What role does the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) play in Federal procurement?
GSA and DLA are the major supply and purchasing agencies for the Federal government. Each of these agencies manages different kinds of products. GSA manages the majority of common, commercial type items that both civilian and military agencies need to perform their everyday activities; although, GSA also provides some defense-oriented products as well. Conversely, most of DLA’s items are defense oriented, with the exception of a few items that also can be used by civilian agencies (e.g., light bulbs). In order to achieve the benefits of economies of scale, GSA and DLA both establish large contracts with vendors on behalf of the entire Federal government. Even though neither GSA nor DLA are mandatory sources of supply, most agencies utilize these sources due to the ease of ordering from them and the usually favorable prices. Therefore, it is to your advantage to explore the possibilities of selling your product through GSA and/or DLA. What are the different ways GSA and DLA manage their
