Analysis of the Department of Defense Pre-Award Contracting Process

Abstract

This project analyzed the pre-award phase of the Department of Defense contracting process. Notably, our research focused on the pre-award phase of Air Force contracting in support of base operations. Following an overview of the Air Force contracting organizational structure, we presented data gathered from two Air Force operational contracting squadrons. Ultimately, this analysis compared and contrasted the contract processes, metrics, milestones, and best practices of government and commercial procurement sectors. The comparison and contrast of these procurement sectors helped identify continuous process improvement measures that can be utilized by any procurement organization. This project highlighted similarities and differences between commercial and government procurement sectors. Our research discovered that government procurement organizations can benefit from adopting processes, metrics, milestones, and best practices used by the commercial procurement sector.