Acquisition Reform: From Vision to Implementation,

Abstract

We are now at a point in our acquisition reform program that is not too much different than the situation faced by Winston Churchill during World War II when the US entered the war. He observed that "This is not the end, or even the beginning of the end, but it is, I believe, the end of the beginning." When you think about it, this is exactly where we are in our program of acquisition reform. The Department has begun to make substantial progress in improving the way it procures equipment and services. Our success is real and visible. The evidence is still mostly anecdotal - but we are seeing substantial improvement and savings on major programs like the Joint Direct Attack Munition, the C-17 and the SMART-T, and on thousands of small purchases of items like T-shirts and socks. Many programs are experiencing cost avoidances and savings in the $l00s of millions - a few in the billions of dollars. We are stripping away the onerous non-value added documentation and procedures and now have a foundation in place to move to 21st century business practices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 11, 1996
Accession Number
ADA340014

Entities

People

  • Paul G. Kaminski

Organizations

  • Office Of The Under Secretary Of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Best Practices
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Lessons Learned
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Acquisition
  • Organizational Structure
  • Satellite Guided Weapons
  • Second World War
  • Small Business
  • Training

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.