GSA Issues Final Rule To Allow ‘Order-Level Materials' On Schedule Orders

Under the US General Services Administration’s final rule, agencies may add nonschedule Order-Level Materials of up to one-third of the order value acquired in direct support of an individual task or delivery order. The rule also aims to give agencies flexibility in purchasing OLMs under the Federal Supply Schedule program.

The US General Services Administration (GSA) issued a final rule on January 24 to authorize agencies to acquire Order-Level Materials (OLMs) when placing an individual task or delivery order against a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract or FSS blanket purchase agreement (BPA). OLMs are supplies or services that are not anticipated at the time of the underlying FSS contract or FSS BPA award but are necessary and in direct support of delivery of the product or service to the government under a particular order. The final rule makes clear that OLMs are not open-market items purchased under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4. Instead,