2001 David Packard Excellence In Acquisition Awards: Aldridge Recognizes Four Teams - Brief Article

Program Manager, Sept-Oct, 2001

The David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award went to four outstanding teams this year at a Pentagon ceremony on Sept. 10. Presiding at the Kickoff Ceremony for Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week 2001, Under Secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., presented the Packard Award to the Army Small Computer Program Team; the Navy Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices Supply Reengineering Team; the Air Force/Defense Contract Management Agency/Northrop Grumman Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) Future Support Team; and the Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Sourcing Program Team.

The David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award is established to recognize DoD civilian and/or military organizations, groups, or teams who have made highly significant contributions that demonstrated exemplary innovation and best acquisition practices. Nominations are for organizations, groups, or teams that have exhibited superior accomplishments significantly contributing to defense acquisition excellence initiatives and acquisition programs.

RELATED ARTICLE: Army Small Computer Program

The Army's Small Computer Program team negotiated a series of Enterprise Software Agreements. The U.S. Army and the Department of Defense received heavily discounted pricing by leveraging their combined buying power. More than $700 million in commercial software cost avoidance was realized through the Army Small Computer Programs efforts.

DLA Strategic Sourcing Program Team

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Sourcing Program (SSP) team is responsible for shifting acquisition of spares and repair parts, from spot buys to long-term contract arrangements utilizing best commercial practices. Since October 1998, DLA has increased the, percentage of "shift to commercial practice" usage from 18.5 percent to over 43 percent in January 2001. The team implemented DLA's first Strategic Supplier Alliance with Honeywell, moving from an arms-length relationship to a strategic relationship. The alliance has the potential to save more than $40 million over the life of the contract The team also implemented an Internet electronic commerce system, streamlining the acquisition process for routine items and reducing administrative lead-time by 21 days per buy.

Navy CAD/PAD Program Team

The Navy's CAD/PAD (Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices) Supply Reengineering Team reinvented the process for ordering and receiving aircraft emergency system explosives (Hazard Class 1.3 and 1.4) at U.S. Navy and Marine Corps activities worldwide. Using the Business Process Reengineering and Systems Thinking methodologies, the team created a process that uses existing aircraft maintenance and technical data to automate requisitioning, enabling telephone, e-mail or fax orders, while eliminating burdensome paper transactions. The team also instituted bundling, transitioned to small package carriers, streamlined redundant receipt inspections, and incorporated other support processes (e.g., deficiency report tracking) to reduce Fleet workload. The reengineered process averages less than eight days' cycle time within the continental United States (reduced from up to four months), while avoiding over 45 unnecessary work years annually required under the historic process.

Air Force/Defense Contract Management Agency/Northrop Grumman Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) Future Support Team

The Future Support Team developed through joint Air Force, Defense Contract Management Agency, and Northrop Grumman efforts, established an innovative approach to systems acquisition resulting in the Total Systems Support Responsibility (TSSR) contract. This contract structure reduced the amount of JSTARS sustainment contracts from 11 individual contracts to one contract that focused on aircraft availability to the warfighter, trained aircrews, and cost performance. Where the government normally shoulders these responsibilities, the contractor, Northrop Grumman, is now is charge of the total systems support responsibility. It has the single role of integrating all (contractor and Air Force) activities. When a new aircraft is delivered, the software and hardware are there simultaneously, in the right configuration, with appropriately trained crews, all at the same time. This synergy maximizes the availability of the asset to the wing.