FROM THE DIRECTOR OF
ACQUISITION CAREER MANAGEMENT C R A IG A. SP I S A K
UNDERSTANDING INDUSTRY
As complex as its operations and motivations are, knowing how the commercial sector works is fundamental to being a skilled acquisition professional.
T
he acquisition profession is a complex business. It’s made up of highly compe- tent professionals in 13 career fields ranging from contracting to engineering to test and evaluation to cost estimating. But it’s always important to under- stand that we don’t get from the point of “I think I need a piece of equipment
or system that does A, B, C or D,” to Soldiers having that in the field without a whole lot of people playing in the process.
Although we have a tremendous amount of competence and capacity inside the Army’s acquisition system, the majority of kit and product is actually built by industry, our critical partner. One of the main ways we can ensure that we get from “I need some- thing” to “I have something” is to understand all of the pieces of the mechanism that make that capability a reality. Industry is one of the main players.
Army acquisition professionals need to develop the skills and competency to understand how industry works—what its motivations are, what an appropriate profit margin is, how much overhead should cost, what challenges they are facing related to end-item or second-tier and third-tier suppliers, and how they source materials. Te better we are in understanding that, the better we can not only provide quality products to Soldiers in the field but do so efficiently, effectively and affordably.
Te key here in many cases is affordability. Industry is a commercial practice. Busi- nesses are in it for profit. Tey deserve to be able to make a reasonable profit, but it’s also incumbent upon us as acquisition professionals to find ways to partner with them to incorporate newer technologies, obtain greater capabilities and get better deals. We need to make sure that we understand we’re not paying more than we should for those benefits.
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Army AL&T Magazine
January-March 2019
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