GSA is planning to release the most anticipated document of the year so far—Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Refresh #16. This Refresh will include SBA size standard updates, Joint Venture (JV) solicitation guidance, and a series of updates to specific Large Categories. This Refresh is expected to come out on May 15, 2023, along with a Mass Modification (Mass Mod). No matter what products or services you offer, this Refresh is applicable to you, and you should be familiar with the changes before accepting the Mass Mod. Here’s what you need to know about this upcoming change.
Changes to the Overall Solicitation
GSA has made several changes to the overall MAS solicitation, meaning it affects all GSA contractors. Let’s review what they are and how they may impact your GSA Schedule.
SBA Size Standard Updates
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a new table of size standards that changes the employee business size standard for multiple North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Codes. If you’re not familiar with size standards, they are used to determine whether or not your company is considered a small business. This is done by identifying your primary NAICS Code and then comparing it to employee business size or receipts in millions of dollars. Each NAICS has a threshold of maximum number of employees or receipts you can have and still qualify as a small business. So, what does this have to do with Solicitation Refresh 16?
The SBA has updated several size standards for employee business size meaning if you didn’t qualify as a small business before, you may now. The updated standards can be found on SBA’s site.
Incorporate Updated Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) Wage Determinations
This next change is pretty customary for Solicitation Refreshes. The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) is incorporating an updated Wage Determination (WD) index that aligns with current FAS policy. If you offer services, you should ensure your pricing and WD numbers are updated and included in the Service Contract Act (SCA) matrix if applicable. It’s important to note that there are no clause or policy changes to the SCLS at this time. A complete set of incorporated WDs can be found here: www.gsa.gov/mascategoryrequirements.
Additional Clause and GSA MAS Template Updates
GSA has also made changes to the offer and modification Price Proposal Templates (PPTs) for both products and services. The updates are:
- Offer and Modification PPTs: Supporting Invoice or Document Number (Initial submittal)’ and “Page Location’ columns added to align with the Offer and Modification Services and Training Price Proposal Templates.
- Modification Products and Services Training PPTs: Templates now include a Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) tab and Non-TDR tab for Economic Price Adjustments.
As usual, GSA has incorporated clause and provision updates as necessary through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-02 and GSAR Change 164.
MAS Refresh #16 Includes Joint Venture Guidance
The guidance contractors have all been waiting for—GSA has released information on how MAS offer instructions apply to Joint Venture (JV) entities so it can be consistent and align with Small Business Administration (SBA) standards.
The draft Joint Venture guidance has a lot of information on what Joint Ventures looking to get a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) need to do before submission. The document is over 10 pages, but we’ll summarize the highlights here.
- The Startup Springboard will be available to JV entities with less than 2 years of corporate experience.
- Companies can hold individual MAS contacts and still be partners on up to three JV MAS contracts. It’s important to note here that having an individual GSA Schedule outside of your JV does not mean you can treat them as the same contract. They are completely separate contracts.
- JV entities that can’t demonstrate past performance can use the past performance of other JV partners.
- JV entities that do not have Most Favored Customers (MFCs) need to complete the Price Proposal template with the MCF information of the JV partner who is providing the products/services.
- Supporting documentation may be sourced by either the JV entity or JV partner.
- If the JV entity is not providing the proposed services/products, then they must disclose the JV partner’s Commercial Sales Practices (CSP).
- If the Joint Venture is between a mentor and a protégé, the price list must clearly identify which partner is the mentor and which one is the protégé.
- If it’s an all small business JV, meaning all partners involved are small businesses, then it must be an unpopulated JV entity. In other words, a joint venture entity must not have its own separate employees to perform contracts awarded to them except for employees that perform administrative functions.
If you want to learn more about JVs and what they could mean for your business, check out our blog on JVs.
Changes Related to Specific Large Categories, Subcategories, and SINs
Solicitation Refresh #16 also includes updates to specific Large Categories, Subcategories, and Special Item Numbers (SINs). These updates only apply to you if it falls under the specific Large Category or SIN you currently offer or plan to offer under.
Office Management (Large Category A)
In this Large Category, SIN Mail Management 561499M – Mail Management, Systems, Processing Equipment and Related Solutions has been revised to expand the scope of the SIN to include keywords and enhanced descriptions of existing services (i.e., Intelligent Mail Barcoding, Mail Tracking, Address Management, and Postage Meter) to help customer agencies find these services more easily when performing market research.
Facilities (Large Category B)
In this category, two SINs have been updated. First, SIN 561210FAC – Facilities Maintenance and Management has updated SIN instructions to match the terminology of the SIN subgroups used on GSA eLibrary. Additionally, the description of SIN 54190E – Energy Services has been revised to remove “Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC)” reference from the SIN description.
Furniture (Large Category C)
Under Large Category C, the following SINs under the Packaged Furniture: Revision to Packaged Office Subcategory were updated so the maximum threshold was lowered from $5 million to $250,000:
- SIN 337121P Packaged Household Dormitory and Quarters
- Furniture
- SIN 337127P International Packaged Furniture
- SIN 33721P Packaged Office Furniture
- SIN 339113P Packaged Healthcare Furniture
Industrial Products (Large Category E)
The following SIN, 332510C - Hardware Store, Home Improvement Center, Industrial or General Supply Store, or Industrial Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) Distributor – Catalog, has been updated to remove the following sentence from the SIN instructions note:
"Contractors submitting an offer under this SIN shall include your complete storefront(s)."
This change is a big deal for some Industrial Products contractors because before this change, companies offering products under this SIN could only offer their entire storefront catalog and couldn’t pick and choose certain products. With this update, contractors no longer have to offer their complete storefront.
Information Technology (Large Category F)
Under the IT Large Category, the following SINs have been revised:
- SIN 54151HEAL - Information Technology Services revised section I instructions for IT Offerors, specifically 6) Relevant Project Experience section to: “Each completed example of project experience shall have been completed within the last two years. All examples of completed services shall have been found to be acceptable by the ordering activity.”
- SIN 517410 - Commercial Satellite Communications Solutions (COMSATCOM) revised section I instructions for IT Offerors, specifically 6) Relevant Project Experience section to: “All completed projects shall have been completed within the last two years prior to submission of the COMSATCOM SIN proposal.
Transportation and Logistics Services (Large Category K)
In the Transportation and Logistics Services category, there are a few changes to SINs 492110 - Package Delivery and Freight Trucking and 492110SB - Local Courier Delivery Services (SBSA), as well as SINs 485 - Ground Transportation and 532111 - Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing - Rental Supplemental Vehicle Program (RSVP).
SINs 492110 - Package Delivery and Freight Trucking and 492110SB - Local Courier Delivery Services (SBSA) have the following changes:
- Added additional elements such as Most Favored Customer (MFC), Service Description, GSA Rate excluding Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) to the required SIN specific Price Proposal Template (PPT).
- Updated Category Specific Attachment for SIN 492110 - Package Delivery by adding clarification language to inform Offeror's that certain Freight Transportation services (regular Truckload and Truckload) are to be offered under the GSA's Freight Management Program. It’s important to note that all the core services such as Express Same Day, Express Heavyweight, and Expedited Freight Shipments remain unchanged.
SINs 485 - Ground Transportation and 532111 - Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing - Rental Supplemental Vehicle Program (RSVP) have also additional elements such as Most Favored Customer (MFC), Service Description, GSA Rate excluding Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) to the required SIN specific PPT.
Travel (Large Category L)
Last but not least, the Travel Large Category had some updates to the SIN 531110 - Long Term Lodging. This SIN was updated to add additional elements such as MFC, Service Description, GSA Rate excluding IFF to the required SIN specific PPT. GSA also updated the Category Specific Attachment for this SIN by adding the definition of “meals” to the second page of the Statement of Work (SOW).
Accepting the Mass Mod and Planning for Future GSA Changes
Hopefully this blog has given you a better idea of the updates and you are prepared to review and accept the Mass Mod when it’s released. As a reminder, contractors have 90 days to accept the Mass Mod after it’s officially released, which is targeted for May 15, 2023.
To stay updated on future GSA changes, subscribe to our blog and our monthly government contracting newsletter. If you have questions about your GSA Schedule or accepting the Mass Mod, we would be happy to help you.
