The General Services Administration is planning to refresh its nearly 60-year-old multiple award schedules program.
Tom Sharpe, commissioner of GSAâs Federal Acquisition Service, wrote in a blog Thursday that FAS is set to issue a mass modification in June for contractors to standardize their part numbers or Special Item Numbers in order to reduce price volatility.
âLack of standardization has resulted in the unintended consequence of price variability, particularly in the products arena,â said Sharpe.
FAS will also bring federal agencies up to date with transactional data such as the prices that other agencies paid for similar products and services.
The agency seeks to modify the Federal Acquisition Regulation and General Services Acquisition Regulation rules in order to incorporate other direct costs into MAS contracts.
Sharpe added that FAS is examining the formation of âan unpriced IT and professional services schedule.â
âWork on this effort will begin in the summer and will provide GSA and FAS leadership with a business model analysis of alternatives that can be rapidly deployed and that leverage modern business strategies, processes and technologies,â he said.