The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced a “major update” to its GSA Advantage catalog for GSA Schedule products and services.
What were formerly called “Accessories” (and only available as an add-on purchasing a base product) are now called “Related Products,” and can be purchased as standalone items.
GSA is framing this as win for the customer (it will “make shopping on GSA Advantage easier and offer customers more choices and flexibility”). But it can also be something of a win for schedule contractors, if managed correctly.
The key here is to understand the difference between an “Option” and a “Related Product.” The GSA post linked above gives a great overview, but short version is this: if something needs to be selected at the time of purchase, it’s an Option; if it can be bought as a standalone product afterwards, it’s a Related Product.
Wood stain color for a desk? Option. Matching filing cabinet that slides the desk? Related Product. SSD capacity in a laptop? Option. Carrying case for that laptop? Related product.
The potential win for contractors is that if you had previously listed your filing cabinet or laptop case only as an accessory (and not as its own base product), your pool of potential purchases has now expanded to include the entire GSA Schedule buying pool, not merely those customers who were already buying your desk.
The task for contractors? Make sure that your product list accurately reflects this newly-important distinction. If you previously listed your filing cabinet or laptop case as an option, you aren’t taking full advantage of this change, and you may be missing out on sales. Conversely, if you had previously listed as an “Accessory” something that can’t function as a sold as a standalone item, you might run in to issues if an agency tries to order it.
Take some time to review your product list file and make sure that you’ve accurately categorized all your options and related products. As always, you can contact us for help updating your GSA Schedule, or getting on the GSA Schedule if you’re not there already.