GSA Online Catalog: Get onto Your Online Business Now

GSA Online Catalog: Get onto Your Online Business Now

By: BOB STEGER | Date: 2022-05-12

GSA online catalog – The federal government developed the GSA Schedule System to make is easier for federal buyers and seller to transact.  The idea was to develop a catalog with multiple (meaning millions) of vendors selling everything from boats, to cleaning supplies, to consulting services.  You name it and the GSA has it. The US Federal Government is the largest buyers of goods and services on the planet and therefore their needs are great. 

In order to get a place on the GSA online catalog the vendor must insure several things: 

  1. The catalog vendor must have sold this product or service in the past in some commercial sector.
  2. The GSA online catalog member must get setup to take Government Issue credit cards.
  3. The seller must offer the most favored pricing to government, meaning the GSA seller must be offering their products to the government at their best pricing.
  4. The GSA seller must also prove that they have the financial capacity to sell to the federal government. 
  5. The products must have been made either in the United States or in a TAA compliant country. 

In many cases, using the GSA online catalog is the only way a federal buyer can obtain a good or service.  This is because federal buyers must make FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) compliant purchases.  Therefore, they must justify their purchases and using the gsa catalog online is the easiest way to do so.  Generally, while conducting their market research, it is quite common for a federal buyer to review three products and purchase one of the three.  Point click and they are done vs hours and potentially months of time purchasing via any other method.  Federal buyers are not permitted to buy internet vendors or even large internet vendors.  For them the GSA online catalog is their only buying choice.

Consider GSA Advantage! The name given to the GSA’s online catalog is the government’s Amazon or Big Box Office Supply Store. If you need a chair, computer, or large number of pens and rules for your office, Amazon is not a choice.  However, the gsa catalog online has many of the same types, brands, and pricing. For federal agencies, it is nothing but GSA Advantage! Works in a similar way having full product information, photographs of the product, descriptions, as well as GSA-approved pricing.

GSA Advantage! has over 30,000-50,000 orders placed per week with an order size that is multiple that of a private-sector online store. 

Listed below are the various categories of goods and services found on the GSA online catalog:

● Building & Industrial

● Electronics & Technology

● Facilities & Supplies

● Furniture & Furnishings

● Janitorial & Sanitation Supplies FSSI (BIC)

● Law Enforcement, Fire, Security

● Maintenance, Repair & Operations FSSI (BIC)

● Office Equipment

● Office Supplies

● Office Supplies & Equipment FSSI (BIC)

● Products

● Scientific & Medical

● Services

● Tools, Paint, & Recreational

● Vehicles & Equipment

Additionally, the GSA Schedule Catalog has products that have special designations. 

Environmental

There are environmental products that meet sustainable purchasing requirements.These designations are:

BioPreferred Compliant

CPG Compliant

Energy Star Certified

Epeat registered

FEMP Energy Efficient

Low VOC

Meets EPA’s Recommended Ecolables

Prime Program items

SNAP Compliant

Safer Choice Certified

WaterSense Certified

These designations allow GSA online catalog users to quickly determine if a product meets certain procurement requirements and saves Federal Buyers a great deal of time when complying with environmental policies.

GSA Schedule 2022

AbilityOne

Are products listed for sale to the government form individuals that are blind.  AbilityOne provides a special symbol to the GSA Contract holder so that federal buyers can quickly find this designation and make appropriate purchases from AbilityOne Members.

Disaster Relief and Pandemic Products

The GSA Schedules Systems Online Catalog is highly used in case of federal disasters.  When FEMA enters a new disaster location, they draw heavily on GSA Schedule holders and attempt to source as many items from local GSA schedule contract holders to offer as much local impact as possible

Pandemic Products such as masks and air purifiers are also readily available to GSA buyers making these items easily sourced by federal buyers without the risk of being faced with unfair rate pricing.

SBA Certification and VA Verification Holders

The gsa catalog online also helps Federal buyers be more inclusive in their purchases.  They do this by providing this status on the catalog so Federal Buyers can make purchases from 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, and SDVOSB firms without having to access multiple databases.  This increases sales and helps federal buyers be more comprehensive.

Best In Class

Many of the GSA schedule contracts are considered Best in Class. This means that utilizing the GSA schedule is the prescribed place for federal buyers to go to when making purchases.   

Other Governmental Agencies

In addition to selling to the federal government, state and municipal governments utilize the GSA Schedule System for their procurements.  The Federal Government allows these people to purchase directly from the GSA Schedule System to purchase from the GSA online catalog to greatly reduce their administrative burden.  This is a positive trend for the GSA Schedule System, and we are seeing more and more governmental entities adopting this method as a procurement strategy. 

Size of GSA Online Catalog

The sales from a GSA catalog online are large. The annual acquisition budget has now surpassed $40 billion, and with only approximately 15,000 contract holders, the scale of federal sales on a per contactor basis are in the millions of dollars.  If we only magnify small businesses, this sales figure is over $1 million dollars per small business on the schedule. 

How to obtain GSA Online Catalog (GSA Advantage)?

GSA schedule is generally used to sell products and services on the GSA advantage catalog 2021.  Obtaining a GSA schedule contract is followed by some easy steps, you need to meet certain qualifications to justify whether you are GSA eligible, hence, you will need to collect a list of documents, register for specific programs, and receive specific certifications, among other things.

Obviously, it’s just not an easy process and it may be scary if you are new to the procedure. However, dealing with these issues can be taken care of by public sector consultants who can help you and your business.

Once you've obtained GSA schedule contract, you need to register your contract with the Vendor Support Center. Ensure all of your information, including prices, contract changes (additions and deletions), and descriptions for each line item, is up to date after you've enrolled in GSA Advantage.

Conclusion:

The GSA online catalog actually shows the most popular items available via requisition from GSA Global Supply. Customer purchases are government-to-government (G2G) and they do not require comparison shopping or other technical steps. GSA ensures your agreement with the FAR, AbilityOne mandates, and other purchasing regulations.

Many companies, especially budding small businesses, dream of obtaining a GSA Schedule contract to get their products or services in the top GSA online catalog — the GSA Advantage is the key…

Although keeping up with the GSA online catalog can be time-consuming, GSA Advantage! is the ultimate purchasing tool for federal customers, making it a robust marketing platform for contractors. The GSA Advantage might be your company’s stairway to new heights.

Book Free Consultation WEBINAR