The Administrator 

October 11, 2012 

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL GSA EMPLOYEES -7 

FROM: DAN TANGHERLI 

ACTING ADMINISTRATOR (A) 

SUBJECT: Updated Preferred Use of Existing GSA Contract Vehicles 

As the Federal Government’s lead procurement organization, GSA is focused on 

delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions for its agency customers and for the 

American taxpayer. GSA needs to set an example by using the cost-savings contracts 

that we have established. 

Effective October 1, 2012, GSA employees are required to use existing GSA 

acquisition vehicles before establishing new contracts for similar products or 

services. Contract vehicles include the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), 

the Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), Government-wide Acquisition Contracts 

(GWAC5) and other multiple agency solutions. The requirement applies to all 

contracts exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold of $150,000. The GSA 

Contracting Officer’s analysis in considering these sources of supply must be 

documented in the acquisition plan. 

Exceptions will be made for the following: 

 when mandatory sources are required by the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) sections 8.002 and 8.003; 

 for Construction or Architect and Engineering services; 

 for an assisted acquisition where a customer agency has a mandatory restriction 

to use an established internal source; or where customer requirements are 

documented and approved in an acquisition strategy alternatives analysis that 

justifies the use of a non-GSA contract; 

when required services or products are not readily available on an existing 

GSA acquisition vehicle; 

U.S. General Services Administration 

1275 First Street, NE 

Washington, DC 20417 

Telephone: (202) 501-0800 

Fax: (202) 219-1243 
when performing discretionary or non-discretionary small business set-aside 

procurements or procuring under the following programs: HUBZone, ServiceDisabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women-Owned Small 

Business (WOSB) or 8(a); and 

procurements already in progress (i.e., approved acquisition plan or issued 

request for quotations (RFQs) or request for proposals (RFPs)) through FAS’ 

Office of Assisted Acquisition Services. 

New contract actions (other than modifications or options) that do not use the 

aforementioned exceptions must be approved by the Head of Contracting 

Activity. 

Below are just two examples, among many, where GSA should increase its use 

of existing GSA contracts to save time, drive efficiencies and reduce costs. 

The Information Technology (IT) MAS 70 product and service solutions, 

and the Federal Acquisition Service GWACs provide high quality, cost 

competitive information technology supplies and services. Contracting 

officers should use Multiple Award Schedule 70 and the GSA GWACs for IT 

requirements before using other non-GSA vehicles or conducting open 

market acquisitions. 

The Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS) Schedule 

offers a full range of management and consulting services to improve a 

Federal agency’s performance. However parts of our organization are 

putting open market consulting service contracts in place rather than 

using MOBIS. In addition to consulting services, the 19,000 MAS 

contracts offer a range of other services and products that leverage the 

government’s buying power, streamline the acquisition process, and allow 

for set-aside task orders to meet socioeconomic goals. 

I am already discussing the benefits of using GSA vehicles with our agency 

customers, encouraging them to use existing GSA contract vehicles rather than 

establishing new agency contracts. This effort is strengthened if I can point to our 

own agency’s success in this area. 

Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to our mission of 

saving taxpayer’s money. 

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