The General Services Administration will be simplifying its multiple award schedule offerings by taking the currently 24 schedules available for federal agencies to purchase products and services and consolidating them into one, the agency announced Nov. 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReforming our schedules will improve customer service, make it easier for small businesses to access the schedules program, reduce duplication for all our vendors, and allows GSA\u2019s workforce to focus on delivering solutions,\u201d said GSA Administrator Emily Murphy in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an important step in addressing feedback we\u2019ve received from our government and business partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The transition into a consolidated schedule will take place over the course of two years and be comprised of two phases, according to GSA officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first phase will last through fiscal 2019 and focus on developing the new, consolidated schedule and shutting down the old schedules for new contractors. This means that while contractors already on the old, separate schedules can continue to operate where they are, new contracts will be placed on the consolidated schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second phase, taking place in FY20, will focus on moving all of the existing contractors onto the new schedule, as well as consulting with some of those contractors that hold multiple contracts about consolidating those that are made redundant by the new MAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese contractors will keep their same contract number, so that won\u2019t change, and they won\u2019t have to get a new contract. And then when it comes to the actual consolidation for those contractors that have multiple contracts, we will actually provide industry with a couple of options so that we can figure out what works best for each industry partner,\u201d said MAS Program Management Office Director Stephanie Shutt in a press call about the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shutt added that the system for working through those schedules would, for the time being, remain the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe just would be creating a new schedule within the current system, but it is a catalyst to start looking at the ability to improve our systems along the way,\u201d Schutt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the meantime, contractors are being encouraged to keep a \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d approach to their interactions with MAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Alan Thomas, the consolidated MAS will help free up time for the government\u2019s acquisition workforce, which must currently spend more time than is desirable completing administrative work for each of the different schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Counsel, told Federal Times that the consolidation of schedules would also help with the redundancy of expertise in the acquisition workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cManaging 24 schedules means that you\u2019ve got to develop niche expertise in each of them and little cross-fertilization that can go across them. Because [if] you happen to know IT [Schedule] 70, you can\u2019t be much help, because it\u2019s such a different schedule than some of the other product lines,\u201d said Chvotkin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Chvotkin said that even for all of the benefits the consolidation will provide, the transition of such a large grouping of schedules into one is bound to be a difficult process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Richard Beutel, managing principal at Cyrrus Analytics and former congressional committee counsel for IT and cloud acquisition, the combined MAS is likely to be the largest contract schedule in existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve created an enormous contract vehicle; the devil will be in the details on how you administer this enormous system,\u201d Beutel told Federal Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beutel explained that agencies have different processes for interacting with each of the multiple award schedules, and this new combined system will require agencies to create new \u201ccrosswalks\u201d between the previously disparate schedules and their way of doing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n