Placing orders for order-level materials

Acquiring OLMs

• We do not establish OLM prices in the MAS contract. Instead, the ordering contracting officer is responsible for making a fair and reasonable price determination at the order level.
• You purchase OLMs under the authority of the FSS program, FAR 8.403(b).
• OLMs must not be the primary purpose of your order, but an integral part of the solution.
• You may not use the OLM SIN as a standalone SIN, but you may use it to support other SINs on an order.

Order types

• You can acquire OLMs under any MAS order type, such as firm fixed price, time and materials, or labor hour contracts. You cannot place cost-reimbursement orders under MAS.
• The OLM contract line item number must be T&M, and it can be the only T&M CLIN on the order.
• If you have an FFP order, the OLM CLIN must be T&M, which becomes a hybrid order.

Item category	Allowable contract line item numbers types	FSS contract item	IFF applies	Pricing determination	Procedure
OLM	T&M / LH	Yes	Yes	Order level	GSAR 552.238-115
Ancillary item	FFP; T&M / LH	Yes	Yes	MAS contract level	GSAR 538.270
Open market item	All	No	No	Order level	FAR 8.402(f)

Open market items

• The procedures for buying open market items, as prescribed at FAR 8.402(f), are not applicable to items purchased under OLM procedures.
• FAR 8.402(f) must be used when adding open-market items to a MAS order when the items are not covered under OLM procedures.

Indirect costs

You may allow for indirect costs associated with acquiring OLMs to be included as an OLM line item at the task order level.

Order limit

• OLMs shall not exceed 33.33% of the total cost of the order, exclusive of travel, freight, and open market items.
• An August 2018 technical amendment to GSAR set the Order Limit threshold at BPA level.

Industrial Funding Fee inclusion

All OLMs must include the IFF in the price of each item. Do not add the IFF as a separate contract line item number. The IFF rate is:

• 0.75% (0.0075)
• Included in the computation of the 33.33% OLM limitation amount
• Invisible to the ordering contracting officer (A contractor’s quotation must not itemize the IFF)

Get open-market items added to GSA MAS contracts

Open-market items include:

• Incidental items
• Non-contract items
• Non-MAS items
• Items not within the scope of the contractor’s MAS contract

MAS contractors can request to add supplies and services to their existing contracts. You may ask MAS contractors to make this request if these items are within scope. You can add these items to a GSA MAS BPA or individual task or delivery order only if:

• All applicable acquisition regulations pertaining to the purchase of the items not on the GSA MAS contract have been followed (for example, publicizing (FAR Part 5), competition requirements (FAR Part 6), acquisition of commercial items (FAR Part 12), contracting methods (FAR Parts 13, 14, and 15), and small business programs (FAR Part 19)).
• You determined the prices for the items not on the GSA MAS contract are fair and reasonable.
• The items are clearly labeled on the order as items not on the GSA MAS contract.
• All clauses applicable to items not on the GSA MAS contract are included in the order.

Travel costs

Travel is not considered an OLM, so it’s not in this scope, and these ordering procedures do not apply. Travel costs:

• Are handled by IAW GSA clause C-FSS-370(b)
• Are governed by FAR 31.205-46
• Do not count towards the 33.33% limitation
• Are not subject to the IFF
• May be firm fixed-fixed price or direct-reimbursable contract line item number
• Do not require a time-and-materials determination and findings

You may establish a separate CLIN for travel as direct-reimbursable or priced on an FFP basis, according to C-FSS-370(b), which states “the Contractor may be required to travel in performance of orders issued under this contract. Allowable travel and per diem charges are governed by FAR part 31, and are reimbursable by the ordering agency or can be priced as a fixed price item on orders placed under MAS. Travel in performance of a task order will only be reimbursable to the extent authorized by the ordering agency. The Industrial Funding Fee does not apply to travel and per diem charges.”

Placing your order

Contractors must obtain three quotes

For each proposed OLM item that exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, the contractor must obtain a minimum of three quotes to support the price reasonableness of the item (see GSAR 552.238-115(d)(7)(i)).

If the contractor cannot obtain three quotes, then the contractor must maintain documentation of the reason. The contractor must document the three quotes internally. The three quotes are subject to audit. The ordering contracting officer shall not request access to the three quotes obtained by the contractor, except as a last resort, when all other attempts at determining price reasonableness have been exhausted.

Exception: A contractor with an approved purchasing system per FAR 44.3 is exempt from the requirement to obtain three quotes

Indirect quotes

The contractor may request approval of indirect costs associated with providing OLMs. The ordering contracting officer determines whether to allow indirect costs not included in the FSS hourly rate. Proposed indirect costs must be a fixed amount and not a percentage of the cost and must be inclusive of the Industrial Funding Fee.

If indirect costs are approved:

• The ordering contracting officer must make a determination that all indirect costs approved for payment are fair and reasonable.
• The contractor must submit supporting data in a form acceptable to the ordering contracting officer.

Preparing an RFQ with OLMS

For your instructions to quoters, make sure to identify, under separate contract line item numbers, the labor or materials that are not on the MAS as OLMs. The RFQ should state that:

• OLMs must be in support of the order (i.e. not primary scope).
• The quoter must identify indirect cost as a fixed amount (if applicable).
• OLMs shall not exceed 33.33% of the total cost of the order.
• Any RFQ under an OLM-applicable Schedule may result in a quote with OLMs.

Include language explaining OLMs are negotiated with a Not-to-Exceed amount.

Evaluation

Fair and Reasonable Price Determination

The ordering contracting officer must make an independent determination that prices for all proposed OLMs are fair and reasonable, IAW FAR 15.404 techniques. This determination must be documented in the contract file and can be based on a comparison of quotes received in response to the RFQ or other relevant pricing information.

Compare quoted OLMs (both products and services) to other prices quoted. The ordering contracting officer could check:

• Schedule prices for comparable pricing information
• Other contract vehicles
• Open market sources. (Be sure to ensure that items are Trade Agreements Act compliant, etc. to make sure that you are comparing “apples-to-apples”

Evaluation checklist

1. Is the order being placed against an OLM eligible subcategory?
2. Does the contractor have the OLM SIN incorporated into their Schedule contract?
3. Do OLM items meet the terms and conditions of Schedules? (e.g. commercial items, Trade Agreements Act compliant, AbilityOne compliant)
4. Are travel costs being properly administered?
5. Are indirect costs applied correctly?
6. Is the OLM Contract Line Item Number value less than 33.33% of the order (or BPA)?
7. Has the ordering contracting officer made a proper fair and reasonable price determination?