The General Services Administration (GSA) successfully met its deadline to release its consolidated schedule solicitation on FedBizOpps today, marking progress in the agency’s mission to consolidate its current 24 Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) into a single schedule.
The MAS Consolidation is one of four cornerstones in the Federal Marketplace Strategy – “GSA’s plan to modernize and simplify the buying and selling experience for customers, suppliers, and acquisition professionals” – and GSA’s first major deadline for the consolidation was to release its solicitation by Oct. 1.
Now that GSA has met that deadline, the agency said in a news release today that only new contracts will be placed on the consolidated schedule solicitation, which will not affect contractors already on schedule “until the mass modification takes effect in calendar year 2020.” The release also said that Federal agencies should not experience disruptions to their purchasing practices during the transition.
The new solicitation is organized by large categories and small categories, and GSA said it incorporated the feedback from agencies, GSA acquisition personnel, and industry to develop the final solicitation.
“Specifically, the consolidated solicitation features a simplified format, streamlined terms and conditions, and new categories and Special Item Numbers,” GSA explained. “This new format will make it easier for contractors to offer products, services, and solutions, and for agency partners to find them.”
”We’ve worked hard to make sure our new terms and conditions will meet the needs of our customers, and also streamline and eliminate duplicate contracts,” Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Alan Thomas added. “MAS Consolidation is a triple win – good for federal agencies, industry partners, and our acquisition workforce.”