How to Partner with the Right GSA Reseller

If you are interested in selling to the government, but don’t want to deal with the potential headache of managing your own General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award (MAS) Schedule, an authorized GSA reseller could be the right choice for your company. While having your own prime GSA Schedule has its own benefits, sometimes it’s not the right fit for an organization. Managing your own GSA Schedule requires the right internal resources, personnel, and funding, and often comes with many upfront challenges including the cost and time to obtain a prime GSA Schedule. Partnering with a reseller can reduce the overall compliance risks in selling to the government, while also increasing overall speed to market in the public sector marketplace.

If you are interested in partnering with a GSA reseller, your next step is to determine who to partner with. How do you pick the right partner that will meet all your needs and be the best choice for your organization? As a GSA reseller ourselves, we have seen firsthand what companies should be looking for in a partner. So, we have put together 3 important steps to help you determine how you can partner with the right GSA reseller for your organization and make sure your company is set up for success through a GSA Schedule.

Step 1: Do your Research. What Will Your Organization Require from a GSA Reseller?

Like all things in life, it’s imperative to determine what you will need from a potential GSA reseller. Many competing factors should weigh into your company’s research as you determine your needs. Below are a few key factors that you will want to consider before partnering with an authorized GSA reseller:

Reseller Company Personnel

While considering partnership options with an authorized GSA reseller, you will want to ensure that the reseller’s company personnel align well with your expectations. When reviewing resellers, you may want to ask how they assists partners with potential services. If you need dedicated personnel who are trained on your product and can perform demos or build a strategic pipeline, this may be a more involved level of partnership than someone who can simply quote your products on your behalf to the government customer.

Past Performance or Area of Specialty

Does the GSA reseller have ample past performance and experience working with government customers? Does the GSA reseller offer a specific area of specialty? These are the types of questions you should be asking or doing research on your own to ensure that the reseller will in fact understand your products and any special requirements that may apply to them. The government will likely consider the reseller’s past performance in many solicitation responses, so it’s vital that you work with a reseller who has positive past performance.

Business Size Status

Many government solicitations, especially utilizing the GSA Schedule, often include specific requirements for size and socio-economic status requirements. While considering partnership with an authorized GSA reseller, your company should keep in mind that size standards, “small” vs. “Other than Small,” often weigh into the government’s buying decisions. Partnership with a GSA reseller who is a small-business is a value-add for you if your company is a large business, because it will provide access to small businesses funding that otherwise would not be obtainable.

Step 2: Provide Required Documentation to List Products on the Reseller's GSA Schedule

You have selected an authorized GSA reseller to partner with selling your products to the government…now what? After you have thoroughly reviewed the reseller’s applicable terms and conditions, you will need to begin working on the process to add your products to the reseller’s GSA Schedule. Below are some of the documents manufacturers (you) are required to provide to resellers:

• Commercial Pricelist, which should identify the following key information about your products:
  • Part Number
  • Product Description
  • Commercial Price
  • County of Origin
  • Warranty (As Applicable)
  • Effective Date of Commercial Pricelist
• Pricing Support
• Product Specification Sheets
• Letter of Supply / Verified Products Portal

The Letter of Supply (LOS) will show the government and GSA that you have given the GSA reseller authorization to sell your products on their Schedule. The LOS helps assure the government that you will be able to supply them with sufficient quantities of your products. The LOS also should certify that you are fully in compliance with MAS requirements as identified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), e.g. Trade Agreements Act (TAA) Compliance, Limitations on Telecommunications, etc.

Step 3: Ensure Success through GSA and Reseller Compliance

It’s worth noting that while you and your company will need to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of the reseller’s GSA Schedule contract, you will also need to ensure compliance with all other applicable GSA laws, regulations, and policies governing the manufacture and sale of your products and services.

Depending on the agreement in place, your company will likely need to use the GSA reseller as the exclusive provider of your products on the GSA Schedule. While this many vary significantly from reseller to reseller, exclusively means that you cannot sell duplicate products on another GSA Schedule contract without prior authorization and approval from the GSA Reseller.

Throughout the lifecycle of your partnership with the authorized GSA reseller, you will need to ensure that your pricelist is current, and that all products and price information remain updated in the event of any upgrades, updates, price changes, or discontinuation of your company’s products. It’s also important that you comply with all applicable cybersecurity requirements as a partner of an Authorized GSA Reseller.

Do You Want to Partner with a GSA Reseller?

If you have any questions on partnering with an authorized GSA Reseller, such as Winvale, or are interested in obtaining a prime GSA Schedule, feel free to contact our team of dedicated experts. As both a contract consulting form and an authorized GSA reseller ourselves, we can help you decide what’s best for your company. If you want to read up more on the GSA Schedules program or government contracting news and updates first, you can subscribe to our blog and newsletter.