On May 19, 2023, the General Services Administration (GSA) released Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation, Refresh #16 and its correlating Mass Modification (Mod). In a previous blog, we put a magnifying glass to Draft Refresh #16’s highly-anticipated Joint Venture (JV) Instructions. Now that the final solicitation is out, we’d like to outline the changes in #16 for MAS vendors, current and prospective.

Refresh #16 Updates Clauses

The solicitation has incorporated clause and provision updates through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-02 and General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) Change 164.

Added:

• 223-9 — ESTIMATE OF PERCENTAGE OF RECOVERED MATERIAL CONTENT FOR EPA-DESIGNATED ITEMS (MAY 2008)
• 232-36 — PAYMENT BY THIRD PARTY (MAY 2014)

Updated:

• 212-5 — CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS – COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (MAR 2023)
• 219-28 — POST – AWARD SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REPRESENTATION (MAR 2023)
• 222-19 — CHILD LABOR – COOPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES AND REMEDIES (DEC 2022)
• 223-2 — AFFIRMATIVE PROCUREMENT OF BIOBASED PRODUCTS UNDER SERVICE AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS (SEP 2013)
• 225-5 — TRADE AGREEMENTS (DEC 2022)
• 232-40 — PROVIDING ACCELERATED PAYMENTS TO SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTORS (MAR 2023)
• 212-4 — CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS – COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (DEC 2022) (DEVIATION – FEB 2007) (FAR DEVIATION – JAN 2023)
• 212-4 — CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS – COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (DEC 2022) (FAR DEVIATION – JAN 2023) (ALTERNATE I – NOV 2021) (DEVIATION – FEB 2007)
• 238-81 — PRICE REDUCTIONS (DEC 2021) (DEVIATION)
• 238-83 — EXAMINATION OF RECORDS BY GSA (MAY 2019)

Deleted:

• 223-99 — ENSURING ADEQUATE COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS (OCT 2021) (DEVIATION)
• 232-36 — PAYMENT BY THIRD PARTY (MAY 2014) (DEVIATION I – MAY 2003)

Refresh #16 Updates SCP-FSS-001 -Instructions Applicable to All Offerors

To reflect recent acquisition policy and program changes, Refresh #16 incorporates guidance on JVs, Small Business Administration (SBA) Size Standards, Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) Wage Determinations, and more. For more details, please see the list below:

1. JV-specific offeror instructions. Refresh #16 includes concise JV instructions, as well as a mandatory attachment. All prospective JV offerors are advised to review the instructions and be mindful to complete and submit the attachments through eOffer. For more information, please visit our previous blog on the JV Guidance.

2. SBA Size Standards. Effective March 17, 2023, SBA’s table of size standards (Manufacturing and Industries with Employee Based Size Standards in Other Sectors except Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade) changes the employee business size standard for multiple North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in the MAS Program.

3. Updated SCLS Wage Determinations. In accordance with current Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) policy, Wage Determination (WD) indexes have been updated. While these updates have no impact on the application of SCLS, current and prospective MAS contractors must update rates and WD numbers in their SCLS Matrices.

4. Changes to Submission and Modification Price Proposal Templates (PPT). Refresh #16 will include new Offer and Modification PPTs. Vendors are advised to grab the latest version from the MAS Scope and Templates page. Key changes include:

• Offer and Modification Products PPTs will now include “Supporting Invoice or Document Number (Initial submittal)” and “Page Location” columns.
• Modification Products and Services and Training PPTs will feature a Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) tab and Non-TDR tab for Economic Price Adjustments (EPA) data.

Refresh #16 Changes Specific Large Category/Subcategory/Special Item Number (SIN)

Slight changes have been implemented for MAS Large Categories, Subcategories, and specific Special Item Numbers (SINs). Please review GSA’s detailed list below:

1. “Office Management (A):

• Mail Management (A04): SIN 561499M – Mail Management, Systems, Processing Equipment and Related Solutions
  • The description of SIN 561499M will be revised to expand the scope of the SIN to include keywords and enhanced descriptions of existing services (i.e., Intelligent Mail Barcoding, Mail Tracking, Address Management, and Postage Meter) to help customer agencies find these services more easily when performing market research.

2. Facilities (B):

• Facilities Maintenance and Repair (B01): SIN 561210FAC – Facilities Maintenance and Management
  • Updated SIN instructions to match the terminology of the SIN subgroups used on GSA eLibrary.
  • Facilities Services (B02): SIN 541690E – Energy Services
  • The description of SIN 541690E will be revised to remove the “Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC)” reference from the SIN description.

3. Furniture (C):

• Packaged Furniture (C07): Revision to Packaged Office Subcategory
  • Updated the Maximum Order Threshold from $5 million to $250,000 for the below SINs:
    • SIN 337121P Packaged Household Dormitory and Quarters Furniture
    • SIN 337127P International Packaged Furniture
    • SIN 33721P Packaged Office Furniture
    • SIN 339113P Packaged Healthcare Furniture

4. Industrial Products (E):

• Hardware and Tools (E04): SIN 332510C – Hardware Store, Home Improvement Center, Industrial or General Supply Store, or Industrial Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) Distributor – Catalog
  • Removed the following sentence from the SIN instructions note: “Contractors submitting an offer under this SIN shall include your complete storefront(s).”

5. Information Technology (F):

• IT Services (F03): SIN 54151HEAL – Health Information Technology Services
  • Revised Section I Instructions for IT Offerors, specifically 6) Relevant Project Experience section to: Each completed example of project experience shall have been completed within the last two years. All examples of completed services shall have been found to be acceptable by the ordering activity.
• Telecommunications (F07): SIN 517410 – Commercial Satellite Communications Solutions (COMSATCOM)
  • Revised Section I Instructions for IT Offerors, specifically 6) Relevant Project Experience section to: All completed projects shall have been completed within the last two years prior to submission of the COMSATCOM SIN proposal.

6. Transportation and Logistics Services (K):

• Package Delivery (K03): SINs 492110 – Package Delivery and Freight Trucking & 492110SB – Local Courier Delivery Services (SBSA)
  • Added additional elements such as Most Favored Customer (MFC), Service Description, GSA Rate excluding Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) to the required SIN specific price proposal templates under the Transportation and Logistics Services Large Category.
  • Updated Category Specific Attachment for SIN 492110 – Package Delivery by adding clarification language to inform Offeror’s that certain Freight Transportation services (regular Truckload and Truckload) are to be offered under the GSA’s Freight Management Program. All the core services such as Express Same Day, Express Heavyweight, and Expedited Freight Shipments remain unchanged.
• Transportation of Things (K05): SINs 485 – Ground Transportation & 532111 – Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing – Rental Supplemental Vehicle Program (RSVP)
  • Added additional elements such as Most Favored Customer (MFC), Service Description, GSA Rate excluding Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) to the required SIN specific price proposal template under the Transportation and Logistics Services Large Category.

7. Travel (L):

• Lodging (L02): SIN 531110 – Long Term Lodging
  • Added additional elements such as MFC, Service Description, GSA Rate excluding IFF to the required SIN specific price proposal template under the Travel Large Category.
• Lodging (L02): SIN 531110 – Long Term Lodging
  • Updated Category Specific Attachment for SIN 561599L – Lodging Negotiations and Management Services by adding the definition of Meals to page 2 of the Statement of Work (SOW).
• Travel Agent and Misc. Services (L03): SIN 561510 Travel Agent Services
  • Updated Category Specific Attachment for SIN 561510L – Travel Agent Services by updating definitions for Centrally Billed Account (CBA) and Individually Billed Account (IBA) to GSA SmartPay.”

All current MAS vendors are expected to accept Refresh #16’s correlating Mass Mod within ninety (90) days of receipt and only use the most recent submission templates for MAS Modifications like SIN Add Mods, EPA Adjustments, and more.

If you are a current or prospective MAS contractor and have questions regarding Refresh #16, please reach out to our MAS Experts.