a. AbilityOne. CHs must purchase all office supplies listed on the Procurement List of products placed in the AbilityOne^® Program from their respective local AbilityOne^® Base Supply Store (BSC), AbilityOne catalog, AbilityOne distributor, or through any of the websites listed at AbilityOne, regardless of dollar value. Instructions on how and where to purchase online are available on the same link. The Procurement List is available at https://www.abilityone.gov/procurement_list/ [Products List- Excel (right side)], or can be searched from AbilityOne Procurement List. CHs should first shop at their respective local AbilityOne^® BSC, where such stores exist. In the absence of a local BSC, CHs must shop through the AbilityOne^® distributors online. The following exceptions apply:

1) Purchases outside the Continental United States (OCONUS). In addition, for units in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the preferred use policy for office supplies is through the Joint Office Supply Europe program (JOSE). For information on JOSE, cardholders may contact their A/OPC or view the memorandum at Joint Office Supply Europe.

2) Purchases made from wholesale supply sources such as stock programs of the General Services Administration (e.g., GSA Global Supply Center).

3) Purchases for an unplanned urgent need required on the same day. Poor acquisition planning and inadequate market research do not apply to this exception. Use of this exception requires valid documentation and retention in the purchase card file.

4) Purchases through FedMall. When the FedMall website is unavailable for more than 24 hours, cardholders may place orders directly with the Office Supply BPA vendor through another form of communication.