A Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing “charge accounts” with qualified contractors below simplified acquisition thresholds (SAT). BPAs should be established for use by an organization responsible for providing supplies for its own operations or for other offices, installations, projects, or functions. The use of BPAs does not exempt an agency from the responsibility for keeping obligations and expenditures within available funds and executed in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-3.
Definition: A Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for open market supplies and services below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT).
The purpose of a BPA is to reduce administrative costs in accomplishing small purchases by eliminating the need to write a separate contract each time. When the government knows they will be buying the same service or part multiple times over and over again, it’s easier to issue a BPA than write a new contract each time.
The following are circumstances under which contracting professionals may establish BPAs:
The main reference for utilizing a BPA can be found in the instructions and guidebook listed below:
The only true downside is that they are limited by a simplified acquisition threshold, which reduces flexibility to acquire large-scale orders.
The General Services Administration (GSA) offers BPS for supplies and services to government agencies under any GSA Schedule contract. GSA Schedules simplify the filling of recurring needs for supplies and services while leveraging ordering activities’ buying power by taking advantage of quantity discounts, saving administrative time, and reducing paperwork.
In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-3; multiple-award BPAs generally should not exceed five years in length, but may do so to meet program requirements. (2) A single-award BPA shall not exceed one year. It may have up to four one-year options
The main difference between a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) and Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is that BPA establishes “charge accounts” with qualified contractors with a predetermined price list. A BOA on the other hand describes the method for determining prices to be paid to the contractor for the supplies or services. The prices will actually be determined prior to the contract award through the described method.
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