U'S' GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT

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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
I. U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES

• The U.S. Federal Government is the single largest
  buyer on the face of the earth. Every year, it
  buys hundreds of thousands of different products
  and services. Until recently, foreign firms were
  not allowed to participate in this gigantic
  market.However, with recent changes in the
  acquisition regulations, it is now possible for
  firms in Korea to market their products and
  services directly to the U.S. Federal Government.
  How can a Korean business, like yours,participate
  in this market? You can do it directly or partner
  with a U.S. firm. We specialize in assisting
  firms of all sizes through the navigation of the
  various regulatory and procedural steps required
  to set up contractual relationships with the
  overseeing agency of the U.S.Federal Government.

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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
The procurement for and by the Federal government
is accomplished through a variety of contracting
procedures, which are governed by a host of
regulations. The most popular procurement vehicle
used by the U.S. Federal Government is the GSA
Multiple Award Schedules Program. This is because
the General Services Administration (GSA) acts as
the business manager and purchasing agent for the
Federal Government market, both domestic and
oversees, through the process of competitive
bidding and contracting. During Year 2003, the
GSA contracted for over 28 billion worth of
goods and services under the GSA Federal Supply
Services (FSS). The size of this market is
expected to expand immensely in the near future
as there are considerations for allowing state
and local governments to have access to this
increasingly popular procurement vehicle.
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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
Before a business can sell to the federal
government through the GSA, it must have a GSA
Schedule Contract for specific products and
services. How does one become approved for the
GSA Schedule? One of the divisions of the GSA is
the Federal Supply Service (FSS), which oversees
administration of the awards and schedule
contracts. Included among the list of schedules
are the Information Technology (IT) Schedules,
which cover all computer and computer networking
related products. This area of business should be
of particular interest to Korean firms given
their competitive advantage with respect to many
IT related products and services. During 2003,
the IT purchases by GSA were well over 16
billion. This figure is expected to almost double
over the next two to three years with the
expanding role of technology in the daily
operations of the Federal government.
Currently, there are approximately 100 FSS
Schedules covering a broad range of products and
services. As the needs of the Federal Government
change and as new products and services enter the
market place, the schedules are likely to change
as well.
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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
With the right guidance and market research, the
potential rewards for Korean firms for
participating in this giant market are indeed
high, especially since many Korean firms enjoy a
cost advantage over their U.S. counterparts. The
GSA purchases goods and services on a worldwide
basis for both civilian and military agencies of
the government. This means that Korean firms will
have a special advantage in marketing their
products and services to the U.S. Army, U.S. Air
Force and civilian installations based in Korea.
This can be done under Federal Supply Schedule
(FSS) as well as through contractual
possibilities with Federal Technology Service
(FTS) under its business lines Network Services,
Information Technology Solutions, Security System
Integration, etc.
It is important to note that once your firm is
awarded the GSA Schedule Contract, with proper
assistance and guidance, you can expect a
long-term presence in the market of 10 to 20
years and beyond.
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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
II. HOW CAN YOU GET A FOOTHOLD IN THIS MARKET?

• The following is a brief description of the
  process for businesses of all sizes to market
  their products and services to the U.S. Federal
  Government. To make this process more scalable to
  your needs, it is broken down into four phases
  Phase I Preparation of Proposal, Phase II
  Negotiation and Discussions, Phase III-
  Post-Award Efforts, and Phase IV Marketing,
  Teaming Arrangements and Internal Training.
• In addition, under appropriate circumstances, you
  can also offer marketing and teaming
  opportunities to other Korean and U.S. firms
  under your own contracts with the GSA.

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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
Phase I Preparation and Submission of Proposal
In this initial phase, directly or indirectly,
you shall prepare and submit a proposal offer to
the GSA. This effort will include planning,
analysis, data collection, organizing, and
bringing attention to other myriad details that
form the basis of preparing and submitting an
offer.
Phase II Negotiation and Discussions
Once an initial proposal offer has been submitted
for evaluation to the government, the government
generates requests for contract clarifications
that often result in contract revisions in order
to ensure compliance with government
requirements. You will work closely with the GSA
contracting officers and guides its clients
through the process of proposal clarifications,
revisions and ultimately in the preparation of
Best and Final Offer (BAFO), pre-award audits,
and negotiations for contract award.
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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
Phase III - Post-Award Efforts
In this phase of the process, you will comply
with all aspects of contract requirements and/or
contract modifications as may be required or
otherwise in your best interest. GSA's
acquisition regulations require that the
contractors, at all times, offer to the
government their best possible price. You will
continue to comply with needed contract
modifications resulting in price increases or
decreases, spot price reductions, addition of new
products or services and deletion of old lines of
products or services, and otherwise maintain an
effective Price Reduction Compliance Program. You
must also comply with Industrial Funding Fee
(IFF) reporting requirements and spot and
post-award audits.
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U.S. GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT
Phase IV Marketing, Teaming Arrangements, and
Internal Training21
Whenever there are mutual interests, you will
also offer firms in the U.S.A. as well as in
Korea teaming opportunities under their own GSA
Schedule Contracts (For example, DUCOMs
available GSA Schedule Contracts GS-35F-5423H,
GS-23F-0307K GS-07F- 5947P), whereby they will
undertake all marketing aspects of the contract
as well as pre- and post-award negotiations and
general supervision of the contract in all areas.
The regulations require that the teaming partners
have an approved GSA Schedule Contract. In
conjunction with Phase I through Phase IV
directly or indirectly, you should conduct
internal training for your staff on a host of
issues pertaining to GSA Schedule Contracts- such
as reporting requirements, Terms and Conditions,
FAR Regulations, Blanket Purchase Agreements
(BPAs), Teaming Arrangements with other companies
to increase the scope of delivering product and
service solutions, Certificate of Competency
Program (COC), Leasing, Ordering Procedures, GSA
Advantage! (an on-line ordering system- now,
contractors are required to submit their products
and services and associated prices through this
electronic medium), Economic Price Adjustment
(EPA), Price Reduction or the Addition of
Schedule Items/Special Item Numbers (SINs), and
cost-benefit analysis, Trade-Ins, etc. You will
also provide regular news bulletins to help your
staff stay abreast of the new regulations or
general issues of interest to your business in
this procurement arena.