Taking Advantage of the GSA’s TDR Program to Prevent Contract Cancellation
Case Study No. 1: Taking advantage of the General Services Administration (GSA)’s Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) Program to Prevent Contract Cancellation
The Challenge
We recently onboarded a company facing an urgent dilemma: their Contracting Officer was considering not exercising their Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) next contract option, putting their contract at risk of immediate cancellation.
The primary issue arose from the need for clarification due to changes required in their Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) and Price Proposal Template (PPT). This issue stemmed from a previous consolidation of contracts, where the two merged schedules had critical pricing issues that remained unsolved.
Specifically, discrepancies occurred when the discounts offered to their Basis of Award (BOA) customers were higher than the discounts provided to the GSA leading to violations to the Price Reductions Clause (PRC). This clause ensures that GSA customers receive discounts equal to or better than commercial customers.
The Analysis and Solution
In this scenario, they should have timely adjusted GSA’s discounts in their PPT to ensure that GSA customers received equal or higher discounts than BOA customers, or they should have sought an exemption from GSA by submitting a revised CSP document to sell those items at a lower price commercially. These adjustments should have been completed in a timely manner during the initial MAS consolidation.
After reviewing the Special Item Numbers (SINs) awarded to the contract, it became apparent that their MAS contract had an eligible Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) SIN. We informed them that they could have timely enrolled in the TDR Program to avoid early contract cancellation, as one of the benefits of participating in this program is not having to disclose the Commercial Sales Practices (CSP). While all contractors are expected to provide GSA with equal or better pricing than to their Basis of Award (BOA) customers, contractors are no longer required to submit a CSP document or designate a BOA customer. This could have alleviated the pressure for this company to revise and resubmit these documents in a very limited time.
What is the TDR Program? It’s a GSA initiative that offers companies the opportunity to leverage the advantages of the GSA MAS Contract, free from the constraints of the traditional PRC and the associated obligations and limitations it entails with the only requirement of providing monthly sales reports.
TDR Contractors are exempt from the following requirements:
- Disclose Commercial Sales Practices (identifying discounts, terms, and conditions offered to your commercial customers that equal or exceed the discounts, terms, and conditions offered to GSA).
- Establish a Most Favored Customer (MFC)/Basis of Award (BOA)
- Track and maintain the relationship between GSA pricing and BOA/MFC customer pricing
- Comply with the Price Reductions Clause, which may require a reduction in GSA pricing if pricing is discounted commercially or to a company’s BOA/MFC.
An added advantage is that as long as one eligible SIN is awarded, the entire contract can participate in the TDR program!
The BOOST Outcome
Upon informing them about the outstanding benefits available through this program for eligible contractors like them, I immediately began working on their new offer under this initiative. Unfortunately, by the time they sought assistance from us, they were too late in the renewal process, and changes to the option renewal modification were no longer permitted. GSA merely advised them that they could reapply by submitting a completely new package, failing to explain this program in time to spare them from the ordeal of starting the initial application process from scratch.
As a result of this major setback, they lost their MAS contract, which doesn’t have a ceiling amount (the initially awarded amount is just for administrative purposes, but there is no sales cap on MAS contracts). Additionally, they experienced a loss of nearly $4 million in total sales revenue over the following 8 months until they received their new contract award.
Despite these setbacks, after providing expert support and guidance during the application and negotiations processes, the company efficiently submitted the offer and secured a contract award under this program. This accomplishment allowed them to bypass unnecessary requirements and future compliance obligations.
Are You Facing a Similar Complex Challenge?
At BOOST, we are passionate about offering our clients optimal solutions to solve their most complex problems. With our expert guidance, we transform complex issues into actionable solutions, providing thorough explanations and support throughout the process to ensure successful navigation of these challenges.
If you’re interested in learning more about this program and how it can benefit your organization, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We can analyze your current SINs, determine your eligibility, and provide assistance in participating in this program.
We appreciate your interest in our GSA blog! Stay tuned for more informative content coming your way from BOOST LLC. Thank you for being a part of our community
About The Author, Brie Paramo
Brie Paramo is an accomplished contracts professional with extensive experience in GSA schedules and GSA contracts. As a dedicated BOOST MAS consultant, she channels her expertise to assist contractors in effectively acquiring and managing their MAS contracts.
