GSA/Navy Team Gets Hammer Award for Cutting Cost, Time and 1,000 Pages out of Computer Acquisition Process

GSA# 9399

March 25, 1997

Contact: Darlene Meskell
or Hap Connors
201-501-1231

In the not-so-distant past, the Navy dedicated 15 to 40 people and spent over $6 million and 30 months to complete a competitive award to acquire computer hardware and software products for their customers. The request for proposal required by this process was more than 1,000 pages long.

A team of 13 acquisition specialists from the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Navy, challenged to reinvent the process, used Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) available through GSA's Federal Supply Service (FSS) Schedules Program to streamline the process. They replaced the 1,000-page procurement document with a 3-page request for quotes, reduced the required personpower to four people spending three months, and, over time, will save the Government $50 million.

In recognition of this achievement, the team received Vice President Gore's Hammer Award today. The award was presented by GSA Acting Administrator David J. Barram and Jeffrey Goldstein, representing the National Performance Review.

"The team took the simple, yet bold, idea that Federal purchasing could successfully mirror commercial buying practices," Barram said. "It revolutionized the FSS Schedule Program by stripping away layers of regulations that are unique to the Government and redesigning the order process to reflect marketplace thinking. The result is speed, choice, convenience and savings."

The team set up nine BPAs for the Navy's use in purchasing notebooks and desktop computers, printers, servers, and peripheral equipment. BPAs are particularly cost-effective for large buys, since they are flexible and take advantage of market forces.

Barram presented separate Hammer Awards to the Navy team leader, Larry J. Core, of the Tactical Advanced Computer Project Office, and to the GSA team leader, Nick Economou, Director of the FSS Acquisition Management Center.