The Government Services Administration (GSA) has shut down the GSA Office Supplies 2 (OS2) Contract. Federal News Radio is reporting that large scale protests have Deep Sixed the extension of GSAs OS2 through November. From Federal News Radio: The General Services Administration has suspended government wide use of the Office Supplies 2 strategic sourcing contract. The contract expired on May 31, and GSA tried to extend it to November, but 11 vendors protested the extension. The timely protest to the Government Accountability Office required GSA to put a stay on the implementation of the extra six months.
The General Services Administration, through the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), awarded fifteen Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) for office supplies. The awards are the result of a collaborative team effort among customer agencies across the federal government. Under the BPA’s, discounts increase as the collective purchases grow across the federal government. Through this pricing structure, the vehicle truly leverages the government’s buying power.
Thirteen of these BPAs were awarded to small business entities in which many have participating dealer agreements with over 120 small businesses. This provides a great opportunity to achieve significant savings and meet department-wide socioeconomic goals. In this critical time of reduced budgets, this cross-agency strategic sourcing initiative helps the government to leverage data, dollars and good business sense in meeting acquisition goals.
On 03 April 2014, the Small Business Administration (SBA) ruled that GSA did not conduct an adequate assessment,
SBA ruled April 3 that the General Services Administration did not conduct an adequate assessment of the impact the Office Supplies 3 strategic- sourcing vehicle would have on small businesses. The Small Business Act requires agencies to determine whether new contracts would have a negative impact on small firms. The act also gives SBA the oversight to make sure this analysis is completed appropriately.
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