Whether you are a current GSA contractor or you are thinking about preparing a proposal to obtain a GSA contract, it is important to monitor your commercial sales and make sure you remain consistent in how you discount your Most Favored Customer (MFC), or the customer that receives your best prices. In this blog I will discuss why pricing consistency is important and how to avoid violating the Price Reductions Clause (PRC).

Most government contractors, whether new or experienced, understand the basics of the government procurement process. However, not all contractors understand what follows after the government makes their decision on award. Post award debriefs help a company understand what deficiencies and significant weaknesses were found in their proposal and understand why they were not awarded a contract. Continue reading to learn how to handle post award debriefs and reluctant contracting officers.

For a GSA Schedule contractor, a contract extension is an important process that should be completed without any delay. The GSA Schedule is a five-year contract with three additional five-year option periods for a total of 20 years. After each five-year period, every GSA Schedule contractor has to complete a contract extension prior to their contract’s expiration date in order to extend their contract for another five years. Although it is common to have your contract extended, GSA Schedule contractors should be as proactive as possible during this process to make sure there is no delay in being awarded the next option period.

Over the weekend GSA posted an announcement on its Vendor Support Center website stating that it would no longer require vendors to manipulate Manufacturer Part Numbers in cases where a contractor has multiple manufacturers with the same part number.

The ImmixGroup recently published an article that gave an overview of cooperative purchasing and some contract vehicles associated with it. In this overview they were able to touch on some points about the National Association of State Procurement Officers (NASPO) ValuePoint program. Immix, who has a very established presence in the federal market, highlighted advantages of utilizing cooperative purchasing contracts and the amount of dollars procured through NASPO ValuePoint. I will highlight NASPO ValuePoint from an inside perspective, as I have first-hand experience working in the program, working with State Procurement Officials and currently managing several companies within the program.

Due to recent contract migrations, there has been a noticeable increase in rejected new offers – in particular for the Professional Services Schedule (PSS). In an attempt to keep up with an overwhelming workload, GSA contracting officers have developed a more standardized Schedule acquisition process. In turn, vendors without “perfect” Schedule PSS proposals are being rejected and are made to fall back in line for yet another 12 months before their evaluation process begins.