Although the large corporations tend to take over the headlines for capturing government contracting opportunities, small businesses have plenty of opportunities to go after in the federal marketplace. Even if you see a Request for Quote (RFQ) that your company may not be able to handle on its own, you shouldn’t necessarily discredit it right away. There are several ways in which small businesses can partner with large or other small businesses to expand their offerings and increase their competitiveness. As a GSA Schedule contractor, there are 4 main ways you can team up with another business. They are: subcontracting, Joint Ventures, partnering with a reseller, and Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA). Let’s dive into each partnership and find out which one could work best for you.

Government agencies use contract vehicles like the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program to purchase many of the products and services they need from commercial customers. The GSA Schedules Program provides over 11 million products and services to federal, state, and local government buyers, and is often the preferred contract vehicle for government agencies. This is because GSA has simplified the acquisition process to make purchasing of products and services as smooth and efficient as possible.

As a GSA Schedule contractor, you are used to abiding by several regulations and requirements. Not only is it important you are aware of the requirements to maintain your GSA Schedule, but you should also familiarize yourself with certain government contracting legislation that affects your government customers, like the Berry Amendment.

The short answer is, no. The purpose of GSA eBuy is for U.S. federal government agencies and military services worldwide to have an online procurement site to find solutions at the best value and price. In order for government buyers to be guaranteed this value, they need to purchase pre-vetted products and services from GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts.

Selling your products or services to the federal government can be intimidating and it can often be difficult to get your foot in the door. Thankfully as a GSA Schedule contractor, you have several tools and opportunities available to you, especially if you are a small business.

The MAS Consolidation is one of the four cornerstone Initiatives of GSA’s Federal Market Place strategy. The main goal is to modernize and simplify the buying and selling experience for customers, contractors, and acquisition professionals. The consolidation will offer a simplified format with a single consolidated Multiple Award Schedule template containing additional solicitation documents to complete new offers which will include new large categories and sub-categories, as well as new streamlined conditions for new offerors.