Office of General Supplies and Services

The Office of General Supplies and Services (GSS) is responsible for acquisition services and comprehensive supply chain management, including excess/surplus federal property.

Value Proposition

GSS support includes assurance that customers are in compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Beyond that, centralized acquisition for “like” items needed by multiple agencies allows GSS to:

• Achieve lower pricing;
• Assure conformance with regulatory acquisition requirement;
• Assure conformance of business process and information flow within a DoD-driven global distribution system;
• Assure prudent federal use of property through re-utilization, donation or sale, thus avoiding waste and expense; and
• Provide commercial solutions via GSS Multiple Award Schedules, to customers worldwide and reduce costs to government.

Functions

GSS performs these activities with four business lines (Acquisition Operations, Supply Operations, Enterprise Supply Chain Solutions, and Personal Property Management) and one internal support office (Business Management).

• Acquisition Operations: Manages a large portion of the GSA Schedules program. GSA Schedules product offerings include furniture, office supplies, and (non-computer) hardware. Service offerings include supply chain and distribution services, energy and environmental services, language services, administrative services, (non-computer) hardware services, and facilities maintenance.
• Supply Operations (also know by its brand name GSA Global Supply): Manages global supply acquisition and distribution functions. Working with the Department of Defense, it is a vital component of the National Supply System, supporting military, civilian, and some state/local supply requirements throughout the world. Supply Operations provides global support via two large distribution centers, several GSA retail stores, other retail venues, and order taking call centers.
• Enterprise Supply Chain Solutions: Manages GSS’s fourth-party logistics (4PL) solutions program. The 4PL program is targeted at segments of the federal supply market requiring full supply chain support. GSS provides customized solutions to client organizations involving multiple methods of fulfillment (brick and mortar stores, customized web storefronts, multiple/parallel commercial supplier contracts, etc.). The US Marine Corps is the flagship customer for this program.
• Personal Property Management: Responsible for receiving, cataloging, and redistributing excess federal personal property. The donation, sale, and reuse of excess federal property fosters responsible asset management throughout the personal property life cycle. It also allows for qualified recipients of federal property to acquire needed resources at a significant cost savings.
• Business Management Office: Provides administrative and planning support to the GSS portfolio.