Products and Services Where SOW Not Required. For orders not requiring a SOW and under the $2,500 micropurchase threshold, ordering is straightforward where they are placed with any FSS contractor meeting the agency’s needs. Orders without a SOW but at or above $2,500 must be placed with the contractor providing the best value. Elements other than price to be considered include past performance, special features required for performance, trade-in considerations, probable life of the items selected, warranty considerations, maintenance availability, environmental and energy considerations and delivery terms. In addition, buyers must either review GSA Advantage! for available information about supplies or services offered or review the catalogs or pricelists of at least three Schedule contractors. Further, the agency may seek price reductions from the best value contractor but if price reductions are not offered an order may be placed.

Services Where SOW is Required. Order procedures where services require a SOW (services priced at hourly rates) are more complex. The FSS publications and contractor’s pricelists will identify applicable services. When placing orders over $2,500 contracting activities must prepare a RFQ, which can be posted to e-Buy, that must include a SOW and evaluation criteria. SOWs must be performance-based to the maximum extent possible and include a description of the agency’s needs (work to be performed, location, duration, deliverable schedule, performance standards and special requirements). The RFQ must be provided to three Schedule contractors that can meet the agency’s needs and should request firm fixed prices. These requirements also apply to services placed above the maximum order threshold with a further requirement to provide the RFQ to additional Schedule contractors meeting the agency’s needs. No precise number of contractors is specified. When using RFQs, responses are evaluated using evaluation criteria provided. Only the labor hour rates reflected in the Schedules are predetermined to be fair and reasonable so buyers are responsible for considering proposed level of effort and mix of labor to determining whether the total price is reasonable. Though court decisions have ruled FAR Part 15 does not directly apply to FSS task and delivery orders, the GAO views the process as being much like a negotiated procurement.

Blanket Purchase Agreements. The recent July changes to FAR Subpart 8.4 provided guidance on BPAs. Generally, BPAs may be established with any number of ordering activity’s discretion. A buyer can establish a single BPA and can place orders directly under it when a need for the supplies or services arise. If multiple BPAs are established with the buyer the order must be placed with the contractor offering best value. The duration of the BPA should not exceed five years with limited exceptions such as the need to meet program requirements or to exercise option years. The buying agency must review its BPA at least once a year to determine whether the Schedule contract upon which the BPA was established is still in effect, it still represents best value and additional price reductions can be obtained if estimated quantities have been exceeded.

Incidental Item Ordering. The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) mandates full and open competition in government procurement of goods and services. Incidental items, commonly referred to as "open market items" are those supplies and services that a buyer may purchase from a Schedule contractor that are not listed on the Schedule. The government has decided that purchase of such non-FSS items is contrary to CICA and hence buying agencies cannot use FSS ordering procedures to purchase non-FSS items. Nonetheless, agencies are continuing to purchase non-FSS items and numerous cases have ruled that protests against such purchases will likely be sustained.

Contractor Team Arrangements. The ordering process allows for two or more companies to form a "team arrangement" to complement each other’s capabilities to satisfy government needs. Such arrangements take one of two forms: (1) two or more companies form a limited partnership or joint venture to act as a potential contractor or (2) a contractor agrees to team with another company and have it act as a subcontractor. Since each team member holds independent GSA Schedule contracts, with separate price lists, arrangements should be clearly stated where pricing, invoicing, payments warranty responsibilities, recording and reporting sales and remittances are detailed. It should be noted that DCAA often takes the position that prime contractors who bill for subcontractor labor at the prime contractor’s Schedule rates violate the "Payments" clause in labor time and time and materials contracts which limits reimbursement of costs under such circumstances to amounts paid by the prime contractor.