U.S. General Services Administration
GSA Acquisition Rule Captures Transactional Data, Drives Savings and Eliminates Burdensome Reporting
New Access to Data and Analysis will Help Government Save Millions
WASHINGTON – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a final Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) rule that will reduce unnecessary burdens on contractors and small businesses and potentially save millions of dollars for the American taxpayer. The rule will publish in the Federal Register on June 23, 2016 and will be implemented through a pilot program across GSA contract vehicles.
As one of the most transformational changes to GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules Program in more than two decades, the TDR rule allows GSA to remove some of the complex and burdensome tracking and disclosure requirements imposed on federal contractors -- the Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) disclosures and Price Reductions Clause (PRC) basis of award tracking requirement. GSA estimates that the collection of transactional-level procurement data, combined with the elimination of the CSP and PRC tracking requirement, will result in an estimated net burden reduction of $29 million a year across the Schedules Program and its other government-wide vehicles.
Simultaneously, this rule asks contractors to electronically report key procurement data; including prices paid, quantity, standard part number and product description for all purchases through GSA contract vehicles. The information collected through the TDR will help contracting officers make smarter purchasing decisions and provide data to assist in negotiating future contracts.
Anne Rung, United States Chief Acquisition Officer:
“This is an important step forward for the Administration’s successful category management initiative. For the first time, the federal government will be able to access critical procurement information, like prices paid by government customers for a wide variety of commonly acquired products, to potentially drive hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.”
Tom Sharpe, GSA Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service:
“Collecting and sharing transactional data is essential in order for GSA to provide information that federal buyers need to conduct meaningful analysis and successful negotiations on behalf of the taxpayers. This rule improves GSA’s ability to reduce costs and duplication in the federal marketplace as well as provide the federal acquisition workforce with actionable data that will help them make smarter decisions on behalf of taxpayers.”
From Jeffrey Koses, GSA’s Senior Procurement Executive:
“GSA estimates that the rule’s removal of current burdensome requirements will result in an estimated annual burden reduction of $29 million for vendors participating in Transactional Data Reporting. The rule takes cost out of a cumbersome, duplicative federal contracting world and puts money in agencies’ hands so they can execute the best procurement possible to meet their missions.”
This rule also supports the government’s shift towards category management by centrally collecting and analyzing information on what federal agencies are buying and how much they are paying. This new transparency helps the government leverage its vast buying power and drives competition. Moreover, the rule builds on already-established best practices across the government, including GSA’s governmentwide strategically-sourced contract for office supplies that generated $370 million in savings when it applied this practice. Adding transparency drives better outcomes, greater competition, and will help reduce price variability, which has been known to run 300 percent or more, from one company to another, for the exact same item.
The transactional data reporting requirement will be applied to any new GSA government-wide acquisition contract, where transactional data is not already collected through other methods. For GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules, the requirement will be introduced in phases, beginning with a pilot for select products and services. The pilot Schedules and Special Item Numbers (SINs) to be implemented in a phased rollout approach are:
- Schedule 58 I, Professional Audio/Video, Telemetry/Tracking, Recording/Reproducing and Signal Data Solutions: All SINs
- Schedule 72, Furnishing and Floor Coverings: All SINs
- Schedule 03FAC, Facilities Maintenance and Management: All SINs
- Schedule 51 V, Hardware Superstore: All SINs
- Schedule 75, Office Products: All SINs
- Schedule 73, Food Service, Hospitality, Cleaning Equipment and Supplies, Chemicals and Services: All SINs
- Schedule 00CORP, The Professional Services Schedule: SINs 871-1, 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6, and 7 (Professional Engineering Services)
- Schedule 70, General Purpose Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services: SINs 132-8 (Purchase of Hardware), 132-32, 33, and 34 (Software), and 132-54 and 55 (COMSATCOM)
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