Understanding the Federal Supply Classification
In earlier posts I’ve talked about the fact that a big part of selling to the government is knowing how to speak contracting officials’ language. Having firm knowledge of the ins and outs of your products and services will go a long way, but it’s equally important to be able to communicate them quickly and clearly to government agencies. I’ve already discussed CAGE Codes and NAICS codes in earlier posts, so today I’ll go over the Federal Supply Classification.
What is the Federal Supply Classification?
The Federal Supply Classification (FSC) is a set of codes designed to help the federal government in supplying operations. It was developed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and is primarily used by the DoD.
The FSC is broken down into 78 Federal Supply Groups (FSGs), each of which is assigned a 2-digit number. Some numbers don’t currently have FSGs assigned to them to make room for future codes. This 2-digit code (or a letter A through Z for service categories) makes up the first half of an item’s Federal Supply Code. The FSGs are in turn subdivided into 646 individual item classes; the last 2 digits in the FSC identify the class within the larger group. For example, Prefabricated Structures & Scaffolding is FSG 54. Bridges, Fixed and Floating is class 20 within that group, so the FSC for fixed and floating bridges is 5420.
How is the Federal Supply Classification Used?
The place you’ll most likely see an FSC code is at the beginning of National Stock Numbers (NSNs), which consist of the 4-digit FSC code plus a 9-digit National Item Identification Number. The NSN is a standardized code for all supply items, as they have been accepted by the DoD. By implementing this code, the DoD has created a set of standards and a contracting language that will be consistent throughout DoD supply contracts as well as many other federal supply contracts.
As a government contractor, it’s useful to know the Federal Supply Classification codes and National Stock Numbers assigned to each of your products. This will allow you to phrase your federal government bids and RFPs in language you can be sure the DoD will understand. If you have access to a searchable database of government opportunities, you can also quickly search for federal contracts by FSC or NSN, giving you more time to devote to crafting your federal government bid response. International contractors have an added advantage; the National Stock Number is a standard that has been adopted not only by the United States, but also by NATO, so the NSN code will be applicable to supply contracts in NATO treaty countries as well.
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Merry P. Korn said,
June 3, 2008 @ 1:43 pmCan you share with me how many goverment business process outsourcing contracts are awarded. What is the total dollar amount and how many are awarded to women?