UNICOR

UNICOR is the trade name of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), a wholly owned, self-sustaining U.S. government corporation that manufactures goods and provides services using federal inmate labor and sells them to federal agencies. Federal acquisition and logistics personnel use unicor.gov to browse UNICOR's product/service catalog and place orders online.

What it is

UNICOR is a government corporation, established in 1934, operating under the trade name UNICOR since 1977. It is entirely self-sustaining — funded by sales revenue rather than taxpayer appropriations — and sells market-priced goods and services (textiles, office furniture, electronics, recycling, optics, agribusiness, and contact-center/call-center services among them) to federal agencies. Under FAR Subpart 8.6, Federal Prison Industries is listed as a mandatory government source in the priority hierarchy for supplies: agencies generally must consider or purchase from FPI before other sources, subject to waiver processes when FPI items are unavailable or not comparable on price, quality, or delivery.

Who operates it

UNICOR/FPI is a government corporation within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP); its factories are staffed by inmates confined in federal correctional institutions. Its dual mission is to generate market-priced goods/services while providing inmates job-skills training intended to support their transition back into the workforce.

Access

unicor.gov is a public website; browsing the catalog does not require a login. Ordering as a federal customer uses an online account system for existing federal customers, with a separate landing page and process for new federal customers to establish purchasing access. No CAC or DoD PKI credential is required to use the site.

How logisticians use it

Federal and DoD contracting/supply personnel check UNICOR as a required source of supply under FAR Part 8 before soliciting the commercial market for applicable product categories, and use unicor.gov to review the current catalog, place orders, and process waiver requests when an FPI item does not meet requirements. UNICOR's Central Accounts Receivable group and customer service line handle invoice, contract-status, and ordering questions for existing customers.

Related systems

UNICOR sits alongside other federal required/preferred sources of supply referenced in FAR Part 8 — including AbilityOne (nonprofit agencies employing people who are blind or severely disabled, FAR Subpart 8.7) and GSA Federal Supply Schedules — in the government's source-of-supply priority hierarchy that contracting officers must work through before buying commercially.