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GSA to Release MAS Solicitation Refresh #01 in January 2020

By Global Services on Friday, January 10, 2020

On October 1st, 2019, GSA released their much-anticipated Consolidated Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation, #47QSMD20R0001. Since then, the GSA team has been hard-at-work creating Refresh #01 to best suit the needs of government and industry partners. On January 8th, 2020, the team from the MAS Solicitation Office led a webinar to announce the changes Refresh #01 will bring to the Schedule. In this blog, we provide an overview of GSA’s planned changes for MAS Solicitation Refresh #01.

SIN Updates in Refresh #01

Refresh #1 will include minor corrections to Special Item Number (SIN) notes or descriptions:

  • “SIN Title for 332510 changed to ‘Hardware Manufacturing (Hardware Store, Home Improvement Center, or MRO -Services).’
  • SIN Description for 332510 revised to remove reference to legacy Schedule 51.
  • SIN Title for 325320 changed to ‘Pest and Animal Control Products & Services.'”

The following SIN mapping corrections will be made:

  • “Legacy SIN 75 210 now maps to new SIN 339940SVC.
  • Legacy SINs 871-1, 871-2, 871-3, 871-4 now map to new SIN 541715 (in addition to previous mapping).
  • Legacy SINs 871-3, 871-4 now map to new SIN 541330ENG (in addition to previous mapping).
  • Legacy SIN 871-211 now map to new SIN 541690 (in addition to previous mapping).”

SIN Scope corrections will be made for the following:

  • “ANCRA – Ancillary Repair and Alterations will now map to the following 8 Subcategories:
    • Facilities Supplies
    • Facilities Solutions
    • Facilities Services
    • Furniture Services
    • Machinery and Components
    • Industrial Products
    • Structures and
    • Logistical Services.”

Note: Contractors can find these changes in red highlights in the updated Available Offerings Attachment.

Technical Volume Updates in Refresh #01

Dun & Bradstreet’s abrupt announcement that they would be discontinuing their Open Ratings Report left contractors scratching their heads and GSA racing to adjust the MAS Solicitation’s past performance requirements. In this Refresh, GSA will clarify that Open Ratings has been retired and contractors are to demonstrate past performance through three (3) or more Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports. If the contractor is unable to do so, they must submit a list of customer references, as outlined in paragraph (j)(2)(ii)(C). The Refresh will also include a passage that affirms the use of the Open Ratings Report from customers who purchased the report on or before December 06, 2019. Open Ratings reports are only valid for one year, so by the end of 2020, the Open Ratings option will have been phased out altogether.

Provision Updates in Refresh #01

SCP-FSS-001 Provision Updates

This instruction to all offerors was updated to identify where Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) (formerly known as Service Contract Act (SCA)) wage determinations are located. The Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) advisory for supporting documentation was also updated to reflect that, while supporting documentation is not required, the government may request cost or pricing data if market research does not determine the offer to be Fair and Reasonable.

SCP-FSS-007 Provision Updates

The following Provision Updates will be made:

  • “SCP-FSS-007 Special Proposal Instructions for Order-Level Materials (OLM) SIN was updated to:
    • Reference the new clause numbers implemented by GSAR Admin Case 2013-G502.
    • The clauses referenced in paragraphs (b) an (i) are updated as follows:
      • Special Ordering Procedures for the Acquisition of Order-Level Materials from 552.238-82 to 552.238-115.
      • Price Reductions from 552.237-75 to 552.238-81.
      • Submission and Distribution of Authorized FSS Schedule Pricelists from 552.238-71 to 552.238-77.”

Implementation of 2nd Interim Rule 2018-17

The first interim rule (84 FR 40216) added a provision at FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment, which required contractors to represent (on an offer-by-offer basis) if they will/will not provide any covered telecommunications equipment or services to the Government. In the case that they will provide such services, contractors are required to present additional disclosures.

The second interim rule is intended to reduce that burden by updating the System for Award Management (SAM) to allow offerors to mark annually if they offer telecommunications equipment and services. The contractor may mark “does not” in the new annual representation in paragraph (v) of FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items, to skip the offer-by-offer representation within the provision at FAR 52.204-24. This interim rule will make updates to FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items to add the annual representation at FAR 52.204-26.

Clause Updates in Refresh #01

GSA announced clause changes in this Refresh will be administrative in nature, such as deleting expired deviations or outdated references.

Expiration of FAR 51 Deviation

  • “The FAR 51 Deviation expired on October 23, 2019 and cannot be utilized on orders awarded after that date.
  • Accordingly, clause CI-FSS-056 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 51 Deviation Authority (Federal Supply Schedules) (JAN 2010) will be deleted from Regulation (FAR) Part 51 Deviation Authority (Federal Supply Schedules) (JAN 2010)
  • The following FAR clause deviations will be deleted and each clause will be retained in the solicitation:
    • 52.237-3 CONTINUITY OF SERVICES (JAN 1991) (DEVIATION I – MAY 2003)
    • 52.247-32 F.O.B. ORIGIN, FREIGHT PREPAID (FEB 2006) (DEVIATION I – JUL 2008
    • 52.247-34 F.O.B. DESTINATION (NOV 1991) (DEVIATION I – MAY 2003)
    • 52.247-39 F.O.B. INLAND POINT, COUNTRY OF IMPORTATION (APR 1984) (DEVIATION I – JUL 2008)
    • 52.247-65 F.O.B. ORIGIN, PREPAID FREIGHT–SMALL PACKAGE SHIPMENTS (JAN 1991) (DEVIATION I – JUL 2008)
  • The following FAR clause will be deleted and the base version will be added in the solicitation:
    • 52.216-18 ORDERING (OCT 1995) (DEVIATION II – FEB 2007).”

GSAR Clause Updates

  • The following clauses will be updated:
    • “552.238-77 SUBMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION OF AUTHORIZED FEDERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULE PRICE LISTS (XXX 2019) –  removes references to paper mailing lists and submission of hard copy price lists.
    • 552.238-82 MODIFICATIONS (FEDERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULES) (XXX 2019) – removes references to hard copy modifications and submission of hard copy price lists.
    • 552.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2018) (DEVIATION – FEB 2018) (ALTERNATE I – JAN 2017) (DEVIATION – FEB 2007) – will clarify the Contracting Officer’s (CO) right to terminate the contract.
    • 552.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2018) (DEVIATION – FEB 2007) (DEVIATION – FEB 2018) – will clarify the CO’s right to terminate the contract.”

FAS Clause Updates

The following clauses are subject to updates:

  • “I-FSS-600 CONTRACT PRICE LISTS (OCT 2016) – removes references to the submission and distribution of paper price lists.
  • The following clauses will be updated to reflect that the updated clause number for the Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting clause is 552.238-80:
  • I-FSS-40 CONTRACTOR TEAM ARRANGEMENTS (JUL 2003)
  • G-FSS-900-C CONTACT FOR CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION (JUL 2003)
  • I-FSS-106 GUARANTEED MINIMUM (NOV 2018).”

All Schedule changes mentioned will be in effect when GSA releases their final Refresh #01 on or around January 15, 2020. Keep an eye out for the changes here. If you would like to learn more about this Refresh, our President & CEO joined Nextgov to discuss the implications.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the changes, please reach out to GSA’s MAS PMO. If you need help submitting an offer under the new Solicitation, please contact our GSA Schedule experts!