DOD Procurement: Cost-Per-Copy Service Can Reduce Copying Costs
NSIAD-90-276
Published: Sep 28, 1990. Publicly Released: Oct 30, 1990.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the viability of the cost-per-copy (CPC) service concept, focusing on the Department of Defense's (DOD) and the General Services Administration's (GSA) use of CPC.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of General Services should jointly study the implications of various CPC contract terms, particularly with regard to the number of option years, the number and ranges of production volume bands, and vendor-furnished supply and maintenance requirements. Guidance should be based on procurement and administration of CPC service experiences of the military departments, GSA, and other civil agencies. DOD and GSA should use the resulting information to provide guidance for agencies to use in establishing terms for their specific contracts. |
Closed – Implemented
The action officer has been assigned. DOD and GSA jointly studied the implication of the various contract terms. GSA developed a federal property management regulation.
|
| General Services Administration | The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of General Services should jointly study the implications of various CPC contract terms, particularly with regard to the number of option years, the number and ranges of production volume bands, and vendor-furnished supply and maintenance requirements. Guidance should be based on procurement and administration of CPC service experiences of the military departments, GSA, and other civil agencies. DOD and GSA should use the resulting information to provide guidance for agencies to use in establishing terms for their specific contracts. |
Closed – Implemented
A revised regulation was drafted, reviewed, and approved by OMB during June 1993 and published in the Federal Register during July 1993 to solicit other comments.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy to use CPC service as a procurement option along with other traditional options and select its use when it is the most economical to the government. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD issued a memorandum in October 1989 that included the cost-per-copy guidelines from the Chairman, Subcommittee on Readiness, House Committee on Armed Services.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of General Services should identify opportunities to competitively award single vendor contracts for leased and purchased copiers that include terms similar to those in CPC service contracts. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD issued guidance for incorporating certain cost-per-copy terms in single vendor contracts.
|
| General Services Administration | The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of General Services should identify opportunities to competitively award single vendor contracts for leased and purchased copiers that include terms similar to those in CPC service contracts. |
Closed – Implemented
Revised terms are in the copier standard solicitation document.
|
| General Services Administration | The Administrator of General Services should publish and distribute catalogs and price lists to government copier managers to help them identify the availability of CPC service. |
Closed – Implemented
Instructions on how to obtain information on contracts are included on the computer bulletin board. Contract information is to be published. Various methods were used to distribute the source for cost-per-copy contract information.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to perform the required cost feasibility studies, including all procurement options, ensure that cost feasibility studies and cost reduction computations are performed on a copier-by-copier basis considering all relevant cost factors, and retain the studies to support the procurement action. |
Closed – Implemented
The Office of the Secretary of Defense issued guidelines to perform the required cost feasibility studies.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy to incorporate DOD recently distributed guidelines in the military departments' regulations or operating directives. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD directed the services and agencies to incorporate these guidelines in their regulations or directives.
|
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Topics
Contract administrationContract termsCost effectiveness analysisDefense cost controlDefense procurementFederal procurement policyFederal records managementPrinting costsPrinting or duplicatingService contracts