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ECONOMIES of SCALE
CHESS pursues better IT buying power through flexible procurement, consolidation
by Mr. Brendan Burke A
s the Army’s designated pri- mary source for commercial information technology (IT), the Computer Hardware,
Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) program office within Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) has considerable responsibility for identifying efficiencies and cost savings.
In partnership with the Army chief infor- mation officer (CIO/G-6), U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Com- mand, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and U.S. Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (IL), CHESS
provides architecturally
sound standards and policy-compliant IT enterprise solutions to all Army activities and organizations. CHESS also serves as the Army’s Enterprise Software Initia- tive (ESI) software product manager for DOD’s ESI program.
CHESS collaborates with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Defense
tion Systems Agency and U.S. General Informa-
CONSOLIDATED BUY Te CHESS Consolidated Buy (CB) program is a prime example of better buying power in IT. Now in its 16th buying period, the CB program realizes the Army’s goal of
reducing costs for
hardware and software, as well as other purchasing priorities. In FY13 alone, CB sales accounted for more than 195,000 desktops and notebooks, with a sales
Services Administration in establish-
ing and managing enterprise software agreements (ESAs). Of the more than 57 DOD ESAs, the Army is responsible for managing 25. CHESS also has the responsibility to approve waiver requests for Army organizations that cannot meet their requirements under the ESAs.
CHESS provides a no-fee flexible pro- curement strategy through which an Army user may procure commercial-off- the-shelf (COTS) IT hardware, software and services using an e-commerce process. CHESS offers simple, straightforward contract vehicles through its online Army ordering system, the CHESS IT e-mart.
total of $189.2 million and a cost avoid- ance exceeding $69 million.
In accordance with Army Regulation 25-1, “Army Knowledge Management and
Information Technology,” Army
organizations are required to purchase all desktop and notebook computers through the Army CB unless an excep- tion applies. CBs are open for ordering twice a year, from January to March and June to September.
Te CB, which has achieved more than $350 million in cost avoidance since its inception in 2005, adapts continu- ously to customer feedback and changes in IT procurement demands. Starting in the CB12 buying period (January through April 2011), the Army added printers—multifunction printers in par- ticular—to the products
available for
purchase. While it is not mandatory to purchase printers from the CB, the addi- tion not only supported “going green” by eliminating multiple machines, thus sav- ing energy and office space; it also offered customers a more complete bundle in a
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EFFICIENCIES
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