US NAVY’s NEW POLICY FOR OFFICE SUPPLIES

[Anonymous]

Navy issues strategic sourcing policy for office supplies
STarting May 1, Navy employees will have to use the Defense Department’s e-commerce Web portal to place office product orders.
Delores
M. Etter, the Navy’s assistant secretary for research, development and
acquisition, recently signed an acquisition policy mandating that
employees use the DOD EMall or local self-service supply stores to
purchase most office supplies. Etter said the move would save the
department money, improve opportunities for small businesses and
provide the Navy with spend analyses.Exceptions to the policy include
deployed ships and units.
There are more than 300 office product
suppliers on the DOD EMall, including 260 small businesses, Etter said
in a news release. The local self-service supply stores, also known as
ServMarts, are primarily operated by the National Institute of the
Blind.The DOD EMall was developed for military personnel to search for
and buy supplies. Users can search by military or manufacturer stock
number, manufacturer name or product category. In a process similar to
that used by commercial online stores, users fill virtual shopping
carts with items they want to purchase.
The policy was developed
after a Navy commodity council examined how more than $100 million was
spent by Navy divisions on office products. During the analysis, the
council sought commercial best practices.

[Author]

May 4, 2006 at 10:28 AM