The GSA Schedules (Multiple Award Schedules) Program establishes long-term governmentwide contracts with commercial firms. These contracts provide federal agencies with access to over 4 million commercial services and products. GSA Schedules provide customers-even those in remote locations with state-of-the-art, high-quality commercial services and products at volume discount pricing. Products and services are delivered directly to the customer.

GSA Schedules offer:

• Blanket Purchase Agreements;
• Contractor Team Arrangements;
• Price Reductions;
• New Technology;
• Continuous Open Seasons;
• Evergreen Contracts;
• Worldwide Coverage;
• Purchase Card Acceptance;
• Environmental Programs/Identification; and
• Section 508 Information on Electronic and Information Technology.

GSA Schedules offer the potential benefits of:

• Shorter lead-times;
• Lower administrative costs;
• Reduced inventories for customers;
• Opportunities to meet small business goals; and
• Compliance with environmental and socioeconomic laws and regulations.

Customers can order services and products:

• Directly from GSA Schedule contractors, or
• Through the GSA Advantage! online shopping and ordering system

Note: When orders are placed against a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract, using the procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4, they are considered to be issued using full and open competition (see FAR 6.102(d)(3)). Ordering offices need not seek further competition, synopsize the requirement, make a separate determination of fair and reasonable pricing, or consider small business programs. By placing an order against a GSA Schedule contract using the procedures in this section, the ordering office has concluded that the order represents the best value and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the government's needs.