GSA Publishes New Final Rule Incorporating Order-Level Materials into Schedules Program

January 23, 2018

 

Expanding Ordering Flexibility and Functionality Reduces Duplication, Makes it Easier for Customers to Meet Their Missions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a final General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) rule to incorporate Order-Level Materials (OLMs), also known as Other Direct Costs (ODCs), into the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. This rule will make it easier for customer agencies to buy, and industry partners to provide, complete procurement solutions through the MAS program while ensuring excellent value for taxpayer dollars.

This change to the Schedules program provides agencies the flexibility to easily acquire OLMs, creating consistency between the MAS program and other established indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts. Providing agencies with additional flexibility through MAS will result in more consistent application of policies and better value for customer agencies, industry partners and taxpayers.

Alan Thomas, GSA Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service:

“The final OLM rule marks another step forward in GSA’s continued efforts to modernize and transform the Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) program in line with market forces. The addition of OLMs is good for government, industry and taxpayers. This much-needed important new acquisition tool provides our agency customers and industry partners with a streamlined, value-based solution that helps them meet their mission needs while saving time and money. GSA looks forward to continuing to work with our agency and industry partners through implementation to ensure a seamless transition.”​

Jeffrey Koses, GSA’s Senior Procurement Executive:

“Adding the ability for agencies to procure OLMs is an important step forward in ensuring that the Schedules program remains the vehicle of choice to enable agencies’ missions and provide value through federal acquisition. It’s a change that our customer agencies and industry partners have been requesting for many years. GSA anticipates the final rule will reduce contract duplication and the need for agencies to conduct additional costly open-market procurements. This new flexibility will remove barriers to entry into the federal marketplace, drive unnecessary costs out of the procurement process for federal agencies, and make it easier for industry to do business through the MAS program. We thank our stakeholders for the helpful feedback they’ve provided throughout this process, including their responses to the proposed rule published in September 2016 and their reaching out in many other directions.”

The final rule is available on the Federal Register, and builds on the proposed GSAR rule GSA published in September 2016.

About GSA: The mission of GSA is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition and technology services to government and the American people.

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