New Schedule contracts and modifications will continue to be awarded under the present terms and conditions until October 1^st according to information shared this week by GSA officials with the Coalition for Government Procurement.  After October 1^st, contracts will be awarded under a new set of standardized terms and conditions.  Renewals will be handled under the “old” system until January 2020 when a mass mod will be issued to all existing Schedule contractors.  Prior to any of this, however, GSA will issue a draft of the new terms and conditions for comment in early June.  Contractors are strongly advised to review and comment on the proposed terms.  Similarly, no mass modification should be a “click and accept” action.  Many contractors negotiated specific terms and conditions to make their Schedule contracts manageable.  Although GSA does not intend for those terms merely to be swept away by accepting a mass mod, they almost certainly would be.  As such, we recommend reading and taking exception with any new terms that conflict with any you have specially negotiated.  Similarly, contractors should know that GSA will not be able to change all of the taxonomy associated with the new contracts overnight.  As such, you will have to educate your customers on proper use of Advantage and E-Buy once new terms are issued until such time as GSA’s internal resources can change those systems.  This entire exercise is the second phase of GSA’s Schedules consolidation initiative.  No contracts will be consolidated under this phase unless a contractor initiates such an action. Only the terms and conditions will be altered, though the agency may also start to transition away from Special Item Numbers to North American Industrial Codes (NAIC’s).  Make sure you’re paying close attention to the changes coming soon to a contract near you.