U.S. General Services Administration
Implementation of Order-Level Materials Improves the Schedules Program
Post filed in: Acquisition | Federal Acquisition Service | Policy
GSA is pleased to announce one of the biggest improvements to its Schedules Program since its creation: the Order-Level Materials (OLM) initiative is now live. GSA announced the final General Services Acquisition Regulations (GSAR) rule, which will make it easier for customer agencies to buy, and industry partners to provide, complete procurement solutions through the Multiple Award Schedules program, in January 2018. The rule means that on select Schedules,agencies can now acquire not just the products and services they’ve come to rely on from GSA, but also the associated items required to make use of them, at the order level. Previously, several additional contracting actions may have been needed to acquire those ancillary services.
This ability to include OLMs in Schedule orders was long-sought by both customer agencies and industry partners and quickly became a priority for GSA’s regulatory reform task force. The final rule allows for the procurement of “total solutions” without the need for separate procurements, makes GSA’s Schedules Program faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before and aligns strongly with GSA Administrator Murphy’s priorities to reduce duplication and increase competition.
By giving agencies the flexibility to easily acquire needed materials at the order level, the OLM initiative creates consistency between the GSA Schedules Program and other established indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts. This will result in a more consistent application of policies and better value for customer agencies, industry partners, and taxpayers. We believe this will also reduce duplicative and inefficient contracts and remove barriers to entry into the federal marketplace (especially for small businesses).
On June 18th, GSA began refreshing solicitations and issuing modifications to existing contractors to formally implement OLM authority under select Schedules (see www.gsa.gov/olm for a listing). GSAR clause 552.238-82 Special Ordering Procedures for the Acquisition of Order-Level Materials was incorporated into contracts under OLM-authorized Schedules, providing procedures on how to take advantage of the new authority to include OLMs under Schedule orders. These procedures, combined with a new Special Item Number (SIN) for Order-Level Materials, will allow customer agencies to easily add OLMs to Schedule orders.
Finding OLM contractors is as simple as searching for the “Order-Level Materials” SIN in GSA eLibrary. When a Schedule contract includes this SIN, the contractor is eligible to quote OLMs in response to RFQs, which means you can include OLMs in your Schedule orders. A link to the GSAR special ordering procedures has been added in FAR Subpart 8.4 alongside existing Schedule ordering procedures in order to reinforce the new OLM authority and increase visibility to ordering activities.
The Order-Level Materials initiative home page at www.gsa.gov/olm is your one-stop shop for everything OLM and includes sections on the basics of OLMs, ordering guidance, training materials, frequently asked questions, and more. Please bookmark this page as we will be updating the initiative frequently.
GSA is excited to finally be able to share the OLM initiative with you - it makes the GSA Schedules Program an even better way to meet the government’s procurement needs. If you have any questions about the initiative, please contact us at olmquestions@gsa.gov. We’re here to help you every step of the way.