The Finalists Are...

August 15, 2002

or the third year, Government Executive, the Council for Excellence in Government and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy have teamed up to honor innovative acquisition strategies.

The "Business Solutions in the Public Interest" awards identify and celebrate acquisition teams and agency leaders who have used the procurement process effectively and creatively to help achieve agency missions.

This year, 70 applications were received. After the list was narrowed to 12 finalists, a panel of government and industry experts selected four winners. Their stories can be found in the links in the right-hand column on this page. The other finalists include:

Army Warheads and Energetics Technology Center. The Army has traditionally developed its requirements for warheads, explosives and other devices in a vacuum, leaving industry in the lurch as to where it should invest research and development dollars. The new process brings government, industry and academia together to discuss priorities and options. The process has generated ideas for new technologies by tapping nontraditional defense contractors and universities. More than 50 organizations participate in the consortia.
Special Needs Program Management System, Defense Department. This automated information system was designed to ensure that Defense provides adequate therapy, medical support and social services for active-duty service members' children with disabilities. The new information system collects and stores referral, evaluation, eligibility and service plan data for all eligible children. Acting as a central clearinghouse, the system ensures that health care and education providers can gain easy access to a patient's medical file. This is important since special needs patients see a variety of providers and are often uprooted if their parents are reassigned. The system also eliminates redundant data collection.
Navy CashTM, Naval Supply Systems Command. Through a partnership with the Treasury Department and the banking industry, the Navy is eliminating the need for sailors to carry wads of cash with them on board ships. Using smart and debit card technology, sailors and Marines now have access to their bank accounts from anywhere in the world.
Contractor Performance System, National Institutes of Health. The Internet-based system maintains and disseminates contractor performance evaluations that other federal agencies can access. On the site, users can research a vendor's past performance before making an award decision. The system now has more than 7,000 users in 19 agencies.
Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser, Air Force. The team responsible for this program sought to develop an "out of the box" acquisition approach to get the best weapon possible delivered on time. They turned to integrated product teams to steer the procurement, and entered into long-term purchase agreements with vendors. The new approach cut the acquisition time for the munitions from as much as 15 years to five years.
Supply Chain Management, Postal Service. Using such innovations as reverse auctions, the Postal Service has reduced its spending on supplies and services by more than $100 million. Through an aggressive supply chain management program, the agency hopes to shave another $120 million. The program allows suppliers to enter into long-term contracts, thus reducing their administrative costs, which are traditionally passed on to the Postal Service in the form of higher prices.
Central Contractor Registration, Defense Logistics Agency. This Internet-based system allows contractors to update their company information and register to compete for federal contracts in a real-time environment. This allows Defense contracting officers to gain immediate access to the data. The central database eliminates the need for vendors to provide duplicate information to every agency it works with. The system is slated to be department-wide by 1998. Cost avoidance so far totals nearly $24 million.
Just-in-Time Bushing Initiative, Defense Logistics Agency. Hill Air Force Base, near Salt Lake City, Utah, needed to overhaul how it bought bushings-the removable linings used to limit friction and abrasions between metal parts-for the landing gear systems of aircraft serviced at the base. The procurement process was inefficient, resulting in long lag times for repairs. Adopting practices from the private sector, the base was able to reduce delivery time to less than 48 hours. DLA also expanded the vendor pool, creating more competition and ensuring backup in case the prime vendor fails to deliver on time. The system has resulted in savings of nearly $8 million this fiscal year.