Air Force saves $500K in hardware buy

Air Force officials say their latest bulk purchase of hardware saved half a million dollars.

Air Combat Command, Air Materiel Command, Air Education and Training Command and U.S. Air Forces Europe bought 2,153 desktop and 1,323 laptop computers. "The consolidated buy increased buying power by approximately 18 percent and saved the Air Force $500,000 in cost avoidance," said Lt. Col. Thomas Gaylord, deputy director of the Air Force Information Technology Council.

The quarterly enterprise buy process helps the Air Force establish standard configurations and consolidate requirements. Service officials believed it saved $4 million in fiscal 2003 by purchasing hardware in bulk.

Last July, the Air Force formed the IT Commodity Council to decrease IT costs and increase standardization.