GSA Specialist Procurement Processes 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of GSA's eBuy platform in the federal procurement process?
- To post public solicitations for new MAS contracts
- To allow agencies to request quotes from GSA Schedule vendors electronically (Correct answer)
- To process payment for GSA purchase card transactions
- To submit SAM.gov vendor registrations
Correct answer: To allow agencies to request quotes from GSA Schedule vendors electronically
GSA eBuy is an online RFQ tool that allows federal agencies to post requirements and receive quotes from GSA Schedule and GWAC contractors.
Question 2: Under the FAR, a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) established against a GSA Schedule contract has a maximum ordering period of:
- 1 year with no options
- 3 years with options up to 5 years total
- 5 years with options up to 10 years total
- The remaining period of the underlying Schedule contract (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The remaining period of the underlying Schedule contract
BPAs against GSA Schedules cannot exceed the period of the underlying MAS contract, including options.
Question 3: A GSA contracting specialist conducting market research is most likely to use which tool to identify MAS vendors for a specific product category?
- FPDS-NG
- GSA Advantage! (Correct answer)
- SAM.gov exclusions list
- PIEE (Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment)
Correct answer: GSA Advantage!
GSA Advantage! is the online shopping and ordering system where agencies can search for and compare products and services from MAS contractors.
Question 4: When evaluating offers under FAR Part 15 negotiated procurement, the concept of 'best value continuum' means:
- Price is always the sole evaluation factor
- Technical factors always outweigh price
- The agency may trade off price and non-price factors based on the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria (Correct answer)
- Lowest-priced technically acceptable (LPTA) must be used for all GSA contracts
Correct answer: The agency may trade off price and non-price factors based on the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria
The best value continuum allows agencies to determine the approach ranging from LPTA to tradeoffs between price and technical factors as specified in the solicitation.
Question 5: Which of the following is NOT a valid basis for using other than competitive procedures under FAR 6.302?
- Only one responsible source exists
- Unusual and compelling urgency
- The contracting officer prefers a specific vendor's product (Correct answer)
- National security considerations
Correct answer: The contracting officer prefers a specific vendor's product
Contracting officer preference for a specific vendor is never a valid basis for noncompetitive procedures; FAR 6.302 lists specific statutory exceptions only.
Question 6: The Procurement Administrative Lead Time (PALT) metric that GSA tracks measures the time from:
- Contract award to final delivery
- Funding approval to contract award
- Solicitation release to contract award (Correct answer)
- Market research completion to solicitation release
Correct answer: Solicitation release to contract award
PALT measures the elapsed time from when a solicitation is issued to when a contract is awarded, used to assess procurement efficiency.
Question 7: A vendor protests a GSA task order award worth $12 million to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Is this protest jurisdiction correct?
- No, GAO has no jurisdiction over any task order protests
- Yes, GAO has jurisdiction over task order protests exceeding $10 million (Correct answer)
- No, only the Court of Federal Claims hears task order protests
- Yes, but only for civilian agency orders, not DoD
Correct answer: Yes, GAO has jurisdiction over task order protests exceeding $10 million
GAO has jurisdiction over task order protests valued at more than $10 million under 10 U.S.C. 3406 and 41 U.S.C. 4106.
GSA Specialist Procurement Processes 3
What is the primary purpose of GSA's eBuy platform in the federal procurement process?