If you are a GSA Schedule contract holder, you are likely familiar with the OLM SIN. OLM, which stands for Order Level Materials, is an additional GSA Special Item Number (SIN) that most current contractors likely added during a modification. Similarly, some GSA contractors may be familiar with the acronym ODC, or Other Direct Costs. But what exactly are OLMs and ODCs, and how do they fit into the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program?
What are OLMs?
According to GSA, Order-Level Materials (OLMs) are “supplies and/or services acquired in direct support of an individual task or delivery order placed against a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract or FSS Blanket purchase Agreement (BPA), when the supplies and/or services are not known at the time of Schedule contract or FSS BPA award.”
Essentially, this means that OLMs are items that are not listed on a contractor’s GSA Schedule but are added at the task order level to support another SIN as part of an order. OLMs can include:
- Direct materials
- Subcontracts for supplies and incidental services for which there is not a labor category specified in your GSA Schedule contract
- Other Direct Costs (which we’ll discuss below)
- Indirect costs
OLMs may be added to any order-type, i.e., Firm Fixed-Price, Time & Materials (T&M), or Labor Hour. It should be noted, however, that OLMs are not considered applicable for travel. Also noteworthy, you must ensure that the value of OLM items do not go above 33.33% of the total order value. The OLM SIN can never be the primary SIN of an order, it can only support another SIN. You should list OLMs as separate line items when tracking your GSA sales to ensure they are separated by SIN.
Why Were OLMs Added to the GSA Schedules Program?
OLMs provide benefits to both contractors and government buyers participating in the GSA MAS program. Some of these benefits include:
- Increases the flexibility of the MAS program to provide a total solution to meet the ordering activity's requirements.
- Reduces agency procurement and administrative costs and enhances the time savings and streamlined processes of leveraging MAS contracts.
- Increases competition, resulting in cost savings for the ordering activity.
- All Schedule terms and conditions apply to OLMs (e.g., Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and mandatory environmental attributes clauses), which ensures agency purchases are compliant with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other regulatory guidelines.
Before the introduction of the OLM SIN, items that were not specifically on your GSA Schedule but used in support of another SIN during a task order, would have to be considered open market items. This caused administrative headaches and made the GSA MAS program temporarily a less competitive contract vehicle in comparison to other Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. The OLM SIN was added to ease this problem.
How Do ODCs Differ from OLMs?
ODCs, or Other Direct Costs, are products or services that are ancillary to the primary purpose of a task or delivery order. Some examples of Other Direct Costs include:
- Special tooling and test equipment
- Computer services
- Consultant services
- Travel
- Packaging costs
Unlike Order Level Materials, ODCs are not listed as a separate SIN on the GSA Schedule. ODCs may be acquired through multiple methods including OLM authority, Ancillary SINs, FAR 51 Deviation authority, Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA’s), and Open-market procedures.
Open Market is a common method for contractors to apply Other Direct Costs. While Open Market Items are not subject to the same terms and conditions associated with a GSA Schedule, your Contracting Officer will determine if Other Direct Costs included within quotes can be approved.
Learning More About Your GSA Schedule
When you first get your GSA Schedule, and even for a few years after, you may come across several terms you don’t understand like OLMs and ODCs and how they relate to your contract. Overall, both the OLM SIN and ODCs help GSA Schedule contractors provide more complete products and services. The addition of each also helps make the buying process go more smoothly at the contract and task order Level. For more information regarding OLMs and ODCs, or to see additional Winvale blogs, please visit our website.
If you want to learn more about keeping up with your GSA Schedule, check out our blogs:
- 25 Government Contracting Acronyms and Abbreviations
- I Have a GSA Schedule Contract--Now What?
- Best Practices for Maintaining GSA Schedule Compliance
If you have questions about your GSA Schedule or are interesting in obtaining one, please feel free to reach out to us today.
