The United States General Services Administration (GSA), through the GSA IT 70 contract, offers companies the chance to sell to federal government agencies. Essentially, GSA IT 70 Schedule is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract.

This article will further explore everything there is to know about the GSA Schedule 70.

GSA Schedule 70: Defined

GSA IT 70 is one of the 62 Schedule contracts that the Government Services Administration offers. GSA Schedule 70, otherwise known as IT Schedule 70, is a GSA contract specifically for Information Technology. The GSA IT Schedule 70 is organizationally positioned beneath GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and the Office of Integrated Technology Services (ITS), specifically.

Thus, the General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70 acts as the federal government’s go-to resource for their IT acquisition needs and requirements. Moreover, the GSA IT 70 Schedule gets widely recognized for the advantages it poses, such as cost savings, time savings, wide selection range, and built-in value.

By opting for the pre-existing, pre-competed GSA IT 70 Schedule products and services, government buyers can enjoy an efficient purchase while saving time and money. To establish these claims, GSA took into its hands the initiative to examine the time it takes a government customer to award its own complete and open contract through the GSA IT 70 Schedule contract. Results of over 700 contracts indicate that high-value IT contracts take 25 months to complete on average. Moreover, 77 percent of the 700 contracts examined awarded contracts to businesses already holding GSA IT 70 Schedule  contracts.

Currently, the GSA IT Schedule 70 is considered the largest procurement vehicle and the federal government’s most widely used acquisition offering. Nearly one-third of all MAS contractors contain and are accessible via Special Item Numbers under the GSA IT Schedule 70 contract. Moreover, the validity of GSA IT Schedule 70 contracts has a five-year base period and an additional three five-year option periods.

GSA IT Schedule 70: Benefits

After answering what a GSA IT Schedule 70 is, the question now shifts: Why use it?

GSA Schedule acquisitions get facilitated using full and open competition. Thus, screenings to ensure that prices get deemed “fair and reasonable” and contracts strictly adhere to all applicable rules and regulations have already been undertaken, eliminating the need for further evaluation cycles. Ultimately, GSA IT Schedule 70 allows government buyers to purchase directly from a contractor’s GSA Schedule 70 contract, doing away with unnecessary, time-consuming, and lengthy negotiations.

Through the GSA IT Schedule 70 contract, government buyers are sure to enjoy a vast array of IT solutions such as hardware, software, maintenance, network services, cybersecurity, professional IT services, among other things. More specifically, government customers avail themself of the following benefits:

• Ease of Use: facilitates a streamlined online ordering system using Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs).
• Built-in Value: has a nationwide network of resources, such as complimentary e-Tools, extensive training opportunities, and responsive regional GSA representatives.
• Safe-harbor: ensures assistance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) compliance.
• Variety: provides access to approximately 5,000 industry suppliers, offering millions of products and services.
• Teaming: fixes Contractor Team Arrangements (CTAs), enabling industry partners to collaborate and offer a total solution to satisfy specific customer needs and requirements.

Given the wealth of benefits, the federal government customers can optimize their planning and procurement processes using the GSA IT Schedule 70 contract. Moreover, by opting to purchase using the GSA IT Schedule 70, government customers can leverage GSA’s suite of e-Tools that facilitate market research and provide automated purchasing capabilities.

Additionally, pre-negotiated ceiling prices give way to significant cost savings by providing considerable discounts from commercial pricing and serving as a starting point for fierce competition or more negotiations.

Lastly, GSA IT Schedule 70 offers flexible plans for customer training, both online and in person. This flexibility provides customers the assistance and support they need to complete complex processes in IT purchasing.

GSA IT Schedule 70: Usage and Access

Just like many other contract vehicles that the General Services Administration offer in the Federal market, GSA IT Schedule 70 can be accessed and availed through the following platforms:

• GSA Advantage!: the GSA Advantage! system streamlines online shopping and ordering and provides access to thousands of contractors and millions of products and services.
• GSA eLibrary: the GSA eLibrary provides detailed contract award information for Schedules, technology contracts, and more that are necessary to get the best deals available.

Additional purchasing and ordering resources include:

• GSA eBuy: the GSA eBuy is a powerful acquisition tool that saves buyers time and money. GSA eBuy can be used to submit requests for quotations to contractors.
• e-Resolve: with e-Resolve, customers can ask questions about any product or service offered by GSA, or report problems with GSA Global Supply orders.
• SmartPay Card Services: SmartPay Card Services provides a variety of charge card options to accommodate customer needs.

For businesses to qualify and compete for government contracts, they must first visit beta.SAM.gov and download an entire solicitation under the solicitation number FCIS-JB-980001-B. From there, companies need to provide GSA the following requirements:

1. Dun and Bradstreet DUNS number
2. Obtain a Digital Certificate
3. Register for System for Award Management (SAM)
4. Prepare the offering:
   1. Evaluation factors
   2. Complete SF1449
   3. Vendor response document
   4. Commercial price list
   5. Production point
   6. Commercial Sales Practices Format (CSP-1)
   7. Labor category matrix (for services only)
   8. Proposed Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) mechanism
   9. Proposed price list (Offered Pricing)
   10. Open Ratings Past Performance Evaluation

If this seems too laborious, businesses still have the option to find a federal reseller and negotiate to add their products or services on their GSA Schedule 70 contract.

Conclusion

As the largest procurement vehicle containing nearly one-third of all MAS contractors, the GSA IT Schedule 70 streamlines the IT solutions procurement procedures for federal government customers. Government buyers do not only acquire access to a multitude of state-of-the-art IT products, services, and solutions; they also help small businesses grow as approximately 80 per cent of GSA IT Schedule 70 contract holders are small businesses. The GSA IT Schedule 70 Schedule creates a win-win situation for all parties involved!