Furniture Assisted Acquisition Service

GSA's Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center (IWAC) provides assisted acquisition and coordination services. The services provided to customers, for a fee, are described below. These services are most successful when performed as partnerships between authorized contractors, the customer and IWAC with the mutual goal of providing timely delivery and installation of quality furnishings at the best possible prices.

Some projects will require the performance of many of these services; other projects will require fewer. The IWAC is always willing to explore new and better ways of doing business. If the IWAC’s standard services do not meet customer requirements, we can customize its services.

To request a requirement evaluation, please review the services and responsibilities outlined below and send an email to furniture@gsa.gov.

Standard Services:

• Obligate and track funding and retain related documentation;
• Review customer's Unicor market survey determination;
• Develop comprehensive procurement strategies (Schedule, Set-aside, Blanket Purchase Agreements, etc.) for all items;
• Conduct/arrange visits to showrooms as appropriate;
• Review and recommend changes to technical packages/Statements of Work (SOWs) for competition;
• Review sources provided by the customer to determine sufficient competition;
• Review, suggest changes, and submit Justification for Limited Source competition to legal counsel for review;
• Issue requests for quotes, analyze quotes, conduct negotiations, and make best value contractor selection;
• Determine offeror performance capability;
• Participate in project meetings via phone and/or video conference, or in person at meetings local to the IWAC project manager*;
       * Travel charges may apply if IWACenter an employee is required to travel beyond his/her metropolitan area
• Perform outreach and procurement tasks to bring open market items under GSA Schedule contracts;
• Negotiate with vendors to obtain additional price discounts on existing GSA contract items;
• Prepare and issue purchase/task orders;
• Track orders with contractors;
• Establish shipping/installation schedules;
• Arrange for installation services, including site visits (actual installation is an additional charge);
• Coordinate furniture/equipment tagging (performed by vendors);
• Arrange for staging and emergency storage (actual storage facility costs are additional);
• Resolve deficiency complaints and punchlist items: minor damage, major damage, missing items, incorrect deliveries, wrong fabrics, etc.;
• Obtain legal counsel when appropriate;
• Manage protests and resolve contract disputes;
• Examine invoices (as appropriate) and work with GSA Accounts Payable to issue payments to vendors;
• Intercede with other GSA entities to resolve invoice/payment issues;
• Provide funds tracking and progress reports;
• Manage funding, funding close-out and de-obligation;
• Recommend quality vendors for those “difficult-to-find” items;
• Arrange for uninstall/reinstall of existing specialty furniture (actual reinstallation etc. is an additional charge).

IWAC Contractor Services:

Services beyond those described above may be obtained through IWAC’s contractors at additional charges. These would include, but are not limited to the following:

• Design and specification services;
• On-site assistance, including dock management services;
• Refinishing/refurbishing services;
• Bar-coding for furniture inventory management;
• Space layout and design services;
• Consolidation and containerization of products for overseas shipment;
• Assets management and maintenance;
• Relocation and reconfiguration of office assets;
• Ancillary repair and alteration;
• Project management services to coordinate all of the above.

Customer Responsibilities:

• Enter into a bilateral Interagency Agreement (IA) with IWAC (required FAS-wide);
• Budget estimate (IWAC can assist);
• Provide project timeline to include construction or renovation dates; space availability and relocation date(s);
• Provide full and appropriate funding for project to match the duration of the project, based on budget developed;
• Provide IWAC with customer Points of Contact/Project Manager;
• Provide competitive technical documents, including clear and complete descriptions of the customer’s requirements, Statement of Work, drawings/space plans, and, if best value determination will be used, those preferences or features that make one product a better value than another;
• Provide information on any products/services that fall outside of “normal” technical documents;
• Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR) – determination of whether UNICOR will be providing any items as a sole source (See FAR 8.602);
• Provide any suggested sources for the desired products/services;
• Provide justification for limited source acquisitions;
• Participate in project meetings as appropriate;
• Provide feedback on project initiatives;
• Notify IWAC immediately of any changes in the project or timeline, especially if related to furniture timelines or space availability.

Additional Notes:

1.  Transportation/Freight Services:

CONUS:  Fees for freight charges incurred within the continental United States (CONUS) are either included in the price of the items or are in addition to the price, depending upon the GSA contract agreement of each manufacturer. Funding for these charges must be included in the requisition document(s) the customer submits for new items and other related services. (IWAC generally arranges for a consolidation point for delivery and staging in large projects. The actual cost of staging and warehousing products is an additional charge.) Note: OCONUS transportation charges are generally extra unless shipped from a local area.

2.  Installation Services:

Installation services are best performed by skilled personnel with knowledge of the product to be assembled. IWAC will arrange for installation services to be performed by contractors. Coordination and communication among the parties is essential because the scope of an installation project varies, dependent upon facility and site conditions, the need for off-site staging/warehousing, transportation to/from warehouse to site, truck restrictions, loading/off loading responsibilities, and security requirements.