What is "Scope"?
You must ask yourself, "Do the services or products that I’m providing fall within the descriptions of the Special Item Numbers (SINs) that I was awarded, and is the service or product authorized under my contract?."
An agency may add open market items onto an order if necessary. However, as a contractor, you must ensure that the customer is made aware of which items are contract items and which are open market items prior to the sale. This is extremely important due to differing Federal Acquisition Regulations for Federal Supply Schedule procurements versus open market procurements. For a contractor, it is important to document that you provided this information to the customer prior to the sale in a written quote or email correspondence, as well as upon the actual invoice.
It is imperative that all non contract or open market items are communicated and clearly identified to the customer so they can make the appropriate buying decisions.
If items you are selling to your customer are not on your Schedule contract, they can be procured by the agency through:
- OLM SIN or ANCILLARY SIN, if applicable
- Open market procedures
You should identify them as "non-contract" or "open market" items. There are several avenues to expand your marketability and stay within the scope of your contract, including modifying your contract to add additional products, services, or SINs; and understanding and using Contractor Team Arrangements (CTAs).
Remaining within the scope of your contract is a critical contractor performance factor and will be evaluated on your contractor assessment report. Major efforts are being made governmentwide to educate both Schedule customers and contractors to ensure quotes and orders fall within the scope of the contract being utilized.