Purchasing guidance

The program is authorized for use exclusively by federal agencies and only for purchases in support of that agency’s mission. Government purchase card holders must follow their agency’s policies and existing GSA SmartPay purchase card policies.

Use of the program for personal purchases is expressly prohibited.

Easy access to mandatory sources and small businesses

• AbilityOne

  

  Purchasers must buy products on the procurement list from an AbilityOne participating nonprofit agency. Participating online platforms offer AbilityOne products that are easily identifiable to the purchaser.

• Small business

  

  Purchasers must consider items manufactured or supplied by small businesses. Participating online platforms have filters to help easily identify small business suppliers.

• UNICOR

  

  UNICOR is a mandatory source for purchases over $3,500, unless a waiver is granted. Follow your internal agency policy.

Supply chain risk management implementation

• Restricting sales to any excluded vendor listed on SAM.gov
• Incorporating Section 889, Part A and B, in the online platform contracts, for the platform providers themselves as offerors
• Using existing commercial practices to protect against counterfeiting and better manage supply chain risk through proactive tools and processes
• Ongoing monitoring of post-purchase spend data to identify questionable purchases and ensure strong education of purchasers — and platforms — to prevent future issues

The Commercial Platforms Program and priority sources of supply

The information below shows how the program may fit within priorities of supply. Follow your agency’s purchasing policies when using the Commercial Platforms Program, and contact your primary point of contact for agency-specific guidance.

CPP promotes compliance with OMB’s directive to transition open-market spend to government-wide contracts, supporting micro-purchasing after you have reviewed mandatory sources and before you go to the open market.

1. Review mandatory sources (FAR 8.103)

   Mandatory source	Description
   Personal Property Management System	Government regulations mandate that federal agencies consider acquiring excess personal property first, before purchasing new items.
   UNICOR	Federal Prison Industries, or FPI, was designated a mandatory source of federal supply for the products it manufactures. It is a mandatory source for purchases over $3,500, unless a waiver is granted.
   AbilityOne Program	Federal agencies are mandated to source products and services from the Procurement List, a catalog featuring thousands of offerings from AbilityOne and authorized distributors.

2. Review existing government-wide contracts  (FAR 8.104)

   Existing government-wide contracts	Description
   GSA Global Supply	A requisition-based ordering program offering approximately 800,000 office supplies and tools.
   Multiple Award Schedule	Access over 12 million commercial supplies and services, meet small business goals, and comply with relevant laws and regulations through our MAS program.
   Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative	Strategically sourced products and services that leverage the government’s purchasing power to reduce costs and improve overall performance.
   GSA Advantage	An online shopping and ordering system providing access to thousands of contractors and millions of products and services.
   Commercial Platforms Program	As a competitively awarded, multiple-award contract, the Commercial Platforms Program provides access to routine commercial products through eight online platforms for micro-purchases.

3. Lastly, only consider the open-market if government-wide sources aren’t available

   Federal acquisition policy directs buyers to use mandatory and existing government-wide contracts before purchasing from open-market sources.