The Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) is a unique contracting vehicle for the government that developed in response to the government’s need for such mundane articles as paper, pens and desks.  While the program has evolved over the years, the goals of the program has remained constant to offer government agencies an easier, less expensive, and quicker way to purchase the products that they require to operate.  Like the program itself the scope of products offered under the program has evolved as well.

In the beginning a form of the MAS Program has been in existence since 1910.  Administered at that time by the General Supply Committee of the United States Treasury Department, the “General Schedule of the United States Treasury Department, the General Schedule of Supplies “ as it was called, was created to supply other government agencies with supplies that were ready for immediate delivery.

In 1949 Congress created the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) “As a centralized Federal Procurement and property management agency whose primary objective was to save taxpayers money”.  Following the creation of GSA, the Department of the Treasury transferred to it the authority for managing the General Schedule of Supplies.

In order to carry out its responsibilities for facilitating the procurement, storage, and provision of supplies to Federal Agencies, regulating the supply functions for other agencies and standardizing the Federal Government’s purchase specifications, GSA created a new division, the Federal Supply Service.

From its inception through 1982 and to this day.  The keystone of GSA’s MAS Program was the stated requirement that GSA expected to receive most favored customer pricing from all vendors.