FAR Companion Part 8

Part 8 - Required Sources of Supplies and Services

FC8.103 FC 8.103 Excess personal property.

When practical, agencies should use excess personal property as the first source of supply for both agency and cost-reimbursement contractor requirements. Agency personnel have an affirmative obligation to make positive efforts to satisfy requirements by obtaining and using excess personal property before initiating contract actions, including property that may be suitable for adaptation or substitution to meet specific requirements. This priority ensures maximum utilization of government assets while reducing procurement costs and waste. Information regarding available excess personal property can be obtained through the GSA Office of Personal Property which provides a comprehensive online platform called Personal Property Management System (PPMS) for reviewing and requesting available excess property from across the federal government. Additionally, agencies can make direct contact with GSA or the specific activity holding the property to inquire about availability and condition. For supplies that are excepted from reporting as excess under the Federal Management Regulations (41 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion CFR 102-36.220), GSA will assist agencies in meeting their requirements through direct coordination with the appropriate GSA Personal Property Management office. Contact information for these offices is available on the GSA website, enabling agencies to access nonreportable property that may not appear in standard excess property databases but could still meet their operational needs. FC8.103 FC 8.103 Federal Prison Industries (also referred to as UNICOR) and AbilityOne Program. For UNICOR acquisitions, contracting officers follow specific federal ordering procedures that govern the procurement process for products and services manufactured in or provided by federal correctional institutions. Information about the UNICOR program, ordering procedures, and available product catalogs, are accessible at UNICOR.gov. The ordering process includes Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion coordination requirements with UNICOR representatives and specific timeframes for product delivery that contracting officers consider when planning their acquisitions. For AbilityOne acquisitions, contracting officers may coordinate with their agency's designated AbilityOne Representative and the Commission's AbilityOne Program Manager for products or services that may be available through the AbilityOne Program. This coordination ensures proper compliance with mandatory source requirements while leveraging the expertise of designated officials who maintain current knowledge of available offerings and procurement procedures. Agency AbilityOne Representatives serve as the primary liaison between contracting activities and the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (operating as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission), providing guidance on product availability, pricing, and ordering procedures. The AbilityOne Procurement List identifies all products and services that participating nonprofit agencies are authorized to provide to the federal government under mandatory source procurement requirements. Contracting officers should consult the current Procurement List at ABILITYONE.gov (Procurement List is available under Quick Links on main page). Additionally, GSA maintains a comprehensive website at GSA AbilityOne Partnership that provides detailed information about available AbilityOne products and services, including specifications, pricing, and ordering instructions.

FC8.104 FC 8.104 Use of existing contracts and maximizing commercial buys.

The U.S. federal government leverages its position as the world's largest buyer of goods and services by embracing a common governmentwide approach when procuring through Federal Supply Schedule contracts, governmentwide acquisition contracts, or other indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts established through category management. The benefits of category management are best realized by maximizing centralized ordering of common spend and recognizing the efficiency and cost benefits of leveraging previously negotiated terms and conditions. When supplies or services are unavailable from the mandatory sources listed in FAR 8.103, FAR 8.104 now requires agencies to procure commercial products and services through Office of Federal Procurement Policy designated “required use” governmentwide contracts or blanket purchase agreements (BPAs), unless the head of the contracting activity provides an exception. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion If there is not a suitable “required use” contract or BPA, then the agency should consider other existing governmentwide contracts or BPAs. There are not yet any “required use” contracts or BPAs. These contracts are expected to be a new Tier 4 of Spend Under Management designation and will be separate from “best-in-class” (BICs) contracts, which are designated as Tier 3 Spend Under Management. Use of BICs will continue to be prioritized, but not mandated. At this time, given there are not yet any designated “required use” contracts, agencies should consider other existing governmentwide contracts and BPAs aligned to Spend Under Management (e.g., prioritize Tier 3, then Tier 2 and the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)). Agencies should also consider shared services solutions to fulfill their requirements, particularly when these solutions can provide business or mission functions more efficiently than independent procurement actions. This category management approach aligns with the broader governmentwide strategy of consolidating purchasing power and standardizing procurement approaches to achieve better pricing, improved service delivery, and reduced administrative burden across the federal acquisition community.

FC8.401 A beta release of the Category Management Buying Guide is now available to help the practitioner consider their requirements and effectively navigate buying pathways aligned to category management. FC 8.401 Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations (PTAI) procedures for FAR part 8 RFQ

streamlining. The PTAI provides targeted support for streamlining FAR part 8 ordering procedures by offering proven innovative approaches that agencies can adopt and adapt to their procurements. PTAI evaluation methodologies can be directly applied to Request for Quotation (RFQ) processes when placing orders under Federal Supply Schedule contracts or governmentwide acquisition contracts established by category management. Contracting officers can implement more efficient comparative evaluation approaches that focus on best value determinations rather than Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion lengthy technical assessments. The use of PTAI and other innovative approaches directly support FAR part 8 core objectives of reducing time, complexity, and cost while maintaining acquisition integrity and achieving optimal mission outcomes. Three flexible procedures that a contracting officer can use specific to the RFQ process are highlighted below. See the PTAI for additional information and additional approaches. ● Phased down-select processes. Consider multi-phase evaluation processes that progressively narrow the competitive field through increasingly detailed assessments. Initial phases might evaluate high-level solution approaches and team qualifications, while later phases examine technical details, pricing, and implementation plans from down-selected quoters. This approach reduces the proposal preparation burden for industry while allowing agencies to focus evaluation resources on the most promising solutions. Note this procedure is also useful under the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion ● Exchanges with the best suited quoter. Once the government determines the quotation that is most advantageous to the government based on its evaluation of initial responses, the government may communicate with only that best suited quoter to address any remaining issues consistent with the terms of the solicitation. ○ These issues may include technical and/or price. If the parties cannot successfully negotiate any remaining issues, as determined relevant by the government, the government reserves the right to communicate with the next best suited quoter based on the original analysis consistent with the terms of the solicitation. ● Comparative evaluation. The government may perform a comparative evaluation to select the quotation that provides the best value by comparing responses against the evaluation factors in the solicitation. ○ Rather than assigning ratings to each quoter, the evaluation team ranks quotations against each other or, if sufficient, identifies the top ranked quotation for each evaluation factor. ○ This streamlined approach focuses on documenting the rationale for how quotations rank relative to one another and explaining why the selected quotation represents the best value to the government. The evaluation and documentation should be efficient and proportional to the acquisition's complexity and value.

FC8.401 FC 8.401 Best value determinations under FAR part 8.

Best value determinations for orders placed under Federal Supply Schedule contracts and governmentwide acquisition contracts require a balanced evaluation approach that considers both price and discriminating non-price factors to identify the solution that provides the greatest overall benefit to the government. Unlike traditional competitive procurements, FAR part 8 orders leverage pre-competed contract vehicles where basic price reasonableness has already been established, allowing contracting officers to focus their evaluation efforts on comparative analysis among available contractors rather than extensive independent price analysis. Limit evaluation factors to a manageable number, focusing on evaluation factors that will serve as meaningful discriminators, rather than those already addressed during the umbrella contract awards. The best value determination should demonstrate the rationale for selection. FC 8.401(b) Strategic management of award notices, brief explanations, and protest windows. To avoid unnecessarily extending the protest window, the acquisition team led by the contracting officer should prepare to quickly provide a brief explanation when requested after making award decisions and notifying unsuccessful offerors. This timing consideration is relevant because unsuccessful offerors generally have 10 calendar days to file a GAO bid protest from the date the basis of protest is known. Note that an automatic stay of performance at GAO is 10 days after contract award. Please note that if the last day of the computation period is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, then the deadline for filing is the next day the protest venue (e.g., GAO, soliciting agency) is open. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion analysis among available contractors rather than extensive independent price analysis. The best value determination should demonstrate the rationale for selection. FC8.401(b) Strategic management of award notice, debriefing, and protest window. To avoid unnecessarily extending the protest window, the acquisition team led by the contracting officer should prepare to quickly provide debriefings when requested after making award decisions and notifying unsuccessful offerors. This timing consideration is relevant because unsuccessful offerors generally have 10 calendar days to file a GAO bid protest from the date the basis of protest is known. Note that an automatic stay of performance at GAO is 10 days after contract award or within 5 days of a debriefing date offered. Please note that if the last day of the computation period is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, then the deadline for filing is the next day the protest venue (e.g., GAO, soliciting agency) is open. Additionally, when a "brief explanation" of the award decision is required (as opposed to a debriefing), such as when awarding an order under the Federal Supply Schedule or using FAR part 12 request for quotations procedures (see FAR 12.201-1), consider preemptively including a the “brief explanation” in the award notice. This approach may start the GAO 10-day bid protest clock, marking the point at which "the basis of protest is known or should have been known." FC8.401(b) FC 8.401(b) Contents of a brief explanation. In accordance with the FSS ordering procedures, if an unsuccessful quoter requests information on an award within 3 days after the notification of contract award, provide a brief explanation of the award decision (see GSAR 538.7102-2(b)(6)). The brief explanation may include the following information: ● The number of quotations received; ● The name of each quoter receiving an award; ● The total order price; and ● In general terms, the reason(s) the quoter’s quotation was not selected, unless the price information shared readily reveals the reason. In no event must a quoter’s cost breakdown, profit, overhead rates, trade secrets, manufacturing processes and techniques, or other confidential business information be disclosed to any other quoter. FC 8.401(b), 538.7104-3(b)(2) Contents of sole source justifications. When developing a sole source justification required under GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(2), the level of detail and content will vary depending on the specifics of the procurement. A justification may include the following information, as applicable: ● Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as an "FSS Sole Source Justification." ● Nature and/or description of the action, including a description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs and the estimated value. ● The authority and supporting rationale (see GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(1)) and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service. ● A determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents a fair and reasonable price consistent with GSAR 538.7102-2(d)(2) and 538.7104-2(a)(3). ● A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. ● Any other facts supporting the justification. ● A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made. ● The ordering activity contracting officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion