By Global Services on June 29, 2023

Changes are coming to General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation 47QSMD20R0001. With Refresh #17 and an associated mass modification (mass mod) anticipated in late July 2023, it’s important for MAS contractors to know what lies ahead. To help your business determine the impact of Refresh #17, we’re breaking down each change discussed by the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) in a recent webinar.

SCP-FSS-001 (Instructions to All Offerors) Updates

• “Remove language indicating that proposed pricing must be highly competitive in order to be considered fair & reasonable.
• Add bullet xii. to address obsolete items.
• Remove last sentence in section ix. (508 Standards) as I-FSS-600 provides instructions for providing 508 compliance information.”

Access the Draft SCP-FSS-001 here.

Clause and Provision Updates

• The “Tik-Tok” clause (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Case 2023-010, FAR 52.204–27 – Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application), will be incorporated into the MAS solicitation, guaranteeing that TikTok and other ByteDance Limited applications are not used on technology owned and/or used by the government or contractors during a contract.

Clarification on Sustainability Requirements

Refresh #17 will further clarify sustainability requirements and reference GSA Green Procurement Compilation (GPC), a purchasing resource for federal contracting personnel.

The following language, which will apply to all Large Categories, will be added under Section III A. Terms and Conditions Related to Schedule Contract Administration:

• “The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) requires contractors to identify sustainable products under Federal Supply Service schedule contracts on GSAAdvantage! and other communication media. Contractors should use GSA’s Green Procurement Compilation to determine if awarded products meet federal sustainable purchasing requirements. For task and delivery orders under this contract, unless an exemption or exception applies, products and services purchased by federal agencies must meet the following applicable statutory mandates and directives:
  • Energy efficient products that are ENERGY STAR® certified or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products
  • Biobased products meeting the content requirement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the BioPreferred®
  • Acceptable chemicals, products, and manufacturing processes listed under EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program, which ensures a safe and smooth transition away from substances that contribute to the depletion of stratospheric ozone.
  • Products containing recovered material designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines
  • WaterSense® labeled (water efficient) products and services.
  • Safer Choice-certified products (products that contain safer chemical ingredients)
  • Products and services that meet EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels, demonstrated through third party certification.”

Clarification of JV Requirements

Refresh #17 will update the SF30 Attachment with instructions for existing Joint Ventures (JVs) on the MAS Program. According to the GSA FAS team on the webinar, Refresh #17 will require the following tasks from existing MAS JVs after acceptance of the mass mod:

• Complete and submit the JV solicitation Attachment through eMod.
  • Ensure all documents required by the attachment have been submitted (Ex: Small Business Administration (SBA) Mentor-Protégé Agreement (MPA), JV Agreement, etc.).
  • Resubmit the Price Proposal Template (PPT), identifying which JV partner provides a service, product, or solution.
  • Submit an updated Federal Supply Service (FSS) Pricelist including the required JV information/disclosures and updated Labor Category (LCAT) / Service descriptions.
  • Await contract modification from GSA, if applicable.

Please note that existing JVs should wait until the release of Refresh #17 to submit information.

GSA/SBA 8(a) Partnership Agreement on MAS Update

In June, the SBA and GSA signed a revised 8(a) Program Partnership Agreement (PA). This agreement represents a joint goal for these agencies to increase contracting opportunities for 8(a)-certified firms, particularly through the MAS program. For more information, contractors are advised to note the following changes marked in the Draft Significant Changes Attachment.

The new instructions for offerors are as follows:

• “MAS 8(a) DRAFT Offer Instructions
  • Updated offer instructions for MAS 8(a) contractors will be added to the solicitation.
  • Offerors who are current 8(a) Program participants at the time of their MAS contract offer, will be offered by the MAS CO to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for acceptance into the MAS 8(a) Pool. Current 8(a) program participants must qualify as a small business for the applicable NAICS assigned to the contract and meet all other SBA 8(a) Program eligibility requirements at the time of their MAS offer to be accepted into the pool.
  • Once accepted by SBA, the 8(a) contract will be added to the 8(a) Pool upon award of the MAS contract. MAS 8(a) Pool contractors will receive an icon in GSA eTools indicating that they are eligible for competitive and sole source 8(a) task order awards.”
    • 8(a) pool contractors will be eligible for sole source awards for as long as they remain active in the 8(a) Program and continue to qualify as small for the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the sole source order, at the time of order award.
    • 8(a) pool contractors will continue to remain eligible for competitive set aside awards for up to five (5) years from the date of award, or until representation in accordance with FAR 19.301-2(b) (whichever is first), even after the contractor has exited the 8(a) Program. Ordering contracting officers may request recertification of status in connection with a specific 8(a) order. A contractor that has exited the 8(a) Program cannot represent its status as an eligible 8(a) Participant.”

Large Category, Subcategory or SIN Updates

1. Office Management (A):

• The Category Specific Attachment, 0S4 Business Rules, will further clarify sustainability requirements and reference the GSA Green Procurement Compilation under Section 7.1. This update impacts the following SINs:
  • SINs 339940OS4 – Office Products and Supplies (Office Supplies Subcategory)
  • 339940OVER – Overseas Office Products and Supplies (Office Supplies Subcategory)

2. Facilities (B):

• SIN 561210FAC – Facilities Maintenance and Management (Facilities Maintenance and Repair Subcategory) instructions will be updated to read:
  • “561210FAC includes all services related to the complete operations, maintenance, and repair of federal real property. Real property could include stand-alone facilities and structures such as hospitals and federal buildings to large, multi-facility complexes such as DoD military installations, Services can be offered or ordered individually or in combination. Typical Maintenance services include: elevator, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, septic, fire alarm/fire suppression, energy management control systems (EMCS), water distribution, telephone, water tanks, renewable energy systems, waste management, recycling, etc. This SIN can also be used for facilities management solutions such as to fulfill a requirement for adequate staff/personnel to help manage federal facility operations. In addition, this SIN provides a complete array of facilities consulting and facilities assessment services.”

3. Industrial Products (E):

• SIN 332510C -Hardware Store, Home Improvement Center, Industrial or General Supply Store, or Industrial Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) Distributor – Catalog (Hardware and Tools Subcategory) instructions will be updated to read:
  • “NOTE: Contractors submitting for this SIN must be a hardware store, home improvement center or MRO, and shall include offer a diverse line of products and related services that would normally be found in a commercial hardware store, home improvement center or MRO. Requests that are not diversified in nature will not be considered. Diversity is considered to be a minimum of three (3) or more distinct categories or distinct product groups (not brand names or manufacturers) which may include but are not limited to: flooring, fencing, hardware, building materials, tools, appliances, electrical, paint, plumbing, lawn and garden, motors, shop, machining, welding, material handling, carts/trucks, dock equipment, HVAC, cleaning, irrigation, and related services.”

4. Professional Services (H):

• SIN 541611 – Management and Financial Consulting, Acquisition and Grants Management Support, and Business Program and Project Management Services (Business Administration Services Subcategory) will feature a new subgroup, Program Evaluation Services. Detailed instructions will be featured in the Category Attachment document.

5. Transportation and Logistics Services (K):

• The instructions tab will now omit the term “highly competitive” from the Transportation and Logistics Services Large Category PPT for the following SINs:
  • SIN 492110 – Package Delivery and Freight Trucking (Package Delivery Subcategory)
  • SIN 492110SB – Local Courtier Delivery Services (SBSA) (Package Delivery Subcategory)
  • SIN 485 – Ground Transportation (Transportation of Things Subcategory)
  • 532111 – Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing – Rental Supplemental Vehicle Program (PSVP) (Transportation of Things Subcategory)

6. Travel (L):

• The instructions tab will now omit the term “highly competitive” from the Transportation and Logistics Services Large Category PPT for the following SINs:
  • SIN 531 – Employee Relocation (Employee Relocation Subcategory)
  • SIN 531110 – Long Term Lodging (Lodging Subcategory)

These changes are anticipated for late July 2023. Contractors, make sure to be on the lookout for the solicitation drop on SAM.gov.