GSA's 20 year renewal also referred to as a "Request to Hold Continuous Contracts".
The 20 year renewal process involves submitting an identical contract to the current one held by the firm. The interim result we be that the firm will have two contracts that run simultaneously. Once the all active contracts are migrated from the old contract to the new contract the new contract will then become fully in force. Then the old contract will be cancelled and the new contract will continue, as long as all GSA compliance is met, for another 20 years.
Many firms mistakenly think that they must wait to be in the six months of the contract before they can renew their contract. The reality is that they can apply for a new GSA contract at any time. Therefore, we recommend applying for the new contract in the 18-19th year. This will give you approximately 12-14 months left to go on your contract. This will likely give a firm at least six months in contract overlap from the new to the old. But this mitigates the risk that the firms GSA contract expires before the new one can be put in place, resulting in lost business opportunities. Additionally should the contract expire before the new one is awarded, the GSA in some cases will ask that the contract holder apply for an entirely new schedule which would require the company to the entire schedule process over.
For some firms a streamlined process for their 20 year renewal is available. This requires that the offer is identical to what is currently awarded. If any changes take place such as pricing, terms or new conditions are desired, then the firm is no longer eligible for this streamlined method.
Due to the large number of variables in the 20 Year Renewal Process our firm considers pricing on a case by case basis. After a review of the currently awarded terms that are in place, whether or not an identical offer can be submitted, as well as how much shelf time is left on the current schedule are all factors that will affect pricing.
