This column was originally published on Roger Waldron’s blog at The Coalition for Government Procurement and was republished here with permission from the author.

The back-to-school season is upon us here in the Nation’s Capital. As local students are wrapping-up their first week of classes today, it is time to start thinking about the end of summer and the end of the fiscal year.

The “experienced hands” at gearing-up for a new school know, and others likely will notice, this season unmistakably is one dominated by lists. Accordingly, as we prepare for the new fiscal year, the Coalition is providing its, “5 pillars for schedule modernization,” to assist the General Services Administration and the Veterans Affairs Department in their efforts to modernize and enhance the schedules program.

Much like the Coalition has done in the past, each of these 5 pillars will be addressed in more depth through subsequent “FAR & Beyond” blogs in the coming weeks. So, without further ado, here are the Coalition’s 5 pillars for schedule modernization and why they need to be addressed:

1. Invest in e-Systems such as GSA Advantage, e-Library, and e-Buy. The market and buying experiences are ever-evolving, and these successful programs need to stay current and meaningful for customer agencies.
2. Eliminate the Price Reductions Clause. It’s a costly, burdensome, and obsolete oversight mechanism that does not recognize that price and value are driven at the task order level, and limits the influx of competition into the federal market from the private sector.
3. Reform pricing policy and address data reporting. To maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the Schedules program, GSA and the VA should radically reform and/or eliminate the current pricing strategy used for awarding contracts.
4. Consolidation of schedules and special item numbers: Duplicative schedules and SINs can represent barriers to entry into the market for small businesses and innovative solutions.
5. Implement a new capability for an unpriced schedules for services. Competition can be enhanced when GSA and VA allow customers to focus on speed and need by driving competition for agency-specific service requirements at the task order level.

The Coalition looks forward to a robust dialogue with all stakeholders on each of these Pillars in the coming weeks.

Roger Waldron is the president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, and host of Off the Shelf on Federal News Radio.

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