# Presentation: 337648

## Contracting 101

- Federal Supply ServiceFebruary 16, 2005

## Getting Started

- Determine a need
- Conduct market research
- Solicit bids
- Award contracts
- Manage performance

## GSA Schedules

- GSA View
- Establishes relationships (potential 20 year contracts)
- Enables dynamic pricing
- Manages risk
- Streamlines acquisition

**Notes:**
So what are these things called schedules??  You’ll hear them called by many names.... Federal Supply Schedules, Multiple Award Schedules, the Schedules program, schedules, or simply MAS—whatever name it’s called, schedules are simply contract vehicles. Why contract for stuff? Contracts provide stability in our supplier relationships – prices are fixed for a long-term period to enable us to better budget our needs – they provide a legal avenue to seek remedies when disputes or poor performance issues arise – they provide opportunities for agencies to fulfill socio-economic requirements to do business with small business.  

Under Schedules, we enter into Government wide contracts with commercial firms to provide customers with millions of state-of-the-art, high quality, commercial products and services at volume discount pricing on a direct delivery basis.  These contract vehicles closely mirror how we buy things in our everyday life and harness the commercial supply and demand economic model that lets dynamic pricing occur on an order-by-order basis.  What I mean by dynamic pricing is the ability of a contractor to provide spot discounts based on any factors – maybe it’s a large order or maybe the contractor really wants an agency’s business or for some other business reason.  Another nice thing about schedules is that all customers, regardless of size or location, place orders directly with Schedule contractors and can receive the same services and convenience.  
Customers LOVE schedules!  Why?  The contracts we put in place provide federal agencies with a simple way of buying stuff – we do the upfront procurement work so that agencies can focus on their requirement, not on the process to fulfill it.  It speeds up the acquisition process tremendously.  Let me give you an example:

## Typical FAR 15 Buy

**Day 1****Determination of Need**

**Day 45****Initiating the Procurement**

**Day 95****Analysis of Requirement**

**Day 145****Sourcing**

**Day 165****Solicitation**

**Day 200****Evaluation**

**Day 268****Award**

**Notes:**
A typical procurement starts with forecasting requirements and planning the acquisition.  Next, to initiate the procurement, an agency would conduct market research and get the necessary funding approvals.  Next comes the requirements definition where the agency figures out how to articulate in a statement of work what they need.  In the sourcing stage, agencies would determine the extent of competition for the procurement, including working through any small business set asides.  Next comes the solicitation, then evaluation and finally award.  A study conducted by FSS indicated that an average contract takes 268 days to put into place.   Contrast that with schedules...

## Typical Schedule Buy

**Day 1 – RFQ**

**With BPA**

**Without BPA**

**Day 5 – Evaluation**

**Day 13 – Award**

**Day 1 – Market Research**

**Day 3 – RFQ**

**Day 7 – Evaluation**

**Day 15 – Award**

**Notes:**
If you have a blanket purchase agreement or BPA already established, that same requirement would take you less than 13 days to award it – 15 days if you didn’t have an established BPA.  By the way, the same study also concluded that it takes an average of 49 days to set up a BPA.  

Now we call that contracting at the speed of need!

## Federal Agency Benefits

- Simplified purchasing
- Collective purchasing power
- Dynamic pricing
- Administrative savings
- eTools
- Socio-economic credit

## Do-it-yourself or use GSA?

- Time
- Money
- Resources

## Schedule No. 48 - TDRS

- Transportation, Delivery and Relocation Services - Process
- Offer
- Evaluation (Experience, Past Performance, Management)
- Award/No Award
- GSA *Advantage!*/Contract Price List
- Go to market
- Available Services
- SIN 653-1 -  Relocation Service Package
- Home sale; marketing; destination area services; and reporting
- SIN 653-2 – Property Management
- Rental management; tenant screening

## Schedule No. 48 - TDRS

- SIN 653-3 – Reserved
- SIN 653-4 – Additional Services
- Entitlement counseling; group moves; custom reports
- SIN 653-5 -  Agency Customization Services
- Hard-to-sell properties; buyer value option
- SIN 653-6 – Training/Travel
- SIN 653-7 – Move Management
- Carrier selection; booking; claims

## Schedule No. 48 - TDRS

- Vendor performance management
- Schedule requirements – administered by GSA
- Task order/delivery order requirements – administered by ordering agency
- Sales
- FY 05 to date = $41M
- FY 04 - $144M

## Specific Questions

## Fixed Price vs. Cost Contracts

- Fixed Price
- Commercial items
- Defined services
- Adequate price competition/ comparison
- Performance risk on contractor

- Cost-Reimbursement
- Non-commercial items
- Too many uncertainties about the requirement
- Adequate contractor accounting system
- Performance risk on government

## Obligation of Funds, Generally

**FAR 32.702 Policy **
- No officer or employee of the Government may create or authorize an obligation in excess of the funds available, or in advance of appropriations (Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. 1341), unless otherwise authorized by law.
- If the contract is fully funded, funds are obligated to cover the price or target price of a fixed-price contract or the estimated cost and any fee of a cost-reimbursement contract.

## Obligation of Funds, Specifically

- GSA Schedules – covers the minimum guarantee $2,500
- Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) – non-obligating document
- Task Order/Delivery Orders – must obligate to cover price (fixed price) or estimated cost (cost reimbursement)

## Other Questions?

- TDRS Team
- Guy Galloway
- Paul Sando
- Rebecca Koses
- 703 605-5616
- _[onthego@gsa.gov](mailto:onthego@gsa.gov)_
- _[www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov](http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/)_, search for Schedule 48