GSA Schedule Holder – Are You an OLM Participant?

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If you are a GSA Schedule holder and are not familiar with the term OLM ‘Order Level Materials’ – you need to be!

GSA, as part of their efforts to deliver best value commercial solutions to government agencies through the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program enacted the OLM rule earlier this year. It’s one of many initiatives that GSA is undertaking to bring flexibility to government buyers, streamline the procurement process, expand business opportunities for schedule holders and promote innovation.

What are OLMs?

  • Supplies or services acquired in direct support of task or delivery order placed against a Schedule contract or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) (no more than 33.33% of the order, excluding travel costs).
  • The type and quantity of supplies or services are not known at the time of Schedule contract or BPA award.
  • Prices of OLMs are not established at the Schedule contract or BPA level.

OLMs are a game changer for all! There are numerous benefits to both the Schedule contract holders (Industry Partners) and the customer ordering agencies.

Benefits to Contract Holders and Customer Agencies

GSA has created flexibility for Schedule Contract holders by allowing the sale of supplies and or services not approved on the contract. This opens doors to compete for more orders and removes entry barriers to the marketplace, particularly for small businesses. Now you can offer a comprehensive listing of products and services without having to go through a formal ‘add’ modification process to your contract.

For customer agencies, OLMs reduce administrative and transaction costs relative to contract duplication and the need for additional contracts for ancillary work respectively. Ordering agencies still have to make a fair and reasonable price determination for all OLMs but its accomplished through a more effective and streamlined approval process.

In adding this capability to the schedule contracts, OLMs not only improve the ability to position the Schedules as the commercial, best value contract vehicle; it also has a great impact across the entire MAS program to deliver best value to the American people. For schedule holders and customer agencies alike, this is a win-win proposition.

Implementing OLMs – Get Up to Speed

As you prepare for 2019, now is the time to get up to speed on the mechanisms that will benefit your bottom line and save time and money. OLMs are one such step forward for GSA and Industry Partners. There are guidelines associated with OLM participation with which you should be familiar. Please take the time to attend a GSA offered webinar or visit their website for more information.

GSA is offering a webinar on December 20, 2018 from 10:00pm-12:00pm EST titled, “GSA/FAS Order Level Materials (OLM) Briefing for Industry Partners”. This session will provide training on the new Order Level Materials GSAR rule. For webinar details click here.

In addition, you can visit GSA’s Order-Level Materials home page at www.gsa.gov/olm  for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and the most up-to-date information on this initiative.

Still have questions?  We’re here to help. Please contact us at denise@clearcoastusa.com.

 

 

government fiscal year 2019 playbook

What’s in Your Gov 2019 Playbook?

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Now is the time to create a winning game plan.

It’s the start of a new government fiscal year…a new season to get your game plan together if you haven’t already begun to do so for FY2019. What strategies are in your playbook for increasing business within the government? Is your sales team equipped with all the resources, knowledge and offensive and defensive tactics to move forward? In short, will you be ready to score when opportunity and timing come together?

A favorite Charles Schulz cartoon of mine is one in which Lucy is holding a football for Charlie Brown to kick. Just as Charlie brings his leg forward Lucy pulls the ball away and Charlie falls to the ground. Poor Charlie Brown. If only he knew what he didn’t know.

Building a strong team requires a leader (coach) who can help players (sales team) realize what is possible. Now is the time to decide what that game plan will look like and with a strong coach craft your FY2019 government game plan.

What worked for your company in FY2018? What didn’t work? Are there new products/services your company is introducing to the government market? How are you planning to market and sell these items to your targeted government customers? Are you qualified on at least one government contract vehicle like the GSA Schedule or CMAS contract to help facilitate an easy procurement? Have you identified the barriers to entry or competition in your industry that are preventing you from advancing the game ball?

As a sales team, you must play both offense and defense. Pick up the intensity now and make up your mind that this is the year to push your limits. Go on the offense:

1. Educate yourself on your customer. What matters most to them? What are their pain points? Build a better relationship with them so when it’s time for you to shine on that RFQ or RFP – your customers cheer for you.

2. Build your plan and work it daily. How are you spending every minute of your day as a dedicated sales pro? Identify your daily priorities. Ask yourself is every action contributing to your quantitative sales goals? Do you need to better understand how your customers buy? Are you clear on the value of what your products and services provide? Not the features but the value!

3. Understand and use the tools at your disposal. What are your teammates doing to help improve their tactics? Are you plugged into the daily online digests of the government world which keep you abreast of the latest and greatest? Operating in a vacuum is not a good tactic. How are you identifying opportunities or getting the inside track on early forecasts from agencies? Are you qualified on pre-approved contract vehicles and do you understand how to leverage these contracts to win business?

While offensive moves are aimed at scoring points off opportunities created from a favorable field position, one would be remiss in ignoring the aggressive defense stance which a sales team must embrace as well. Go on the defense:

1. Don’t be afraid of transformation. Category Management (CM). Best-in-Class (BIC) Solutions. Spend Under Management (SUM). If these terms are not familiar to you now – they should be as Federal Acquisition practices continue to improve to create a more innovative, efficient, and effective acquisition system. There is a strong focus on transforming the government marketplace to create a new model for Federal contracting. Get with the program and understand how this transformation will impact your B2G strategies.

2. Pick up the intensity on a winning attitude. Each day you should value your effort as an individual, a team and a company as an accomplishment or a failure. As this season evolves, don’t have an attitude that all you must do is survive, “I’m not equipped to lead”, or “all I have to do is excel at my position.” The team is too important to let any of these attitudes cripple it. Don’t let yourself begin to thing from a singular viewpoint, teams win, individuals don’t.

3. Bring in the Special Team. It’s not the most exciting part of working with the government, but a contract consultant can be extremely valuable in making the difference between winning and losing. A good “Special Team” has an in-depth knowledge of the government marketplace, how to help position a company for success, and how to obtain or qualify a company for value-added contract vehicles to streamline the buying process. They are your subject matter experts and can help you get the job done when you need them most.

So, for this season (FY2019) set the bar high. Do not accept mediocrity within yourself or your teammates. The government needs industry like you more than ever. Believe it and you will find yourself dancing in the end zone. Now go make it happen.

CMAS

No Time to Wait: Building Safer Communities through GSA and CMAS

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Tragic incidents by active shooters at K-12 schools are solidly in the crosshairs of law enforcement, politicians, the public and security focused companies with smart technologies for detection, surveillance and protection of assets. It is on everyone’s mind and everyone has an opinion of what can be done, should be done and must be accomplished to protect students.

State and local law enforcement and public schools are seeking rapid and proactive security strategies which enable increased collaboration between city officials, security leaders, law enforcement and first responders. The goal: keeping school campuses and communities safe. When this goal is strategically combined with today’s smart technologies the result is an integrated threat response solution with the sole purpose of rendering a safe environment.

To facilitate a streamlined buying process of these technologies, contract vehicles such as GSA’s Cooperative Purchasing Program and the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) are enabling state and local agencies immediate access to these products and solutions while simultaneously abiding by contract terms and conditions.

Through the Cooperative Purchasing Program, GSA Schedules 70 and 84 vendors for Information Technology and Homeland Security products/services respectively, provide today’s law enforcement and city/county agencies with much needed technology. Such technology includes: Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, shot-detection sensors, access control, surveillance/video cameras, data analytics, mobile devices, cloud based storage, data management and other relevant IT and security systems.

Vendors qualified under the California Multiple Award Schedules (CMAS) program are able to bypass traditional procurement methods by offering such pre-approved product/service solutions at pre-negotiated prices.

“It’s critical that our public agencies like school districts have access to solve their problems effectively with true partners and not just bidders,” comments Jason Eatmon, VP & Principal of Development Group, Inc. in Redding, CA. “Furthermore, districts are under pressure to provide solutions quickly and affordably. CMAS empowers them to do just that. Through CMAS, DGI has been able to immerse ourselves into the true needs of our customers and provide essential and meaningful solutions to our customers that are both effective and affordable.”

Through the GSA and CMAS procurement vehicles vendors are able to quickly offer innovative and intelligent technologies which build a high level of situational awareness to enhance safety in today’s most critical environments. When time is of the essence vendors and government decision makers need contract vehicles like GSA and CMAS more than ever.

To discuss how your company can help build safer schools and communities through a GSA and/or CMAS contract – contact ClearCoast.

Become a CMAS Contractor CMAS California Multiple Award Schedules

Are You a CMAS Supplier?

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Want to boost your sales with California State and Local government agencies? If so, you might want to consider the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) program.   The government marketplace can be challenging and risky for the uninitiated and even for seasoned veterans. Responding to RFQ’s and bidding on RFP’s can easily strain the resources of a company engaged in this marketplace.

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What is CMAS? California Multiple Award Schedules

What is CMAS?

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California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) agreements are established with contractors registered in the State of California to sell information technology and non-information technology products and services to California State and Local government agencies. CMAS operates as a streamlined procurement option, offering competitively assessed and pre-negotiated products and services.

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