Contract Vehicles
A contract vehicle is a streamlined method the government uses to buy goods and services. Contract vehicles are centrally managed by a federal agency, which reduces acquisition administrative costs and creates time and resource efficiencies. CDC’s most commonly used contract vehicles are described below.
Strategic Sourcing Contracts
It is a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) priority to reduce acquisition administrative costs and develop long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with best-in-class providers of products and services. To do this, HHS implemented the HHS Smarter Buying Program. The HHS Smarter Buying Program incorporates the General Services Administration (GSA) federal strategic sourcing initiative (FSSI) solutions to create a collection of HHS and GSA blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) and contracts to facilitate the purchase of specific commodities and services. It encompasses Category Management for common commercial items and services across HHS with the goal of saving money and improving the efficiency of the acquisition process.
While strategic sourcing remains the recommended source for the categories below, contracting officials may procure services and products from a non-strategic sourcing vendor when determined the most suitable approach.
- Custodial Products
- Conference Support
- Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO)
- Print Management
- Office Furniture
- Office Supplies
- Long Term Administrative Support Staffing (LTASC)
- Wireless Plans and Devices
- Domestic Mail Delivery Services
- Information Technology
- Janitorial and Sanitation Supplies (JanSan)
Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS)
The Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) is a 13-year corporate level contract vehicle for obtaining telecommunication services at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that maximizes the telecommunication infrastructure to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans. See the EIS fact sheet.
HHS VMware Enterprise License is an HHS vehicle were customers have access to all VMWare products (Fed-ramped), professional services and 24/7 Customer Support.
Contact Information
Phone: (202) 690-7431
Email: eis.pmo@hhs.gov
Best-in-Class (BIC) Solutions
Best-in-Class is a contracting and acquisition designation used to denote contracts that meet rigorous category management performance criteria as defined by OMB. The designated contracts represent preferred government-wide solutions and provide a unique opportunity to leverage the government’s buying power. The designations allow acquisition experts to take advantage of pre-vetted, government-wide contract solutions; support a government-wide migration to solutions that are mature and market-proven; assist in the optimization of spend, within the government-wide category management framework; and increase the transactional data available for agency level and government-wide analysis of buying behavior.
Resources
GSA Schedules
When HHS’ Strategic Sourcing BPAs are not available or suitable, one of the most common contract vehicles used to acquire commercial supplies and services are GSA schedules [also referred to as multiple award schedules (MAS) and federal supply schedules (FSS)]. GSA schedules simplify the filling of recurring needs for supplies and services, while leveraging ordering activities’ buying power by taking advantage of quantity discounts, saving administrative time, and reducing paperwork.
Schedules are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts that provide for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time. They help streamline the contract process and speed service delivery. Using these IDIQ contract vehicles, GSA establishes long-term government wide contracts with commercial companies to provide access to commercial products and services at volume discount pricing.
Using GSA Schedules enables CDC to contract with pre-approved vendors and benefit from “most-favored customer” pricing.
For more information on the GSA schedule, visit the GSA website. Schedule descriptions can be found on GSA library’s List of Schedules.
NIH’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC)
NITAAC has been authorized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to administer three government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) for information technology procurement. CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business, and CIO-CS can be used to acquire information technology products, services, and solutions. The office is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
For more information on the NITAAC (CIOSP3, CIOSP3-SB, and CIOCS), visit the NITAAC website.