The overall objective was to review the DoD implementation of electronic commerce/electronic data interchange for small purchases. The specific objectives were to identify impediments to timely and effective implementation of electronic commerce/electronic data interchange through FACNET.
We are providing this report for your information and use. This report identifies and summarizes issues related to the implementation of electronic commerce within DoD. Both the DoD Electronic Commerce Office within the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition Reform) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) are currently addressing many of the issues identified. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to compile those issues identified, to identify efforts being made in those areas, and to identify other audits and reviews being performed on specific topics.
Use of Electronic Commerce (EC)/Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to support Department of Defense (DoD) procurement processes has been under consideration for some time. A 1988 Deputy Secretary of Defense memo calls for maximum use of EDI, based on 10 years of DoD EDI investigation and experiments. In 1990, Defense Management Review Decision 941 stated, 'The strategic goal of DoD's current efforts is to provide the department with the capability to initiate, conduct, and maintain its external business related transactions and internal logistics, contracting, and financial activities without requiring the use of hard copy media.' The EC in Contracting PAT membership reflected a broad cross section of Military Services and Defense Agencies working on a full-time basis for 60 days. The diversity of the EC in Contracting PAT ensured that the needs and concerns of all DoD components were addressed during the creation of the report. The resultant plan, therefore, represents a comprehensive approach for implementing EC throughout the DoD.
There have been many technological innovations in recent years that have paved the way toward bringing to the business environment a capability that will effectively eliminate, over time, the need to either create or accommodate paper transactions as a standard practice of conducting business. With downsizing and shrinking budgets, the Army and DoD are placing major emphasis into new cost and resource saving efforts - Electronic Commerce (EC) through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a necessity for a all Of DoD's service level small computer acquisition programs. This paper examines this new technology with an objective of analyzing the feasibility of implementing EC/EDI in the current Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract delivery order business process in the Army's Small Computer Program. It provides a non- technical overview on the subject, a look at the DoD EC/EDI infrastructure, an overview on the Small Computer Program, and lastly a Small Computer Program EC/ EDI implementation strategy including a cost/benefit analysis.
Impediments may exist that hamper small-business contracting opportunities. Among the issues examined in the report are federal goals for small business purchases, the unique purchase needs of the Department of Defense, and how they affect opportunities for small businesses. The study also examines contract "bundling," subcontracting in professional services and research and development, opportunities in the Small Business Innovation Research and the Mentor-Protege Programs, electronic payment systems, and whether firms "graduate" from the programs or increase in size from "small" to larger businesses as a result of various small-business preferences, including those for procurement.
