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There are two main places federal employees can do market research to find solutions for their missions, the GSA Schedule System and Sam.gov (the System for Award Management). Comparing the two systems demonstrates how the GSA Schedule System has tremendous advantages over sam.gov. With the exception of only one reason, small businesses that are GSA Schedule holders have a number of built in advantages which result in much greater success compared to small businesses that only have a Sam.gov listing.
GSA Schedule Advantages
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Sam.gov |
GSA Schedule |
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Number of Vendors |
500,000+ |
19,000 |
|
Market Research Process |
Step 1: Perform a search for firms in a given industry by NAICS code. Step 2: Cross reference the resulting firm’s capabilities statements to determine if that firm provides the product or service required. Step 3: Contact firm to obtain pricing on their product or service. Step 4: Determine if the firm can take a Federal SmartPay Credit Card. Step 5: Place the order |
Step 1: Type the product or service keyword into the search bar and press enter. Step 2: Review Pricing for applicable items. Step 3: Order Online. |
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Obtaining a Price Quote |
Call or email sam.gov Registrant and ask for a quote. |
Pricing is provided for the listed item. |
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Quality of Product or Service |
Firm has not been vetted by anyone within the Federal Government. Must ask for and call references |
GSA calls references as part of the process of obtaining a GSA Schedule |
|
Size of Purchases |
Generally is limited to the Micro-Purchase Threshold of $10,000 |
Generally follows the Simplified Acquisition Threshold of $250,000, but can be for larger amounts. |
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Federal Vendor Small Business Sales |
>$100K sam.gov listing only, no other certification or contracting vehicle |
$1MM |
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Flexibility |
None Provided |
Only 51% of items in a given order must be purchased directly off the small businesses GSA Schedule, the other 49% can be purchased at the same time through Open Market Items. |
Sam.gov Advantages
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Sam.gov |
GSA Schedule |
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Timeframe to Obtain this Listing (approximated) |
1 week |
4-6 months |
GSA Schedule
As you can see, a GSA Schedule affords holders a huge advantage over their non-GSA peers. If you are interested in exploring whether your small business could benefit from getting on GSA Schedule and/or you are interested in an 8(a) Certification, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as Advance GSA or ez8a. Neither charge for an initial consultation.
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