Services Supply Chain in the Department of Defense: Drivers of Acquisition Management Practices in the Army

Abstract

In this research, we reviewed contract files and interviewed subject-matter experts to collect and analyze data regarding the Army's contract and management practices in the acquisition of services. We examined 154 contracts for four specific service types at eight U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) organizations. The goal was to answer three research questions: (1) Do the contract characteristics differ for different types of services?, (2) Do the types of services being acquired affect the management practices being used?, and (3) Does the capacity for carrying out acquisition-related work affect the management practices being used? The evaluation of six contract characteristics -- level of competition, contract type, award/incentive fee, contract cost, number of modifications, and award basis -- revealed that a relationship exists between service type and three of the contract characteristics: contract cost, number of modifications, and contract award strategies. The evaluation of 13 management practices showed that a relationship exists between service type and five of the management practices: the use of independent government estimates (IGE), the number of personnel assigned to a contract, the officer serving as the acquisition lead, the use of a quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP), and the use of an IGE for contracts valued over the simplified acquisition threshold. Our research findings also suggest that a relationship exists between capacity and management practices, but further research is needed to confirm this relationship. Based on the findings, we make several recommendations to the U.S. Army MICC for improving efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition of the four service types studied: Professional, Administrative, and Management Support Services; Maintenance, Repair, and Rebuilding of Equipment Services; Utilities and Housekeeping Services; and Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunications Services.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 30, 2012
Accession Number
ADA563568

Entities

People

  • Aruna U. Apte
  • Rene Rendon
  • Uday M. Apte

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Contract Administration
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • Logistics
  • Management Personnel
  • Operations Management
  • Organizational Structure
  • Procurement
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • Supply Chain
  • Tactical Aircraft

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.