The Navy and the Defense Contract Management Agency have both started the process of replacing the 1996-vintage Defense Department Standard Procurement System, which managed 800,000 contracts worth $190 billion in 2011. The Navy, in a request for information to potential vendors posted on FedBizOpps Saturday, said it wants to acquire an electronic procurement system to replace the contract writing capabilities of the Standard Procurement System. DCMA posted a Feb. 21 notice seeking similar, new contract writing software. Navy officials said they are aiming to deploy the new system for training in fiscal 2014, with full operation by 2015. The service is seeking a commercial system that is ready to go “out of the box.” DCMA said it too wants to acquire a commercial contract writing system, which will “improve efficiency, reduce procurement process times, and increase data accuracy.” The agencies are looking for new tools because Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, mandated the sunset of the Standard Procurement System by September 2015 and directed the services to develop their own systems for contract writing and administration. The 17-year-old department-wide system serving 27,000 contracting personnel “is difficult to maintain and improve and is technologically fragile,” Kendall [...]
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