toth talk - gsa
TRANSCRIPT
October 2019 GSA Fleet Newsletter 1 | P a g e
Toth Talk Thank you for your continued partnership and selecting GSA Fleet as your provider for vehicle purchasing, leasing and rental needs. We value our commitment to provide your agency with the right vehicle, at the right price, with great service and the data required to effectively and efficiently manage a fleet. In fiscal year 2019, the federal government acquired 49, 808 vehicles, rented nearly 32,000 vehicles and 1,700 pieces of equipment, and continued to lease over 220,000 vehicles from GSA.
This year GSA Fleet achieved a savings of 23.89% from the dealer’s invoice price by leveraging our purchasing power and saving over $492.5M to the taxpayer. We are proud to be your vehicle supplier and
will strive to continue providing you with the fleet management resources you need. Please be sure to read the important updates for the new fiscal year. It’s time to prepare for the new leasing acquisition cycle (page 2) and note the rate change for both leasing and purchasing vehicles (page 3). Also of particular importance
is the new policy for requesting Short Term Rentals with delinquent bills (page 2). And please be sure the note how to enter your correct mailing address in AutoChoice so that you receive your certificates of origin and other important documents (page 4). You can also read about how the Buy America Acts affects GSA purchasing (page 5). Lastly, be sure to mark your calendar for FedFleet 2020. This year it will be held January 28-30, 2020, once again in Washington, DC. Agency meeting space is available on the Monday prior and Friday after. If interested in meeting space, please email [email protected]. Go to gsa.gov/fedfleet for details. Registration opens October 15. Thank you for another great year of partnership. I look forward to continuing to provide you with the purchasing and leasing services you need to meet your agency missions. Bill Toth Director, GSA Fleet
In this Issue: Preparing for FY2020 Leasing Acquisitions ................................................................................................................... 2 New STR Accounts Receivable Policy ............................................................................................................................ 2 GSA Fleet Rate Increase ................................................................................................................................................ 3 National Drive Electric Week ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Progress Towards the Telematics Transition ................................................................................................................ 3 AutoChoice Mailing Address Reminder ........................................................................................................................ 4 Complete Your Vehicle Safety Recalls ........................................................................................................................... 4 Buy American Act ............................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
October 2019 GSA Fleet Newsletter 2 | P a g e
Preparing for FY2020 Leasing Acquisitions The FY20 GSA Fleet vehicle leasing acquisition cycle is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to evaluate the needs of your agency’s current leased fleet and begin conversations with your Fleet Service Representative (FSR) about which vehicles are eligible for replacement. It is important to begin these conversations early so that you are prepared when the Customer Acquisition Module (CAM) replacement vehicle process begins. The FY20 CAM schedule will kick off on November 12, 2019. Below are key dates to keep in mind for the FY20 Leasing Acquisition Cycle. At each level the review and approval process begin as soon as selections are received and move to the next level.
Acquisition Event End Date
FSR recommendations due to local customer
11/12/2019 to 12/03/2019
Local customer vehicle selection period
01/07/2020
Mid-level review 02/04/2020
HQ approvals 03/03/2020
In addition to replacement vehicles, CAM may also be used to request additional vehicles. These requests may be submitted in CAM at any level. Requests may be made at any time and do not follow the CAM schedule outlined above. All requests must obtain HQ approval through CAM prior to being considered for funding by GSA Fleet. Agency HQ approval does not guarantee GSA approval and funding. FSRs will first attempt to fill the request with existing leased vehicle inventory. If unable to do so, the FSR will create a requisition for new vehicles. Work with your FSR to convert agency-owned vehicles prior to requesting additional vehicles. Replacement of converted vehicles receives funding priority over additional vehicles replacing agency-owned vehicles. Finally, we are excited to offer FY20 CAM Desktop Workshop training sessions shortly after CAM goes live. These live sessions are scheduled for November 7th at 2:00 pm ET and November 12th at 11:00 am ET. These sessions are designed for both repeat and new CAM users. Register here, under “Desktop Workshop”, select “Click here to register for Desktop Workshops”.
New STR Accounts Receivable Policy One way GSA Fleet maintains low pricing is by proactively managing our accounts receivable. As you are aware, all GSA Fleet invoices are due 30 or 45 days after being issued for non-federal or federal customers, respectively. As a last resort, when invoice delinquencies are sustained at an unacceptable level, GSA Fleet suspends agency ordering of additional vehicles until overdue balances are reduced. Starting November 1, 2019, GSA Fleet accounts with statements more than 90 days old will not be able to submit new vehicle or equipment Short Term Rental (STR) requests. This is in addition to not being able to order additional GSA Fleet leased vehicles. Once statement(s) are settled, new STR requests and orders for leased vehicle will be accepted. Ordering restrictions are analyzed and implemented at the Billing Office Address Code (BOAC) level. All GSA Fleet invoice statements are online in the Vendor and Customer Self Service (VCSS) system. In VCSS you can view bills, correspond with the GSA finance center regarding a billing statement, and confirm payments. In order to avoid disruption to your vehicle and equipment rental services, please login to VCSS to view your delinquent statements and pay them as soon as possible. Statements can be paid by Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection (IPAC), check or credit card. Visit pay.gov if paying by credit card. If submitting payment via check, please send to the address below and include your BOAC and statement number on the check:
GSA: Payments for Non-IPAC Fleet Bills Lockbox 979083 St. Louis, MO 63197-9000
If you have questions about access or logging into VCSS, please do one of the following:
• Go to https://vcss.ocfo.gsa.gov/Help.aspx • Watch the video • Email [email protected], or • Call 866-450-6588.
Thank you for ensuring that your financial account with GSA Fleet stays current. Please contact your GSA Fleet Service Representative if you have any questions or require assistance. If you only use the STR program, please contact [email protected] or call 866- 886-1232 with any questions.
October 2019 GSA Fleet Newsletter 3 | P a g e
GSA Fleet Rate Increase GSA Fleet completes a comprehensive review of vehicle lease rates at least annually to recover all operating costs of our vehicles. To ensure GSA Fleet is able to fulfill your vehicle needs that accomplish your agency mission, GSA Fleet implemented a 1.0% aggregated rate increase for fiscal year 2020. The actual rate change varies among vehicle classes in order to more accurately align to specific vehicle costs. The official FY20 Rate Bulletin, which was effective October 1, 2019, can be found at www.gsa.gov/gsafleet. Additionally, the fee for the GSA Fleet Vehicle Purchasing program increased for fiscal year 2020. The Vehicle Purchasing program provides customers with significant savings through consolidated buying, vehicle subject matter expertise and ordering efficiencies. In order to continue to offer these innovative products and services, the fee for vehicle orders increased from 1% to 2% effective October 1, 2019.
National Drive Electric Week September 14-22 was National Drive Electric Week and across the country electric vehicle (EV) drivers hit the streets to increase public awareness of EVs! In the Federal Government. Agencies currently lease more than 1,200 EVs from GSA Fleet. EV acquisitions continue to increase each year as availability in new vehicle classes increase (i.e. SUVs and minivans) and GSA obtains lower acquisition costs. Additionally, EVs now offer enough range to meet agency longer-range needs (i.e. an all-electric sedan that can travel 238 miles on a charge). There are also more places to drive EVs! Since 2016, The Federal Highway Administration has been establishing a national network of alternative fueling and charging infrastructure along national highway corridors. New EV corridors are designated each year and the existing corridors continue to grow with more places to charge. With over 135,000 miles of federal highways being designated to date, you can now drive longer distances with your EV without worrying about running out of charge. Check out where you could be driving electric today!
Contact [email protected] to be able to charge at public fee-for-use stations today!
Register for upcoming sessions:
• Accident Reporting- October 10• FY20 CAM Kickoff- November 7 & 12• FY20 AFV Offerings & Requirements-
November 20 & December 5
Sign up for GSA Fleet training updates.
Progress Towards the Telematics Transition Since awarding GSA Fleet's new telematics Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), we have made much progress toward fully implementing this solution into GSA Fleet leased vehicles. The first six devices were installed on GSA Fleet internal vehicles. These installations provided key lessons learned that will be applied towards future installations once wider implementation is underway. GSA Fleet continues to certify the GSA telematics solution provided by GeoTab, as FedRAMP authorized and secure the MiSaaS Authority to Operate (ATO). Once the ATO has been granted, the roll-out of the highly anticipated telematics pilot program will begin. Over 30 federal agency customers are interested in being early adopters of the new GSA Fleet telematics solution. These agencies represent a diverse range of federal service lines and vehicles types. The estimated start time for early adopters is mid-to-late first quarter FY 2020. This is subject to change based on the timing of the ATO. Prior to engaging early adopters, GSA Fleet continues testing features on its own internal vehicles. GSA Fleet anticipates telematics installation prior to pick-up on all leased vehicles for all orders placed on or after January 1, 2020. For more information on GSA Fleet's telematics program, visit gsa.gov/telematics or contact us at [email protected].
October 2019 GSA Fleet Newsletter 4 | P a g e
AutoChoice Mailing Address Reminder GSA Fleet is receiving a large increase in misdirected mail, including certificates of origin (COOs) and vehicle safety recalls. This is due to improperly formatted mailing addresses entered into AutoChoice. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that all vehicle safety recalls, and other vehicle supplier notifications, are resolved timely. Unresolved vehicle safety recalls may pose the risk of death or serious injury to your drivers or the public at large. Furthermore, certificates of origin are sensitive legal documents and should be safeguarded to avoid being lost or misdirected. You and your agency personnel should verify that all mailing addresses entered into AutoChoice are valid USPS formatted addresses. GSA Fleet recommends the agency headquarters’ fleet manager review each requisition prior to submission to ensure that each requisition contains a valid mailing address. GSA Fleet will audit all future requisitions to ensure proper addresses are submitted. Requisitions found to have incorrect addresses may be modified to reflect the mailing address of the agency headquarters. Below is an example of the proper format for entering your agency's mailing address in AutoChoice:
The certificates of origin are made out to the agency and address provided in the mailing address field—therefore a person's name, phone number, or any other individualized information should never be added to the mailing address fields in AutoChoice. Suite numbers, room numbers, or other additional address routing information should only be included on the second address line if such information is required by your agency to receive mail at your
location. Generally, only the agency name, valid street address, city, state and zip code should be entered in the mailing address fields. If you need further guidance on this issue, please contact the GSA Fleet Vehicle Purchasing Division at [email protected]. Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Complete Your Vehicle Safety Recalls Please complete actionable recalls immediately upon notification. GSA Fleet leased vehicle recall notifications are provided electronically through email and GSA Fleet Drive-thru. You cay look up vehicle recalls individually at Safercar.gov. An additional resource for agency-owned fleets is the CarFax bulk upload tool. This tool provides details on open recalls and service campaigns for up to 10,000 VINs at one time, including a mix of vehicle manufacturers. Below is the process to use the CarFax bulk upload tool: Registration:
1. Visit carfax.com/recall2. Under Government/Businesses, click on
"Request an Account"3. Fill out the form and click "Request an
Account"4. CarFax will review and may send an
email with questions5. Once approved, CarFax will send an
email and ask that you create an accountRecall Checks:
1. Login2. Create a .csv spreadsheet file with a list
of up to 10,000 VINs in column A3. Click "Upload a New .CSV File"4. A report containing the uploaded VINs
will be generated
Save the Date: When: January 28-29, 2020
Where: Washington, DC Details: gsa.gov/fedfleet
Registration opens October 15
October 2019 GSA Fleet Newsletter 5 | P a g e
Buy American Act GSA Fleet seeks to provide the vehicles you need to complete your mission at the lowest cost to your agency and the taxpayer. Many of these vehicles are familiar U.S. brands, but increasingly you may see more foreign-badged vehicles. All motor vehicles acquisitions are in compliance with the Buy American Act (BAA) - a 1933 law requiring the federal government to prioritize U.S. made products.
Congress passed the Trade Agreements Act in 1971. This law granted the President, or designated representative, the power to waive BAA requirements for certain products from countries the U.S. has signed trade agreements with, or designated as trade partners. The Buy America Act is waived for certain goods for several U.S.trade partners, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Products from these countries must receive equal consideration, alongside U.S. products, per the Federal Acquisition Regulations (subpart 25.4).
Due to the scale of motor vehicle acquisitions made through GSA Fleet, these purchases are covered by the Trade Agreement Act, and the BAA waiver. Equal consideration is given to companies and vehicles originating from these designated trade partner nations. This increases the vehicle supply and provides agencies a wide variety of vehicles to meet their mission, at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. Offering vehicles from domestic sources, as well as from our foreign trade partners, drives competition and allows the federal fleet community to efficiency and effectively supply our fleet.
Every GSA Fleet leased vehicle comes with a foldout driver’s guide that can be stored with the GSA Fleet Services Card for easy reference. This guide is now accessible online and is smartphone friendly for on the go reference. Check ou the online guide here.