GSA Favors Small Firms, Low Prices for Office Supplies GSA plans to award seven governmentwide blanket purchase agreements for office products and commodities, with five of the contracts targeted for small and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. Competition for the contracts is restricted to companies on GSA schedule 75 under SIN 75 200. Several agencies have already agreed to buy through the BPAs. GSA estimates purchases will total $200 million a year. Some industry executives have complained that hundreds of local dealers could be shut out of the federal market if the BPAs catch on. The BPAs are part of the strategic sourcing initiative aimed at using the government’s buying power to drive down prices. GSA’s request for quotations includes a list of “prices to beat” on more than 700 products and recommends that offerors create tiered discounts for volume purchases. The RFQ creates three separate competitions: Pool One: three BPAs for full office supply catalog with an emphasis on socioeconomic concerns and price. Preference will be given to small businesses, with at least one of the three contracts earmarked for a service-disabled veteran-owned firm. Pool Two: two BPAs for full office supply catalog with emphasis on price. There are no preferences for small businesses in this pool. Pool Three: two BPAs for toner catalog only with an emphasis on socioeconomic concerns and price. The government has a preference for SDV companies in this pool. GSA officials did not respond to questions about why 8(a) and HUBZone companies were excluded from the preferred categories. In a previous strategic sourcing initiative for office supplies in 2007, GSA awarded 11 of 13 BPAs to small businesses. The RFQ is 2QSAB-10-Q-0002. Quotations are due March 31. The procurement is being managed by the Federal Acquisition Service’s New York regional office.