About $40 billion, or 7 plus percent, of last year's $535 billion in total federal procurement spending was awarded through GSA schedules.

The General Services Administration is the central administrative agency of the federal government. GSA is the home of GSA Schedules, a series of over 40 individual IDIQs and many other IDIQ contracts. Taken together, GSA schedules are one of the largest IDIQs. They may be used government-wide by any federal agency and in some cases by state and local government.

The over 40 multiple-award schedules give agencies access to products and services provided by about 18,000 preselected vendors. The agency picks suppliers and negotiates prices, usually discounted based on commercial discounting practices the volume of government purchases. GSA collects a 0.75 percent fee from vendors on most sales through the schedule.

Of the more than 40 GSA schedules, the IT 70 Information Technology schedule is the largest, with total revenue exceeding $16 billion annually. More than 5,000 vendors sell information technology products and services, such as laptop computers and software licenses, to federal, state, and local agencies through Schedule 70. The IT70 schedule remains "the good housekeeping seal of approval" for government-wide acquisition contracts.

This newsletter is an excerpt from Loading the Dice in DC, Legally: Learn the Politics and Realities of Federal Contracting by Fedmarket Founder and President, Richard White.
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Call Fedmarket's sales staff at 888 661 4094, Ext. 2 if you have questions concerning GSA schedules or any other products or services Fedmarket offers.