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In order to help Federal agencies make necessary IT-related purchases, GSA originally established the Information Technology (IT) Schedule 70, a Multiple Award Schedule that enables commercial business suppliers to provide IT-related products, service and support to the government; now state and local governments are learning that they can benefit too. GSA Schedules work by lowering both search and procurement costs for prospective government buyers, allowing for convenient comparisons by way of price, quality, delivery and other value-added services. GSA Schedules assure government purchasers that funds are being spent in a manner favorable to the taxpayer. By utilizing GSA Schedule contracts, GSA leverages the tremendous volume of government buying to apply downward price pressures on needed products and services; in the case of Schedule 70, this means less expensive Information Technology acquisitions.

In addition to Federal agencies, state and local government agencies are also allowed to make purchases from the Information Technology (IT) Schedule 70 under the GSA Cooperative Purchasing Program. Section 211 of the E-Government Act of 2002 amended the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, allowing states and local governments access to “cooperative purchasing”. Through cooperative purchasing, the state and local purchasing agents can receive the same cost savings as Federal buyers as well as enjoy the same streamlined purchasing processes. State and local agencies currently utilizing IT Schedule 70 include states, counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, public housing authorities and Indian tribal governments across the United States. These agencies, through cooperative purchasing, have voluntarily made purchases from categories including: IT equipment purchases, software licenses, firmware, professional IT services, classroom IT training, maintenance and leasing or rental of IT equipment. Not all states or localities choose to participate, nor is every contract under Schedule 70 open to use by state or local agencies.

One market research firm examined state and local government usage of GSA IT Schedule 70 and issued a report, noting that 87 percent of Schedule 70 use by state and local entities falls within five categories: wireless services, software maintenance, perpetual software licenses, IT equipment, and IT services. Examining state and local orders from 2003-2008, the firm found that total sales were $521.8 million in 2008, which is more than double the total reported in 2006. Further, the report states that quarterly sales are up 40 percent during the first quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, and concludes that contractors could expect more cooperative purchasing among state and local government buyers, suggesting that vendors should consider marketing the GSA Schedule 70 to state and local buyers.

At the outset of 2009, the General Services Administration began making changes to allow for more responsiveness, a benefit to contractors involved with IT Schedule 70 programs. It was announced that GSA contract specialists would become more focused, attending to a smaller number of contracts while being supported by an increased number of managers. Sales across the program’s 5,000 plus contracts have been at or slightly above $16 billion in recent years, and according to Mary Powers-King, director of GWACs and IT Schedule 70 programs at GSA, one important objective is to track and report data revealing sales trends for Schedule 70. The expectation is that such changes should lead to improved satisfaction for schedule participants. Of course these changes comprise a significant undertaking, and with Schedule 70 being the largest schedule, it is reasonable that these sought after improvements will take some time. The benefits for improving Schedule 70 operations, however, are likely to be worth the effort given the comparatively high levels of current participation and the strong impetus for increased future participation in IT Schedule 70 programs — at both the national level as well as state and local levels.

It is likely that state and local governments will increasingly utilize GSA IT Schedule 70 as resources remain scarce, that is, less available to devote to procurement activities. Also, the majority of companies on GSA Schedules are small businesses benefiting from web access to their products under pre-negotiated arrangements. With regard to IT Schedule 70, state and local agencies can conduct market research, locate vendors and place direct orders online at the GSA Advantage web site when engaging in the Cooperative Purchasing Program. State and local agencies are allowed to modify these GSA contracts so long as such modifications do not conflict with the terms and conditions of the GSA Schedule contract. The Cooperative Purchasing Program places no restrictions on how or when the products and services may be used. However, schedule contractors do have the choice of deciding whether they are receptive to fulfilling orders placed by state and local agency buyers. A list of these contractors is available online from the GSA Advantage web site, which offers a “Cooperative Purchasing” search option for those state and local agencies that are attempting to utilize the site for purposes of making IT Schedule 70 purchases. On the GSA Advantage web site, users can select “Schedules e-Library” from the navigation buttons at the top center of the home page. The e-Library page that is returned displays a right column that contains a “State and Local Governments” section that specifically focuses on Cooperative Purchasing, providing a link to view participating vendors and related FAQs. One of the many benefits of GSA Advantage web access is to help “authorized” state and local government entities, along with Federal purchasing officials, acquire Information Technology-related products, services and support via GSA IT Schedule 70 and enjoy the many benefits of doing so.

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A good reason to pursue GSA contracting is the tremendous number of opportunities to sell to the government, regardless of your product line or service. The government procures just about any and every product and service. When you are approved for a GSA Schedule, your company inventory or list of service offerings is uploaded to the GSA Advantage website, making your products and services accessible from the online catalog of the government. GSA Advantage is frequented by government purchasing agents, who regularly make purchases and search to locate new suppliers. The GSA claims that the GSA Advantage web portal receives over 1 million visitors per week, with over 30,000 orders being placed per week. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that GSA Advantage offers fantastic market exposure for businesses selling goods and services to Federal, state and local buyers through GSA Schedule Contracts.

Second, with respect to marketing, generally, being a GSA Schedule Holder often improves the  perceptions of a company. To be sure, a company that can show that it is certified to supply a product to or perform a service for the government is likely to be seen as more reputable. To supplement current marketing activities to non-government buyers, signification of a GSA Schedule Award designates that a business has been certified to do business with the government. A GSA Schedule Award can be used for marketing purposes, that is, to promote a business directly with clients through websites, brochures and company literature. Let your certifications with the government serve to help expand your customer base with more work contracts. Let  potential customers know that your company has essentially been vetted by the Federal government and is considered to be both a legitimate and a competent business. Again, offering proof that your company is approved to do business with the Federal government is a selling point.

In a market where various sectors of the economy are suppressed, specific types of businesses are underperforming and many infrastructure-related projects are warranted, the government is increasing spending in order to counter balance negative economic pressures. In fact for fiscal 2009, federal spending is expected to account for nearly $1 out of every $4 in the US economy. From a business standpoint, it only makes sense that government expenditures be viewed as an additional revenue stream to get through the current down times and emerge even stronger or else secure greater overall revenues from the added income streams of these government contracts.

Another reason to pursue a GSA Schedule Contract is to earn some of the total government expenditures reserved for small businesses. Government spending, for better or worse, is on the rise as the government undertakes many projects that represent growth opportunities for many businesses. Given “set asides” for small businesses, which are mandated at 23% of total federal contracting dollars, now is the time to learn more about the advantages of the GSA Schedule Contract Program. Federal buyers are in search of small businesses that can reliably supply the products and services that they need to acquire, ranging from Information Technology and Medical Equipment to Office Furniture and Environmental Services. If your company can deliver, many Federal buyers would appreciate the opportunity to spend government funds appropriately with your small business.

Needless to say, it is quite likely that government procurement officials at all levels of government will come to rely more and more on GSA Schedule Contracts for making purchases to lessen the time and effort associated with locating reliable suppliers and negotiating deals more favorable to the taxpayers. This trend of the future is foreseeable, and it is understandable simply in light of the advantages government procurement officials have come to appreciate, knowing that their suppliers, in fact, are GSA Schedule Holders.

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If you run a small business, you are likely trying to make sense out of much of the advice concerning being better prepared to take advantage of President Obama’s stimulus package contracts. While the larger economy is in recession, government spending is on the rise. The Obama administration is injecting massive amounts of funding into the economy via Federal agencies, and much of the strategy rests on an ability to reach small businesses to help generate economic recovery. The question is: In a time of great uncertainty in the marketplace, how can business owners take advantage of government spending in order to improve a company’s bottomline in the short run?

Certainly, GSA Schedules will play an increasingly important role in dispersing stimulus dollars. That is, GSA Schedules will be leveraged by government procurement officials when contracting with commercial companies to get these funds into circulation fast and efficiently. As pointed out by Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, following Obama’s signing of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: “If [agencies] can use existing [GSA] contracts… it’s going to help [agencies] on the time frame immediately,” Davie said. “It will help [agencies] with the firm fixed-price aspect, and it will help [agencies] with competition. Agencies should look first to existing contracts.” Such strong advocacy exposes the core advantages enjoyed by federal agency officials in utilizing GSA Schedules for their purchasing activities. Securing a GSA Schedule assures that federal procurement officials understand that your company is ready to get to work now at a stated, fixed price in a manner considered by federal agencies to have been competitive. Therefore, GSA Schedule contracts have numerous advantages for federal agencies that are integral to the task with which they have been charged—namely, dispersing these funds. As for businesses looking to take advantage of stimulus funding, GSA Schedules are fast becoming the de facto standard for federal purchasing agents. If it makes sense for them, it is likely to make more and more sense for your business.

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