheila, Brannan, Gena
Brown, Shaloy Castle-Higgins, Natalie Chaney, Sandra Clerk-Brown, Kathy
Colomo, Tracie Crowder, Carrie Cuevas, Jamie Davis, Pat Dawson, Tim
Dempsey, Lyn DePriest, Patti Dingler, RaeAnn Ehrler, Susannah,Elizondo,
Sandy Emerson, Margaret Evans, Mary Foster, Vicki Gilbert, Larry Ginder,
Cheryl Goff, Cary Grisby, Lydia Groce, Sharon Hair, Dana Hanley, James
Henley, Harry Henson, Jeanette Hernandez-Guilleaume, Beth Hudson, Lisa
Hudson, Suzanne Jetton, Mark King, Bill Lair, Katanya Lee, Margaret
Lynch, Larry Mathias, Topsy Mathis, Brenda McCall, Michael McDaniel,
Marcos Meza, Donna Mylius, Haley Naegele, Cathy Nelson, JoAnne Offill,
Ruby Oringderff, Susie Owens, Charles Popelka, Chris Popp, Ruth Powell,
Melissa Prieto, Donna Renner, Deanne Richey, Jamie Schueller, Mark Sims,
Carroll Slag, JoAnn Stanley, Kellie Stoker, Mary Ann Swearingen, Sandy
Tatum, Terry Teichmann, Sherry Thomspson, Renee, Tucker, Tyree,Vanardo,
Ernie Waugh, Rachelle Weber, Ted Williams, Frank Wilson, Gerri Winters,
Melissa, Witcher, Lida Yale

[PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS]{.underline}

[Welcome]{.underline} 8:30 a.m. -- 8:45 a.m.

-   Lyn DePriest, Program Chairperson, called the meeting to order and
    facilitated an ice-breaker and set the tone for the work to be
    accomplished during the day.

-   Kathy Colomo, GSAC Center Director, reoriented the group to recent
    changes made within the Greater Southwest Acquisition Center and
    provided performance data for the Center Some of the topics
    included:

    -   An overview of the GSAC's sales and performance measures from FY
        2005

    -   GSAC's recent relocation

    -   Restructuring of personnel to better serve customers;
        information was provided on the Center's objective to make more
        customer visits

-   Tyree Varnado, FSS Assistant Regional Administrator, gave a brief
    overview of the FAS organization and reassured contractors of GSA's
    continued support. Key points entail:

    -   Success depends on contractors;

    -   Open communications between contracting officers and contractors
        is paramount;

    -   GSA is implementing initiatives to insulate customers from
        experiencing continuity of service despite of internal changes;

    -   Reiterated that the goal of the changes within GSA is to become
        a better and more responsive organization;

    -   Addressed concerns that were expressed about the negative
        connation that some perceive "Get It Right" campaign suggests
        and informed attendees that GSA is making the transition from
        "Get It Right" to "Acquisition Excellence",

    -   Communicated the Alliance Partnership needs to continue to
        position ourselves so that we can have more influence over the
        acquisition process; Contractors were encouraged to become more
        vocal with legislators in order to provide better solutions for
        customers and provide best value to taxpayers. Contractors were
        encouraged to visit [www.gsa.gov](http://www.gsa.gov/) for
        additional information concerning future FAS developments.

[Trade Agreement Act]{.underline} 9:00 a.m. -- 9:20 a.m.

Shaloy Castle-Higgins kicked off the meeting with a discussion on the
Trade Agreement Act. The discussion provided some distinctions between
the Buy America Act and the Trade Agreement Act. Contractors were
provided a brief overview on the Act in accordance with FAR PART 25.

> FAR PART. 25.402 General.
>
> The Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2501, *et seq*.) provides the
> authority for the Pre(a)(1) sident to waive the Buy American Act and
> other discriminatory provisions for eligible products from countries
> that have signed an international trade agreement with the United
> States, or that meet certain other criteria, such as being a least
> developed country. The President has delegated this waiver authority
> to the U.S. Trade Representative. In acquisitions covered by the WTO
> GPA, Free Trade Agreements, or the Israeli Trade Act, the USTR has
> waived the Buy American Act and other discriminatory provisions for
> eligible products. Offers of eligible products receive equal
> consideration with domestic offers.
>
> \(2\) The contracting officer shall determine the origin of services
> by the country in which the firm providing the services is
> established. See Subpart 25.5 for evaluation procedures for supply
> contracts covered by trade agreements.
>
> \(b\) The value of the acquisition is a determining factor in the
> applicability of trade agreements. Most of these dollar thresholds are
> subject to revision by the U.S. Trade Representative approximately
> every 2 years. The various thresholds are summarized as follows:

Key discussion points were:

-   Litigations related to violation of the TAA are on the rise;

-   GSA does not have the authority to make Under Schedules, GSA no can
    no longer make exceptions or nonavailability determinations

-   and these types of determination requirements involvement from the
    Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Currently, guidelines are
    being reviewed to allow for exceptions to me made at the schedule
    level; Contractors may want to develop a process for studying the
    issues surrounding nonavailability determinations i.e. what are the
    items, how much, etc.

-   IT does not have an exception;

-   Vendors who provide a multiple source have to set up a method to
    ensure they are shipping TAA compliant items under the GSA order;

-   There was some discussion focusing on the interplay and application
    of the Berry Amendment and the Department of Defense (DoD). The
    Berry Amendment requires the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) to buy
    certain products \-- judged essential to our military readiness -
    **with 100% U.S. content and labor.** These products include
    clothing and other textile items, specialty steel, and food. In
    addition to the Berry Amendment, certain other \"Buy American\"
    provisions apply to DOD.

-   Always rely on the FAR. Contractors were directed to consult the FAR
    regarding clarity on interpreting concepts such as "made", " wholly
    the growth, product or manufacture", "substantially transformed",
    and manufactured". Castle-Higgins communicated that it is not GSA's
    intent to provide prescriptions on how to comply.

[Online Representations & Certification Application (ORCA)]{.underline}
9:20 a.m. -- 9:50 a.m.

[Central Contractor Registration (CCR)]{.underline}

Margaret Evans reviewed the Online Representations & Certification
Application (ORCA) and Central Contractor Registration (CCR)
Maintenance. Discussion from this session focused on:

The potential role GSA might play in working with SBA to make their
website more functional for contractors

-   Review on how to use the systems

-   Possibility of contacting SBA regarding website functionality

    -   Sorting functionality -- make for efficient for use i.e.
        alphabetize,

-   The importance of keeping CCR registration status active;

-   Clarifications regarding the appropriate utilization of the
    Marketing Partner Identification Number (MPIN). Some contractors
    experience this issue with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Navy;
    It was indicated that the MPIN is required to gain access to
    solicitations;

-   Can there be multiple DBA's on 1 CCR? No. DUNS +4 is now used ONLY
    as a method to identify different bank accounts, or other such
    information of business units at the SAME address. For example, a
    vendor could have two records for themselves at the same physical
    location to identify two separate bank accounts. However, vendors
    wishing to register multiple sites, their subsidiaries and other
    entities should ensure that each additional location obtains a
    separate DUNS number from dun & Bradstreet. The Dun & Bradstreet can
    be contacted at (800) 333-0505.

[GSA Expo Update]{.underline} 9:50 a.m. -- 10:00 a.m

Cheryl Allen, Business Development Specialist, gave an update on the
upcoming GSA Expo. Although no space is available to for additional
exhibitors, Allen encouraged contractors to attend.

[Submitting A Quality Modification Request]{.underline} 10:10 a.m. --
10:30 a.m.

Submit a quality modification was presented by given by Susannah
Elizondo, a new FSS intern. There was some discussion on:

-   The addition of new items/SINs and that some manufacturers may have
    reservations about providing their price lists;

-   Conditions (name changes, administrative changes) in which
    modifications need to be generated were presented; There are two
    times when we will recognize a change in business size:

    -   When a company is categorized as a small company with GSA, but
        is bought by a large, it will be considered to be a large
        company and novation needs to be completed;

    -   If a company grows from small to large during their second year,
        then we do not consider them to be large until it is time for
        options to be exercised.

[E-modification Training]{.underline} 10:30 a.m. -- 11:15 a.m.

E-modification training was provided by Katanya Lee from Central Office.
Lee reiterated that e-modifications are bilateral.

[Panel Discussion]{.underline} 11:15 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.

The final morning event included a panel discussion consisting of the
Center Director and all Division Directors.

Contractors can request an Economic Price Adjustment for fuel as long as
they have substantial documentation.

[Breakout Sessions]{.underline} 1:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

The one day program culminated with afternoon breakout sessions for
Schedules 73 & 78, Schedule 84, and Scientific Schedules. Notes from
each breakout session are included in Appendices A-C.

[Other Item(s)]{.underline}

Denny Buterbaugh, Director of Government Sales, expressed an interest in
becoming a member of the Alliance Council.

[FOLLOW UP ACTIONS]{.underline}

[QUESTION]{.underline}: There was a concern that the e-Buy tool is being
misused. Some contractors are using it as an online auction tool where
some are trying to "whittle" down the price. Is it possible to respond
to an e-Buy offer if they are not in that SIN?

[ANSWER]{.underline}: No vendor can respond or see an RFQ through eBuy
unless they have an award under the SIN

[QUESTION:]{.underline} Is the system (e-Buy) able to allow dealers to
receive quotes directly?

[ANSWER:]{.underline} Dealers cannot participate in eBuy at this
time~~.~~

[QUESTION]{.underline}: Why is GSA Advantage not password protected?

[ANSWER:]{.underline} It is public information.

[QUESTION:]{.underline} GSA contract holders comply with DoD program
Unique Identification (UID). UID is a Department of Defense program that
will enable easy access to information about DoD possessions that will
make acquisition, repair, and deployment of items faster and more
efficient. What mechanism will GSA put in place to help contractors
recover costs?

[ANSWER:]{.underline} Contractors are allowed to incorporate additional
charges for UID marking on orders that are received. This can be done as
an open market item or, added to their awarded contract pricing once
charges for UID marking are established.

[QUESTION:]{.underline} Can GSA work with SBA. There is no way to print
out the 295; It requires CEO to print consolidated document with
acceptance.

[ANSWER]{.underline}: The Small Business Administration has overall
responsibility for the system. The issues regarding printing the 295 and
the current requirement for the CEO acceptance on subcontracting plans
have been forwarded GSA\'s electronic Subcontracting Reporting System
(eSRS) champion in our National Office. Changes in functionality of the
system would be a major enhancement to the system and would require
modifying the existing program. If the contractor has any policy or
general questions in reporting the Summary Subcontract Report (SSR),
they can be forwarded to janice.holley@gsa.gov or call (202) 501-0838.
If the contractor has any general questions in reporting the Individual
Subcontract Report (ISR), they can contact their respective Contracting
Officer. Finally, if the contractor has a technical question about eSRS
they can notify the eSRS Helpdesk; address can be found on the eSRS
homepage. A training manual for contractors as well as Frequently Asked
Questions can also be found on the homepage for assistance.

[QUESTION]{.underline}: Do you see GSA going in the direction of
standardizing order tracking through some sort of tracking system?

[ANSWER:]{.underline} GSA's recommended that contractors refer to
contracting billing responsibility clause

[NEXT MEETING]{.underline}

+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Meeting   | Tuesday, May 16, 2006                                  |
| Date:**     |                                                        |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Time:**   | 1:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.                                 |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| **Venue:**  | Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, Room 006D,        |
|             |                                                        |
|             | San Antonio, Texas                                     |
+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------+

Alliance Meeting

February 16, 2006

Schedule 56 Breakout Session Topics

1:00-3:45 p.m.

Presentations were made by Ruth Powell (Building Materials Pricing
Initiatives/scope issues), Donna Renner (Get-It-Right Scope Review
Process/Open Market Items), Ernie Waugh (redefining Ancillary Services),
Kori Bertino & Suzanne Jetton (redefining PreFab Pricing Initiatives)
regarding various challenges facing Schedule 56. The following topics
were discussed as a result of the presentations:

1.  Concerning open market items, can models be substituted if they are
    cheaper and a better deal for the government? No, only those models
    identified on the commercial price list approved at the time of
    award may be quoted and sold under the contract. Refer to FAR 8.4
    for schedule ordering procedures.

2.  Competitors are getting awards on e-Buy, even though they do not
    have the products on contract. Contractors were advised that e-Buy
    is for Schedule items only, and that open market items incidental to
    the task order may be quoted on e-Buy, but must be identified to the
    customer as open market.

3.  For Get-It Right scope issues, several contractors questioned why
    the IOA community was requiring a tracking system for warranty
    claims (re an element on the CAV and the CASi report card). A
    contractor stated that the cost of establishing the tracking system
    for warranty claims should be negotiated up front with the contract
    award---it would be prohibitively expensive to set up such a system.
    Another contractor explained that his participating dealers handled
    warranty issues and that he had no knowledge of any unresolved
    claims. The IOAs attending the breakout session responded to the
    contractor concerns. There is no clause that requires a contractor
    to maintain a warranty claim tracking system. However, IOAs properly
    review any claims to determine if the contractor is honoring
    customer claims and following good business practices.

4.  The Brooks Act was discussed in conjunction with the ancillary
    services SIN and installation requiring construction SIN description
    presentations. Several contractors stated that the agency customers
    wanted certified drawings. GSA confirmed that A & E certified
    drawings are explicitly excluded from MAS contracts. If a customer
    wants such drawings, they would be outside the scope of the Schedule
    56 contract and would need to be quoted on a separate order or as
    open market under the task order. Certified drawings previously
    created in house for standard models are not the issue, only A & E
    drawings for totally new, customer specific models are excluded.

5.  There was some general discussion about pricing services under
    Schedule 56; several contractors suggested pricing methodologies.
    One contractor recommended an industry day for Schedule 56 services
    contractors, hosted by GSA. The Industry day will be scheduled for
    late April or early May, 2006. A survey was issued to services
    contractors the week of March 17^th^ with responses due by March 31,
    2006.

Alliance Meeting

February 16, 2006

Schedule 073 & 078 Breakout Session

1\. Discussion on Prime Vendor -- Sherry Thompson stated that DLA is
considering no longer using prime vendors. GSA is working on solutions
to meet their needs regarding food service equipment. New contracts will
need to be in place by June 2006. Multiple BPA's may be an option. GSA
(Global Supply) is working closely with DSCP to work on solutions.

2\. Ancillary Services -- Sherry Thompson and Beth Hudson discussed that
these services can be offered for the products that are being offered
(ex. Installation). In the food service group there are only 3
contractors that have ancillary services. Contractors are being
contacted on how they provide their ancillary services. Ancillary
services must be firm fixed priced.

3\. GSA Advantage -- A Vendor discussed that Government agencies can go
to GSA Advantage to search and buy. But he was concerned that E-buy is
becoming a reverse auction type situation. It was discussed that this
should not be the case because other vendors should not know who is
participating in the E-buy procurement. Because of the dollar threshold
competition is required and E-buy is the tool that is being used. Chris
Popp stated that Far Part 8 states that an additional discount should be
requested regardless of the dollar amount of the procurement.

4\. Trade Agreements -- A question came up regarding when to remove
non-compliant items from contracts. It was clarified that this could be
done anytime and as soon as possible if a product is found to be
non-compliant.

5\. Customer Lists -- Question regarding why we are no longer sending
out customer listings. Richard Armstead stated that it was mainly due to
9-11 terrorist actions that this list is no longer available.

6\. Marketing -- Frank Wilson gave a presentation on which websites are
available to with marketing to the Government.
[www.gsa.gov/generalproducts](http://www.gsa.gov/generalproducts) and
[www.firstgov.gov](http://www.firstgov.gov/) were two that were
discussed.

7\. Open Market Items -- Terry Teichman discussed that contractors must
annotate items that are not on GSA Contract on all quotes. Open market
items are required to be competed if the dollar amount is over \$2,500.

8\. Scope Issues -- Beth Hudson discussed that you should make sure that
out of scope products/services are open market items and that the IFF is
not required to be charged to open market items or reported.

9\. Educating Customers -- It was discussed that a webcast would be a
good tool to be made available to ordering activities to show how GSA
Contracts are used.

10\. Audits -- It was brought up that although the dollar limitation may
not be met to require an audit, if a contract is up for the 2^nd^ or
3^rd^ option an audit may be required.

11\. Audit Requirements -- Frank Wilson discussed that if a contract
sales are over \$25 Million, an audit is required. However, even if that
amount is not reached an audit can be requested.

Alliance Meeting

February 16, 2006

Schedule 84 Breakout Session Topics

1:00-2:15 p.m.

Presentations were made by Carol Batesole, Mark Sims and Joanne Offill
regarding various topics pertinent to Schedule 84. The following topics
were raised as a result of the presentations:

1.  How are open market items handled on Schedule orders? Contractors
    were directed to FAR 8.4 for an explanation of how open-market items
    are handled.

2.  Can open market items be quoted on e-Buy? Contractors were advised
    that at this time, e-Buy is for Schedule items only, and that open
    market items should not be quoted on e-Buy. Contractors were advised
    that at the current time, e-Buy could be used to request proposals
    and that if contractors were offering a total solutions which
    contained open market items, they should contact the ordering
    activity directly to discuss, or forward their proposal offline.
    E-Buy Special Items Numbers. It was clarified that contractors must
    have the SIN identified by the customer awarded in order to quote on
    e-Buy.

3.  

4.  What is the advantage of having e-Buy if you can't offer a total
    solution which includes Schedule and Open Market Items?

5.  Do all items awarded on Advantage! show on E-Buy? Contractors were
    advised that e-Buy is arranged by Special Item Number rather than
    individual part numbers.

6.  Is e-Buy an open auction? Contractors were advised that e-Buy is not
    an open auction. While the ordering activity can see all of the
    quotations submitted, the schedule vendors submitting proposals via
    e-Buy can only see their proposal -- not the other proposals
    submitted.

7.  Is there some sort of liaison in GSA to help facilitate
    administration of e-Buy quotes? Contractors were advised that there
    is a systems person who works on the e-Buy programming itself,
    however, there is no liaison for contractors to go between the
    ordering activity and the various contractors submitting proposals.

8.  On scope issues which come up after award, what happens if you
    failed to have something you were awarded on Schedule? Is there a
    penalty on that? Contractors were advised that if they discovered a
    scope issue after award, they should promptly report that to their
    Contracting Officer for resolution.

> 2:30-3:30 p.m.
>
> After the break, the session resumed with general Questions and
> Answers. The following topics were clarified from the General Session
> or were raised by contractors.

1.  Clarified digital signature issue. Explained that the signature was
    for an individual not a computer. Encouraged all contractors to
    obtain the two free digital signatures being offered by GSA.

2.  An associate wanted to verify whether or not a DUNS Number was
    associated with digital signature? Digital signatures are not
    associated with a DUNs number, but rather, an individual.

3.  Are contractors limited to two people on e-Mod as POCs? Where one
    person is unavailable, you can put any number of people on an e-Mod
    as POCs so long as they all have digital certificates to sign.

4.  A vendor wanted to know how to handle providing a quote to an
    ordering activity when an EPA mod was pending with GSA. The offeror
    was advised not to quote a price which had not been incorporated by
    mod. The vendor was advised to contact the Branch Chief if adequate
    response was not being received on the modification request.

5.  Is GSA working on developing a committee within GSA to incorporate
    Cooperative Purchasing on Schedule 084? The vendor was advised that
    we were not aware of any committees within GSA at this time, but
    various industry groups have been discussing this issue.

6.  Can the 1122 Program be expanded? Vendor was advised that at this
    time, items covered under the 1122 program could not be expanded.

7.  Vendors were reminded to get key words for products in the GSA
    Advantage! description within the first 250 characters, because
    that's as far as the search engine goes.

8.  As associate stated that GSA Advantage! would also search in text
    file names.

9.  A vendor asked if the separate columns seen in the SIP file could be
    merged into one for GSA Advantage purposes. Another vendor advised
    that this could not be done. The vendors were reminded that COs/CSs
    do not see the SIP program that the vendors

10. All vendors were encouraged to upload a text file with their cover
    page notices through SIP into GSA Advantage!

11. All Division Associates were introduced and the session was
    adjourned for one-on-one networking.

Adjourned: 3:30 p.m.