Sales Growth Slows on GSA Schedules; Some Blame "Get It Right" Sales growth on GSA schedules has slowed dramatically since the agency imposed new controls under its “Get It Right” campaign. Schedule sales increased by 5% in the first five months of this fiscal year, compared to double-digit growth in previous years, said Donna Bennett, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Supply Service. GSA said schedule sales grew year-over-year by 16% in fiscal 2004 and 35% in fiscal 2003. Some industry officials say new procedures under the “Get It Right” campaign and new rules for the use of schedules by the Defense Department are slowing procurements and discouraging agencies from buying through the schedules. “There are one or two regions where business has almost ground to a halt,” said Larry Allen, executive vice president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, an organization of schedule contractors. He said GSA’s National Capital Region, serving the Washington area, has seen the most severe slowdown, while some other regions show no impact. “I have heard horror stories about 90-day cycle times in NCR,” acknowledged David Safavian, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Even in the best regions, he said, “Get It Right” has added four or five days to the time it takes to award task and delivery orders. He spoke April 12 at a conference in McLean, VA, sponsored by Federal Sources Inc. GSA launched the “Get It Right” initiative in July, after the inspector general found widespread violations of procurement laws and regulations in its Federal Technology Service. The initiative requires additional reviews of some schedule purchases. GSA contracting officers were given a checklist to follow to make sure that orders were handled properly. In October the Defense Department gave its buyers new guidance designed to prevent misuse of schedules and other non-DOD contract vehicles. At the same time, Deidre Lee, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, declared she supported the use of schedules, as long as they were used properly. Allen said he is “upset” by the slowdown in sales growth and by the GSA leadership’s apparent indifference to it. He said the agency’s administrator, Stephen Perry, should tell acquisition personnel that “Get It Right doesn’t mean ‘Don’t get it.’” GSA is now developing a reorganization plan that will merge its Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service. Bennett described the two separate services as “stovepipes” that have outlived their usefulness. She spoke April 12 at a conference sponsored by Federal Sources Inc. in McLean, VA. Especially on IT purchases, Bennett said, federal buyers want GSA to be “a consultant,” providing more help than the self-service model of the Federal Supply Schedules, but stopping short of the full-service acquisition support provided by the Technology Service. She said GSA will “play a more active role in helping customers make choices.” Administrator Perry has said he expects to have a draft reorganization plan by May 31 and a final plan by July 31.