Air Force Service Procurement

This research is based on a series of interviews with commercial sector purchasing professionals who are respected by their peers for their successful creation and implementation of what are widely accepted as best purchasing and supply management practices, particularly in the area of service acquisitions. The authors also examine such practices through conference participation and a review of the business literature. They find that commercial firms rely on results-oriented metrics that focus on how acquisition activities support corporate objectives to manage their service acquisition activities. While not a commercial firm, the Air Force can learn from commercial firms' experiences in managing its service acquisitions. The authors recommend a balanced portfolio of performance metrics for the Air Force based on the five major categories of results-oriented metrics that appeared most often in their research: cost, quality, supplier satisfaction, implementation of new initiatives, and special interest items. Commercial firms indicated that in addition to the results-oriented metrics, internal management metrics that track internal customer satisfaction, personnel training and retention, and ethics violations are also important. Selected metrics are reported to top-level executives on a regular basis.

Testimony presented before the House Armed Services Committee Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform on April 23, 2009.

Reviews DOD contract and procurement administration under the Renegotiation Act and the Armed Services Procurement Act. Focuses on contract award procedures, renegotiation accounting and auditing standards, and contractor costing justifications. Includes statistical data on defense small business and other contracts (p. 429-621).

This audit was conducted in response to information received from the Air Force Audit Agency and Congressman Charles Rose, Chairman, Joint Committee on Printing. The information expressed concerns regarding acquisition planning, management, and oversight of the Air Force Information Publishing Service procurement to modernize publishing and information management. To achieve this modernization goal, the Air Force established, with the assistance of the Government Printing Office, a firm-fixed-price, requirements, indefinite- delivery request for proposal with economic price adjustments known as the 902-S. The Air Force estimated the life-cycle cost for the 902-S procurement at more than $1 billion. The procurement was to include publishing and printing of administrative documents and technical manuals (computer-aided logistics support (CALS) documents) and Federal information processing equipment, software, and support services. Effective April 6, 1992, DoD consolidated all printing under the Defense Printing Service.