Commodity council makes $10 million impact on spending Published July 26, 2004 By Doug Karas Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force’s first commodity council stretched Air Force buying power for laptop and desktop computers by $10 million throughout the last year.The Information Technology Commodity Council was established after a review of acquisition data from across the Air Force by a procurement transformation team. The review team determined that the service was buying thousands of similar items individually worldwide. The team adapted a common industry practice for Air Force use by creating the Air Force commodity council process.“Commodity councils are made up of major command representatives and Air Staff advisers,” said Lt. Col. Tim Reed, procurement transformation team leader.“They work together to identify where similar repetitive buys are being made, and develop strategies to leverage Air Force buying power.”A commodity council can often determine that a standard Air Force configuration for a product will meet more than 90 percent of Air Force needs, said Lt. Col. Reed. Users whose needs are met by the standard configurations can then take advantage of combined buying power and volume discounts, realizing significant savings. The commodity council process provides a fix for a problem identified in Air Force procurement.“Despite the huge buying power our Air Force dollars should have, we are missing opportunities to leverage our dollars by relying heavily upon local strategies and execution to fulfill individual unit requirements,” said Charlie Williams, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for contracting. “Ultimately, this duplicated purchasing effort increases the Air Force's overall costs for goods and services that are common across multiple organizations.”Strategic sourcing strategies are already yielding impressive results, said officials. At a Pentagon ceremony for outstanding contracting achievement this spring, Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche recognized the council team for its significant achievements.“We must source strategically,” said Secretary Roche. “We cannot afford to spend our resources inefficiently. When we source strategically, we leverage our buying power in the market place to get the most for the taxpayers’ dollar.”Commodity councils not only reduce cost but also allow officials to focus their support for small business through Air Force-wide strategies.“Support for small businesses is a critical part of our commodity strategies,” said Dan Bowman, procurement transformation division chief. “(Before) commodity councils, small business support varied widely from base to base. Air Force-level buying strategies will allow us to stress the importance of small business to users, and ensure that we maximize the valuable contributions small businesses make in defense procurement.”The information technology group was the first commodity council, but more are in the process of development.“With the stand-up of commodity councils for information technology, medical services and force protection, (contractors are) leveraging resources to get the most bang for our dollars,” said Secretary Roche. “The bottom line is that every dollar we save in acquisition and logistics is another dollar available to provide our front line warfighters with the tools they need to fight, win and return home safely.”