Dod E-Business/Standard Procurement System Joint Users' Conference: Transforming the Acquisition Domain

Defense AT&L, March-April, 2005 by Linda Polonsky-Hillmer

More than 850 Department of Defense acquisition and procurement professionals attended the DoD E-Business/Standard Procurement System Joint Users' Conference in Houston, Texas, Nov. 15-19, 2004.

Entitled, "Transforming the Acquisition Domain," the five-day conference emphasized the changing role for contracting professionals in DoD and the automated systems, such as the Standard Procurement System (SPS), that support that change. Automated tools such as SPS will provide tomorrow's professionals a more strategic business focus, becoming business brokers through the use of automated tools such as SPS.

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The general session drew DoD leaders like Kay Cole James, director, Office of Personnel Management; Deidre A. Lee, director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP); Mark E. Krzysko, deputy director, DPAP, E-Business; Ronald Poussard, deputy director, DPAP, Defense Acquisition Regulations System; Army Col. Jacob Haynes, SPS program manager; and Army Col. Victoria Diego-Allard, commander of the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Europe.

The focus of the conference was on how acquisition and procurement professionals support the warfighter, and it was a theme many speakers honed in on, including Lee. "Sometimes it's probably hard for us, in the safety of our cubicles, to see how we connect with the warfighter. But when you see one of these heroes, ask for a story, because they'll look in your eyes and tell you how important business arrangements are to make sure everything works," said Lee.

"We learned a lot in Iraq--we now deploy shoulder-to-shoulder with contractors. Behind every success is a contract officer's initials," she added.

Approximately 50 separate breakout sessions were held, covering everything from the new Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation reporting process, to SPS Version 4.2 Increment 2 report writing. Exhibitors gave users generous opportunities for hands-on demonstrations, including the opportunity to use the new Web-based SPS Version 4.2 Increment 3. This new version introduces a new, more open architecture; allows DoD to migrate its business systems to the Web; and has the scalability to consolidate server support.

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