GSA expects Multiple Award Schedule consolidation finished this year

The General Services Administration expects to complete the third and final phase of its project consolidating 24 schedules for products, services and solutions into one Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) by the end of 2021.

Contractors had until end of day Wednesday to update their price lists so the special item numbers (SINs) and schedule numbers match what’s in the GSA eBuy! and eLibrary systems, which will help customer agencies find contracts more easily.

Now GSA wants MAS holders with multiple contracts to submit their plans by year’s end for consolidating them down to one per unique entity identifier (UEI).

“The rest of this year we’ll be focused on moving companies that have multiple contracts to one [contracting officer], so that you guys can establish your plans for any of these small businesses that do have multiple contracts,” Stephanie Shutt, director of the MAS Program Management Office, said during an ACT-IAC event Wednesday.

Contractors will have potentially the next five years to wrap up existing task orders without moving them over, in a “more natural” shift to one contract that lets the rest simply die off, Shutt said.

MAS consolidation is a “foundational” project for GSA — one of the four pillars of its Federal Marketplace Strategy for streamlining acquisition — that will pave the way for additional projects coming soon thanks to simplified terms and conditions, she added.

Contractors will be able to do e-modifications to their contracts any time to add additional SINs, and small businesses will be able to more easily partner in prime-subcontractor relationships that expand their offerings.

The MAS PMO recognizes it needs to update its systems and simplify contract language moving forward.

“A lot of our systems are old,” Shutt said. “So we are looking to see where we can update those across the board and get everything on a happier level for everyone.”