This week the Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement (Coalition) submitted comments in response to the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) Request for Information (RFI), “MAS Valued Added Reseller Pricing – Market Research.” The RFI largely reflects GSA’s interest in better understanding the commercial supply chain, which is a positive step in ensuring the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program provides robust and expanding access to the commercial market. Effective communication between government and industry regarding commercial best practices is consistent with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul’s (RFO) focus on increasing access to the competitive commercial market to meet agency mission requirements.
Sound requirements development is a commercial best practice. Commercial firms spend significant resources on developing requirements that drive cost effective, best value performance in support of their commercial operations. Sound requirements enhance competition and optimize best value performance. Commercial firms also invest in their acquisition workforce, ensuring the acquisition team has the training, resources, and experience necessary to efficiently and effectively manage their information technology (IT) procurement needs. Finally, commercial firms avoid adopting bureaucratic acquisition policies and procedures that drive up costs, increase time to market, and reduce competition. These commercial best practices are critical to results for the American taxpayer. Moreover, as outlined in the FAR & Beyond December 5, 2025, blog, these best practices are keys to leveraging the RFO to deliver best commercial like value outcomes.
In contrast, to the extent the government seeks to impose price controls or other limitations on the IT supply chain, the unintended consequence will be higher prices over the long term, reduced access to technology, and less than optimum performance. Price controls, including price caps and price floors, distort markets, leading to reduced competition and suppressed innovation. While the intent may be to increase affordability, price controls cause long term damage to product quality, supply, and economic growth. The RFO, FAR Companion, Practitioner Albums, and General Services Administration Regulation already provide a sound, sufficient framework for effective, efficient negotiation of pricing at the MAS contract level. Further, competition at the task or delivery order level for agency specific requirements (a commercial best practice) drives value and reduces cost for customer agencies.
The Coalition’s comments in response to the RFI provide context, insight, and explanation of the Value-Added Resellers (VARs) model and the positive, competitive role it plays in the commercial IT supply chain. As a commercial shared service model, VARs deliver cost effective, best value support and services to end users and original equipment manufacturers.
The Coalition’s comments can be found here (view the additional feedback here).