WHAT IS THE GSA SCHEDULE 66?
The GSA Scientific Category encompasses products, solutions and services related to various scientific needs. The Large Category replaces legacy GSA Schedule 66, but rearranges SINs and subcategories in a more straightforward and logical way. The Scientific category includes various laboratory equipment, diagnostic and testing instruments, medical equipment, testing services, scientific consulting and so on.
The budget of this GSA Schedule is rather impressive. Based on 2019 data, the GSA Scientific Management and Solutions contracts (the Schedule 66 back then) resulted in more than $650 million in sales. Provided the total number of GSA Schedule 66 top contractors was only around 400, the potential annual sales per contractor exceeds $1.6 million on average. That is the prize every vendor selling scientific equipment and solutions would prefer to win.
The major federal buyers under the Scientific Management and Solutions Schedule are NASA, the U.S. Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Health and Human Services (and specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the Schedule only allows federal buyers to procure scientific solutions, the Disaster Recover program allows state and local governments to purchase too.
All contracts under the GSA Scientific Schedule are IDIQ contracts. Many of the SINs in this Schedule are also subject to Cooperative Purchasing.
What legacy Schedules does the GSA Scientific Category supersede?
The GSA Scientific Management and Solutions Category replaces legacy GSA Schedule 66 – “Scientific Equipment & Services”.
Since MAS Consolidation of 2020, the new Schedule consists of six subcategories, namely:
- Laboratory Equipment
- Laboratory Animals
- Medical Equipment
- Scientific Services
- Search and Navigation
- Testing and Analysis
Overall, there are 15 SINs organized into the above categories:
Laboratory Animals
| 333999 | Animal Caging Equipment – Includes animal cages and caging systems intended for the care, study and storage of animals that are used in the research biomedical laboratory environment. |
Laboratory Equipment
| 333314 | Microscopes – This SIN includes microscopes and borescopes. |
| 333415 | Laboratory Refrigerators And Freezers. The category manages supply and delivery of reach-in and walk-in refrigerator and freezer configurations, suitable for blood banking, chromatography, mortuary, and other scientific cooling or freezing requirements. |
| 334513 | Water, Air, Soil and Seismic Measuring. The SIN includes water current meters, seawater sampling, and salinity measuring equipment. |
| 334515 | Diagnostic, Measuring and Testing Equipment. Under this subcategory are: diagnostic, measuring, and testing equipment used in laboratory settings, such as microscopes, borescopes, etc. |
| 334516 | Analytical Instruments. Includes analytical equipment for laboratory use, such as blood cell analyzers, gas chromatographs, thermal analysis equipment, etc. |
| 334519ENV | Environmental Measuring Instruments. Includes a variety of measuring instruments, such as manual and automatic samplers, water quality meters, water analyzers, radioactivity detectors, air sampling equipment, gas alarms, etc. |
| 339113LAB | Laboratory Equipment and Products. Includes both general and special purpose laboratory ware to contain, measure, and transfer laboratory samples and solutions. Products include reusable and disposable plasticware, non-plastic ware, and non-glassware. |
| 532490L | Laboratory Maintenance, Repair, Leasing and Warranties. This SIN encompasses products for lab maintenance, repair, leasing, and warranties, such as equipment maintenance, repair and service; calibration and calibration traceability certificate; extended warranties; etc. |
Medical Equipment
| 339112 | Breathing Air Equipment and Related Items. Includes breathing air equipment, inhalator devices, respiratory protection products, etc. |
| 339113R | Medical/Rescue and Patient Transportation Products. Includes medical and rescue products related to transporting patients, including kits and immobilization devices. |
Scientific Services
| 532490ESA | Equipment Service Agreements. This SIN encompasses all labor, parts, and materials necessary to maintain equipment in good operating condition. Includes emergency services, engineering hardware and software modifications, operator training, instrument certification, etc. |
| 611430TTS | Technical Training And Support (TTS). This SIN is for training in the use of the purchased equipment, in addition to technical support. Includes onsite and offsite, basic operator, hardware, software, installation, and applications development training. |
Search and Navigation
| 334511 | Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical and Nautical Systems and Instruments. The subcategory includes telecommunications equipment and accessories, such as radar (except airborne), underwater, light, and laser equipment. |
Testing and Analysis
| 541380 | Testing Laboratory Services. This SIN includes, but is not limited to: physical, chemical, analytical, or other testing services; quality assurance; fire safety inspections; training; safety audits. Also encompasses labor categories in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, atmospheric science, oceanography, materials sciences, mathematics, geology, astronomy, veterinary medicine, statistics, systems science, etc. |
GETTING A GSA SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS SCHEDULE (66)
In order to win a GSA Scientific Schedule Contract, a vendor needs to go through a number of stages. For most GSA Schedules there are the same in general, but each Schedule has its specifics and nuances the vendor needs to take into account. For a first time contractor, it is sometimes easier to hire a consulting agency that will provide assistance with all steps of the contract application process.
The basic steps to get a GSA Scientific contract are:
- Onboarding. Before a company can apply for a GSA contract, it needs to make certain obligatory steps. First, the government only works with legitimate businesses that are properly registered. Then, a vendor is required to complete the obligatory GSA training – the Pathway to Success. Finally, you need to register at the SAM.gov. This will allow you to use the eOffer/eMod system to submit your offers to the GSA. This step overall takes about 1-2 months.
- Prepare documents for solicitation. To submit your offer, you need to prepare all the documents that the published solicitation requires. Each document has its specific structure, and there are around 30 of them overall. Once your document package is ready, you can submit it through the GSA eOffer system.
- Review. The GSA will review your offer, check if all documents are properly submitted, and whether the forms contain all necessary information. This may take up to 4 months.
- Negotiation. After your offer is reviewed and accepted, a contracting specialist will get back to you to negotiate the conditions of your contract. This includes price adjustments, discounts, delivery terms, technical specifications, details of the scope of work and so on.
- Award. Finally, you will be awarded with a GSA Scientific
Management and Solutions contract. But don’t stop now, there’s still a lot of work to do: marketing, promotion, maintenance of the contract, maintaining compliance, monitoring changes in the GSA regulations and so on. Sometimes you will need to create a department within your company that will manage all GSA activity. Or you may delegate this work to a third-party agent, such as Price Reporter.
