The inflation challenge in government contracting

This week on Off the Shelf, the General Services Administration’s Federal Supply Schedule program is the focus.

Bill Gormley, president of the Gormley Group, joined host Roger Waldron and provided an update on the key issues, opportunities, and challenges GSA contractors, and customer agencies are wrestling with in 2022.

As Gormley explained, inflation is the number one challenge facing contractors and impacting customers. He outlined the business challenges and the negotiation hurdles facing FSS contractors.

Gormley talked about opportunities to streamline contract negotiation processes, including the Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause in FSS contracts to support the industrial base, increase competition, and support customer agencies.

He also highlighted the increasing burdens on government contractors and the corresponding impact on the federal government’s access to the commercial market. Efforts to streamline processes, including the development of new electronic acquisition systems have not yet delivered the return on investment in reducing administrative costs to contractors.

Finally, Gormley discussed opportunities for GSA and its industry partners to work together to streamline processes.