What are the Advantages of GSA?

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As most people in our industry know, GSA (or General Services Administration) was established to help manage the functioning of federal agencies. A major part of the GSA is the Federal Acquisition Service, which is “solely dedicated to procuring goods and services for government.”  The FAS ensures that all business done through the agency is conducted fairly at a predetermined, honest price.  This administration maintains GSA schedules that other agencies are able to utilize to buy goods and services for their own agency.  For Panel Built, we were awarded our GSA contract in December 2010 as a small business concern offering total modular office storage solutions to government agencies at the best quality and best price our industry has to offer. Panel Built is the top manufacturer of prefabricated modular exterior buildings, in-plant office space, and mezzanines to provide for standard applications and custom solutions.  Among some of the tools that the GSA offers is known as GSA Advantage. With GSA and the GSA Advantage, government agencies are able to look directly at our products, specs, and pricing at the most affordable cost and have already been negotiated through GSA.  All information is available through to the public.

Panel Built Contract #: GS-07F-0186X

GSA Advantage is an online service put on by the General Services Administration to allow for purchasing over the internet.  The reason for the creation of GSA Advantage was to allow for a streamlined purchasing agent for government workers and agencies.  Like any regular organization, the GSA wanted to create a more efficient or more “lean” way for products and materials to be bought through them.  Their thinking was an online portal, through GSA, would be the perfect way to directly and instantly connect government workers to the products they were looking for (at a GSA price).  The goal was to reduce purchasing time, provide the lowest possible price, and ensure the sellers are verified GSA Contract holders.  For purchasing agencies, the goods and services available in GSA Advantage are all available through their website, which is constructed similarly to any other online store.  Products can be searched via the sidebar or the search function at the top of the site; specific companies can be easily found through their Contract Number.
In addition to these services, GSA offers CTAs (or Contractor Team Arrangement).  Under a CTA, two or more contractors, who have GSA schedule contracts, will work together to satisfy the ordering needs of a government agency. The CTA allows the contractor to meet the government agency needs by providing a total solution that combines the supplies and/or services from the team members’ separate GSA Schedule contracts. By allowing multiple contractors to satisfy the order, it allows all parties to use their own competitive advantage to supply the portion of the order which they specialize in.  According to GSA.gov, “CTA allows agencies to Procure a total solution rather than making separate buys for each part of a requirement; and satisfy socio-economic procurement goals.” CTAs allow for solutions to government purchasing problems that would be otherwise impossible to satisfy using individual GSA Schedule contract, enabling them to be done quickly and easily.
Overall, GSA allows for the purchasing of billions of dollars’ worth of supplies and goods to all members of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.  GSA Advantage provides potential government customers to download all contact, purchasing, and shipping information from suppliers to ensure each purchase will be easy to navigate. Panel Built, Inc. products under GSA include…

361-10A Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structures for Storage Solutions

361-10B Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structures for In-Plant Solutions

361-10E Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structures for Professional Facility Solutions

361-10D Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structure for Military, Disaster/ Emergency Response, and Medical Facility Solutions

361-10G Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structures for Outdoor Shelter and Security Shelter Solutions

361-10H Pre-engineered and Prefabricated Buildings and Structures for Restroom, Shower, and Laundry

361-30 Ancillary Services relating to Pre-Engineered/Prefabricated Buildings and Structures.

361-32 Installation and Site Preparation for Pre-engineered/ Prefabricated Buildings and Structures

357-11C Warehouse Equipment and Supplies

357-97 Ancillary Repair and Alterations related to Warehouse Equipment Solutions

563-4 Retrofit Roofing Materials, Products and Services

563-23 Doors, Windows, Panels, and Shutters

The average time required by the Federal Government to put a contract in place is 278 days. When placing orders under the GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules, procurement activities need not seek additional competition, draft a solicitation, solicit bids or quotations, make a determination of fair and reasonable pricing, consider set-asides or make award determinations. The GSA has already done that work by negotiating directly with Panel Built. The average time required to place a GSA order is 15 days.  When you are purchasing for your next government project, look us up on GSA Advantage or call in at (800)636-3873 to see how Panel Built can make your project a success.