Re-Engineering the Acquisition Process of Manufactured On-Demand Only Spares

The purpose of this study is to explore potential alternatives to the current Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition process for low demand, high dollar value, not commercially stocked, spare parts in order to better utilize diminishing resources, reduce cycle costs, and sustain the defense industrial base. Demand for these items is insufficient to justify maintaining inventory, while the buy on-demand alternative results in long lead- times and increased costs due to the labor intensiveness of the current process, lack of willing manufacturing sources, and higher prices paid for small quantities of material. An exploratory case study method was used to study the Defense General Supply Center\u27s (DGSC\u27) acquisition process. Data gathered from secondary data review and from interviews with contracting and technical personnel was used to define the current process, hypothesize a better process, and to evaluate the costs and benefits of both processes. This evaluation lead to the conclusion that electronic commerce, agile manufacturing, and specialized contracting initiatives all have significant potential for improving the acquisition process. Recommendations were made for DGSC to continue research into using electronic commerce, agile manufacturing, and specialized contracting methods to improve the acquisition process