In response to GSA’s previous advisory, GSA has released clarification to its’ request for product vendors to update their comprehensive list of awarded “base products” with Manufacturer Product Numbers (MPN) and Universal Product Codes (UPC) on your GSA Advantage catalog. Base products are considered the basic model without any options or accessories.

GSA anticipates this change to strengthen agencies’ ability to find and compare your products on GSA Advantage in addition to remaining compliant with the requirements of clause I-FSS-600 Contract Price Lists (Oct 2013) and 552.238-71 Submission and Distribution of Authorized FSS Schedule Price Lists. The clause’s intends for vendors to provide a complete price list to include descriptive data including product name, description, MPN and UPC when available.

A few items to keep in mind when adhering to this update:

• The UPC and MPC field has a 40 character limit.
• Internal product numbers do not have to be completely omitted. Simply add a column to identify the MPN and UPC for your base line products.
• Make your best effort to obtain accurate product information.
• If you are unable to obtain the MPN, temporary fix is to use your internal product number for both the MPN field and Contractor Part Number field.
• If duplicates are identified, the temporary fix is to develop the MPN using the first four (4) letters of the Manufacturer name. Example: 4567TheC, 4567Comp
• If you will be using the MPN as the base product, as well as, an accessory then you should add an identifier for the accessory, MPN plus dash (-) and alpha. Example: E2234-A, E630-B

Your base product contract items with its corresponding UPC and MPN should be uploaded to GSA Advantage via SIP within 90 days from GSA’s email. Please contact your GSA Contract Manager if you have any additional questions or refer to GSA’s Frequently Asked Questions. Provide your comprehensive price list to your GSA Contract Manager no later than October 23, 2014 to remain compliant and reflect these changes to your GSA Advantage catalog.