Acquisition & Procurement

James Geurts, U.S. Special Operations Command acquisition chief, has said acquisition officials at SOCOM should be more adaptable to change and promote innovation in order to respond to the needs of a “globally deployed” Special Operations Force, Defense News reported Wednesday. “I don’t want to be surprised by change, I …

Federal agencies that used the General Services Administration’s Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative blanket purchase agreements to acquire wireless services experienced an average savings of 27 percent valued at over $10 million in fiscal year 2015. Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of the integrated technology service office at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote …

U.S. Air Force Sec. Deborah Lee James has detailed the service branch’s Bending the Cost Curve acquisition system that seeks to support innovation and deliver cost savings and process efficiencies. James wrote in a guest piece published Wednesday on Defense One that the Air Force worked with the defense industry as part of efforts to develop …

Larry Allen, founder and president of Allen Federal Business Partners, has said government acquisition officials should monitor spending on services in order to manage procurement processes in the federal government. Allen wrote in a Federal News Radio article published Monday that federal acquisition leaders can begin their spending monitoring and procurement …

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has said the Defense Department should tolerate risks through experimentation when it comes to the acquisition of new technology platforms, FCW reported Thursday. “We’ve got to allow people to make mistakes,” Thornberry said at a committee hearing Thursday. “One way to help …

Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, director of surface warfare (N96) at the U.S. Navy, has said the service branch is working to analyze capability gaps to prepare for its procurement of the Future Surface Combatant slated for 2030. He told Defense News reporter Christopher Cavas in an interview published Sunday that the production of Flight …

The Government Accountability Office reports that a majority of the 11 federal agencies authorized to use what GAO called “other transaction” agreements for contracting or financial assistance programs employed them sparingly from fiscal year 2010 to 2014. GAO said in a report submitted Thursday to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) — ranking member …

The General Services Administration‘s 18F unit has introduced an online micro-purchase platform for open-source code developers to bid on various projects at the digital services organization. V. David Zvenyach and Alla Goldman Seiffert wrote in a post published Thursday that 18F will initially post a batch of reverse auction opportunities on the marketplace to buy …

A Government Accountability Office official has said that the Transportation Security Administration has initiated efforts to change the way it acquires passenger and baggage screening systems used at airports in order to comply with the TSA Reform Act. Michele Mackin, director of acquisition and sourcing management at GAO, said in written testimony to the House Homeland …

The Defense Department has proposed a new rule that would facilitate increased oversight by Congress on the department’s multi-year contract procurement activities, Federal News Radio reported Monday. Scott Maucione writes that the rule would require the defense secretary to certify if a potential multi-year contract meets certain specifications and alert congressional …