Column: What is AbilityOne? And what does it mean to you?

by Tom Johnson, Publisher, Set-Aside Alert

AbilityOne is a federal government program to assist blind and severely handicapped individuals to make a living with their own talents and capabilities. It is important to you because federal agencies are mandated to purchase a number of specified products and services only from suppliers in the AbilityOne program.

AbilityOne history

AbilityOne has had several names over the decades since the Wagner-O’Day Act was passed in 1938 and the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (JWOD) in 1971. In fact, the program was often referred to as JWOD, and its products are commonly branded with the SKILLCRAFT ® trademark.

The mandate is contained in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 8.002 and 8.7., which oversees the placement of products and services onto the AbilityOne program’s Procurement List. For products and services on the Procurement List, contracting officers must prioritize AbilityOne purchasing over Federal Supply Schedules and commercial open market purchasing.

Once a product or service is included in the Procurement List, government buyers must buy it from organizations designated by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission (formerly the Committee for Procurement from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped – CPBOSH). The mandate remains in effect until the government no longer uses the item or service or until the designated nonprofit agency source no longer supplies it.

The designated nonprofit agency sources are generally workshops or service agencies providing work opportunities for people with disabilities.

The workshops are located throughout the country in more than 600 locations. Over 50,000 people with disabilities rely on these agencies for employment. Two umbrella groups manage the suppliers: the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and SourceAmerica (formerly NISH).

The Procurement List

If you manufacture or sell products that are on the Procurement List, you may find it difficult to sell these products into federal agencies without an understanding of the AbilityOne program.

Similarly, if you provide operating support services such as on-base store operations, groundskeeping, custodial, switchboard, admin, messenger, hazmat support, commissary and food service, document destruction, laundry, mailroom, shelf-stocking and even medical transcription services at specific locations, your sales are likely to be affected by the services Procurement List.

You can review the Procurement Lists at this site: http://www.abilityone.gov/procurement_list/

Are you locked out?

Not necessarily. In fact, if you are a products distributor, you can become an authorized AbilityOne distributor and furnish products manufactured under the SKILLCRAFT® brand name. You are not authorized to stock them in a retail store, but you are authorized to sell them through your catalog sales operation. Whenever a Federal customer orders a product that is “Essentially the Same” as a SKILLCRAFT item, the distributor must furnish the SKILLCRAFT item.

In addition to office supplies, there is a large segment of medical supplies, some hand tool items, flashlights and light sticks, clocks, air fresheners, mop heads and floor pads, jan/san cleaners and chemicals, brooms, paints, bags and boxes.

Workshops also perform a number of kitting tasks as well as pack and ship services. A number of AbilityOne manufacturing facilities provide sewing and assembly of uniform shirts and pants, pajamas, badges and patches. Other facilities repackage spices, seasonings and nuts. In all, there are over 16,000 items on the products Procurement List.

Becoming a distributor

There are two ways to become an authorized distributor of SKILLCRAFT products.

First, you can apply to be an independent distributor by completing the application at http://www.abilityone.gov/distributors/potential.html.

There are more than 280 office products dealers, more than 170 janitorial/sanitation supplies dealers and 100 hardware/MRO distributors in the independent distributor program.

The second option is to affiliate with one of the authorized distribution networks, which have existing GSA Office Supplies Schedule contracts. These include American Office Product Distributors, Governet, and Independent Stationers Group. Their participating small business networks are posted at http://www.abilityone.gov/distributors/networks.html.

Services on the Procurement List are specific to locations. There are about 1,600 locations where specific services are to be purchased from designated AbilityOne non-profits. For example, the nonprofits provide document destruction services to local IRS offices, the Railroad Retirement Board and some Veterans Affairs Department facilities.

Use the Procurement List to avoid wasting your marketing and sales time and talent on agencies at locations known to be precluded from buying services from non-AbilityOne contractors.

Conclusion

It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with AbilityOne and its Procurement List of affected products and services so you can be aware of their impact on your market, if any. There may even be distribution opportunities for you in AbilityOne.

Tom Johnson is the president of Business Research Services and the publisher of Set-Aside Alert. He can be reached via email at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.

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