Certain purchase exceptions, outlined below, may impact the contracting officer's actions in that FPI's mandatory source either does not apply, or applies differently in these instances:
• Items Not Subject to Mandatory Source FPI’s Schedule of Products lists those items to which its mandatory
source applies.
Mandatory source does not apply to:
Products not listed in the Schedule, Products listed in the Schedule as non- mandatory; Services* *NOTE:
Some services provided by FPI are complement the products offered.
For example, to support a comprehensive office furniture procurement,
FPI offers services such as space planning, design, and related ancillary
functions. These services are non-mandatory, thus, customers may opt to procure them separately,
or from FPI, at their discretion. The furniture products, themselves, however, are
mandatory source items and, as such, the legal and regulatory requirements detailed
throughout these procedures apply (see APPLICABLE LAWS).
• Dorm/Quarters Furniture Products (Federal Supply Class 7105)
The FPI Board of Directors approved a five year pilot administrative waiver for products in this FSC. During the course of the pilot, Congress passed several new laws which impacted the procurement process from FPI. In light of these changes, FPI believed the appropriate course of action would be to allow the agreement to expire, after which agencies would follow the procedures outlined in the applicable statutes and FAR 8.6 (70 F.R. 18954 (April 11, 2005)). Ultimately, however, FPI opted to extend the administrative waiver of its mandatory source for D&Q products (see FPI's signed Notice to All Government Dorm and Quarters Furniture Buyers and GSA Schedule Users).
| (a) | made optional, the requirement to buy from FPI if its products are found comparable to those available from the private sector; | |
| (b) | had no impact on the requirement that FPI receive an opportunity to participate in an agency's competitive procurement process. |
To this end:
(1) if FPI's products are determined to be comparable by an agency's contracting authority, the agency may directly purchase such items from FPI at its discretion;
(2) if FPI's products are determined to be comparable, a waiver request need not be submitted to FPI as a condition for outside purchase. If competitive procurement procedures are undertaken, however, FPI should be given an opportunity to compete.
(3) if FPI's product is deemed not comparable by the agency's contracting authority, competitive procurement procedures are to be initialed (including multiple award schedules), and concurrently, a copy of the requirements/solitation is to be provided to FPI. Upon review of all offers (including FPI's, if submitted), the contracting officer will make a "best value" award.
Products under FSC 7105 include, dormitory furniture including beds (excludes mattresses), bed ladders, dorm chairs, chests, wardrobes, vanities, night stands, and inmate cubicle units. Please refer to FPI’s Schedule of Products for a comprehensive listing of items in this, and all FSC categories.
Notice to All Government Dorm and Quarters Furniture Buyers and GSA Schedule Users
• Purchases Totaling $3,000 or Less
The FPI Board of Directors announced its decision to increase the blanket waiver relating to small dollar value purchases from the previous threshold of $2,500 to a threshold of $3,000, effective April 12, 2007. Customers may, however, still purchase purchase from FPI at, or below, this threshold, if they so choose. No waiver is required to buy from an alternative source.
• Purchase of FPI Products Having 20% or Greater Federal market share
The FPI Board has administratively waived the mandatory source in those Federal Supply Classification (FSCs) codes where FPI's share of the Federal market exceeds 20 percent. However, FPI must be given a fair opportunity to compete.
Customers who rely upon FPI to meet their product needs in these FSCs may continue to purchase these administatively waived items, of their own volition (See BOARD RESOLUTIONS; Products Where Market Share is 20% or Greater). FPI will obtain such sales on a non-mandatory basis.
Updates will be made to UNICOR’s web site to reflect any product additions or deletions under this category of purchase exceptions. There are currently two FSC categories for which this resolution applies:
- FSC 7240 Household/ Commercial Utility Containers
Items such as laundry/postal carts, dollies, waste receptacles, mobile utility carts; - FSC 7210 Household Furnishings
Items such as bed sheets, pillow cases, bedspreads, wash cloths, table cloths, blankets, box springs, mattresses, towels;
Please refer to FPI’s Schedule of Products for a current listing of all items by Federal Supply Classification (FSC) code which is updated annually. Questions as to the FSC applicability of items under this administrative waiver may be directed to the FPI Constituent Relations/ Ombudsman for response.
• DoD Purchases of Products in FSCs for which FPI's share of the DoD Market is Greater than 5%
Section 827 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Public Law 110-181, changes competition requirements for purchases from FPI.
Effective March 31, 2008, Section 827 requires DoD contracting activities to use competitive procedures when procuring products for which FPI has significant market share (defined as being greater than 5% in any Federal Supply Code (FSC). In using these procedures, FPI must be included in the solicitation process. The FSCs which currently meet this criterion are:
- FSC 3510 Laundry and Dry Cleaning Equipment
- FSC 5340 Miscellaneous Hardware
- FSC 5935 Connectors, Electrical
- FSC 5975 Electrical Hardware and Supplies
- FSC 6145 Wire and Cable, Electrical
- FSC 7110 Office Furniture
- FSC 7210 Household Furnishings
For further details, please refer to the DoD's March 28, 2008 Memorandum: "Competition Requirements for Purchases from Federal Prison Industries."
DoD purchases for items in FSCs not listed, above, are subject to the prevailing general procurement procedures detailed under Purchase/Waiver Procedures and Policies; APPLICABLE LAWS.
