- The Government may only use the GSA Federal Supply Schedule Program (“FSS”) to procure commercial items (supplies or services) offered under a contractor’s FSS contract at firm fixed, labor hour, and/or time and materials pricing. FAR 8.404. Firm fixed price orders should be used to the maximum extent practicable. FAR 8.404(h)(2).
- Contracting Officers are permitted to “set aside” orders for small businesses under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule Program. FAR 8.405-5.
- Under certain circumstances, a Government buyer may add items to an FSS order that is not offered under a contractors FSS contract. FAR 8.402(f). These items are commonly known as an “Open Market” items.
- Pricing offered under a FSS contract has already been determined as “fair and reasonable” at the time of award. FAR 8.404(d). Notwithstanding, Contracting Officers are permitted and, under certain circumstances, required to request further discounts during the negotiation of FSS blanket purchase agreements (“BPA”) or orders. FAR 8.404(d) and 8.405-4.
- All FSS RFQ exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (that don’t require a statement of work) must be either (i) posted on GSA e-Buy or (ii) sent to a sufficient number of offerors to reasonably ensure that a government buyer will receive proposals from at least 3 contractors. FAR 8.404-2.
- RFQs for services requiring a statement of work are required to contain evaluation criteria (FAR 8.405-2(c)) and must be provided to any contractor who requests a copy of it (FAR 8.405-2(c)(4)).
- Ordering agencies are required to complete past performance evaluations of FSS orders on an annual basis. FAR 8.406-7.
