- GSA will implement “Pricing 2.0” for multiple award schedule contracts on June 5 to strengthen pricing oversight and reduce outlier pricing throughout the MAS program.
- Updated pricing model caps government pricing baselines at the lowest observed commercial price, excluding outliers, while cutting the algorithm’s price-proportional premium by 50 percent to limit excessive price variability.
- Pricing 2.0 advances broader GSA acquisition reform efforts, building on Transactional Data Reporting implementation and ongoing initiatives to modernize pricing analysis and improve procurement data transparency.
The General Services Administration will implement a revised pricing algorithm for Multiple Award Schedule contracts beginning June 5 as part of a broader effort to strengthen pricing oversight and reduce outlier pricing throughout the MAS program.
In a blog post published Friday on the GSA website, the agency said the update, called “Pricing 2.0,” refines the agency’s current pricing methodology for MAS contracts involving products while preserving contracting officer discretion and marketplace competition.
What Changes Under Pricing 2.0?
Under the revised model, the market baseline used in pricing calculations will be capped at the minimum observed commercial price, excluding outliers, if that figure is lower than the existing formula-generated baseline.
GSA will also reduce the price-proportional premium applied within the pricing algorithm by 50 percent to limit excessive price variability for identical products.
According to the agency, the revised model is intended to prevent government pricing baselines from exceeding the best commercially available rates while still allowing reasonable contractor margins through inflation adjustments and other pricing factors.
The updated market threshold calculations will continue drawing pricing data from sources, including GSA Advantage, FedMall, NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement, MAS Transactional Data Reporting submissions and commercial catalog pricing.
How Does the Update Fit Into Broader MAS Reforms?
Pricing 2.0 builds on several recent GSA initiatives to modernize MAS pricing oversight and expand the use of procurement data analytics.
In January, GSA fully implemented transactional data reporting across the MAS program to improve visibility into prices paid for products and services and support contracting officer negotiations. The agency projected that full TDR implementation could generate approximately $50 million in annual cost avoidance.
The pricing update also follows broader Federal Acquisition Service efforts to align MAS pricing practices with commercial standards. In 2024, GSA sought industry feedback through a request for information focused on fair and reasonable pricing determinations, documentation requirements and the use of identical offerings across multiple special item numbers.
GSA’s Office of Inspector General has also pushed for stronger pricing oversight. Its 2024 audit report highlighted inconsistent price analysis practices during MAS contract consolidations and urged the Federal Acquisition Service to improve oversight and better leverage pricing data.
