The Government Accountability Office has analyzed data from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation database for contracts the Defense Department awarded between fiscal years 2007 and 2016 and found a slight decline in the number of contracts awarded through the use of federal procedures to buy commercial items.GAO said in a report published Monday that commercial products such as sustainment equipment and supplies accounted for 54 percent of DoD’s commercial item procurements in fiscal 2016.
Technical support, engineering and other services represented the remaining 46 percent of DoD’s contract obligations that used commercial item procedures in fiscal 2016.
Competitive procurements constituted 68 percent of DoD’s commercial contract spending during the previous fiscal year.
GAO also found that DoD has initiated certain measures to comply with recent congressional laws on the procurement of commercial items and those include the introduction of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement rules and updates to the Guidebook for Acquiring Commercial Items.
The Pentagon also established six centers of excellence to offer advice related to acquisition authorities for commercial items, the report added.
