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Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) IT Services contract spending
Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) IT Services contract spending totaled $629 million during the first two quarters of FY 2001. During the first two quarters of FY 2002, this figure: A) Fell 6% B) Remained about the same C) Increased 61% D) Increased 225%
MAS contracts are contracts awarded to multiple companies supplying similar products and services to the government at varying prices. In recent years, these contracts have been viewed with increasing favor by contract officers looking to procure commercial items. In 1997, the government eliminated the Discount Schedule and Marketing Data (DSMD) requirements, which called for a series of burdensome reporting and price certifications. In its place agencies adopted the Commercial Sales Practices Format which streamlined reporting and buying procedures, making MAS contracts faster and more flexible to use. What's been the impact on information technology procurement?
To solve this week's quiz we need to compare Product/Service Code Group D (IT Services) dollars awarded on MAS contracts in FY 2002 Quarters 1-2 with dollars awarded on MAS Group D contracts awarded during the first two quarters of FY 2001. You will need access to both the '01 and '02 discs to answer this question. Rather than go into explicit, step-by-step detail, here is a quick description of the process needed to set up the comparison:
Start with the FY 2002 disc. Switch to the Product/Service Code Active View Screen . Clear any pre-existing filter criteria by clicking the Clear View button in the View Definition dialog (activated with the funnel icon). Right-click your mouse on any entry in the the PSC Code column, select the Field Search option from the popup menu and enter D (for ADP Services) as your search criteria. Apply the Group D filter and return to the PSC screen.
Next, add filter criteria for Kind of Contract = L (for Multiple Award Schedule contracts). The Kind of Contract field is found in the Contract Fields data group in either the Advanced Search or Search Wizard screens. Apply Kind of Contract = L to your filter and return to the PSC Active View. The selected dollar figure appearing in the blue border stripe at the top of the data grid will say $2.043 billion. This represents the total amount of all Group D MAS dollar awards during FY 2002 Quarters 1-2.
Repeat exactly the same steps just described using the FY 2001 data, with one additional step. In addition to PSC Group D and Kind of Contract = L, set an additional filter on Action Dates = 200009 (September, 2000) through 200103 (March, 2001). This limits your selection to the comparable period covered by the FY 2002 disc. The Action Date filter can be selected off the menu by choosing the first six dates in the field index or simply by typing 200009..200103 in the Action Date search field. You will need to use either the Search Wizard or the Advanced Search feature to set the Action Date filter.
Once you set the filter properly for FY 2001, the selected dollar total appearing in the blue border stripe will say $628 million. This means that from the first two quarters of FY 2001 to the first two quarters of 2002, IT Services spending on MAS contracts grew an astounding 225 percent. The correct answer to this week's quiz is D.
For another eye-opening FY 2002 statistic, switch from the PSC Active View to the Parent Company Active View. The filter will persist from screen to screen, so the company screen shows us all the firms receiving the Group D MAS dollars in the first two quarters of FY 2002. The % of View $ column shows us that out of a total of 163 firms the top 2 companies received over 81 percent of the selected dollars!
It's no wonder many government officials are expressing alarm about contract bundling and fairness in competition. Although properly administered an MAS contract should meet all competitive requirements specified in the FAR, in practice many firms -- particularly small ones -- are being excluded from competing in the federal marketplace. This raises concerns about fairness and long-term cost savings to the government.
Data supplied by Eagle Eye Publishers, Inc.
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