Contract administration efficiency improvements at Naval Sea Systems Command

Demetrius Jackson

Current State: Contract Administration within the Seaport Branch at the Naval Sea System Command is not satisfactorily performed on 30% of the requirements.

Impact: This has a direct impact on managing cost overruns and delivering quality services, on time, and within budget to our customers.

Desired End State: Contract Administration within the Seaport Branch at the Naval Sea System Command will be performed in a satisfactory manner on 90% of the requirements by the end of this fiscal year.

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) moved to a new Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP). Navy ERP is an integrated business management system that updates and stardardizes Navy business operations, provides financial transparency and total asset visibility across the enterprise, also increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

Problem Clarification

Currently, the Program Executive Office (PEO) submarines creates a purchase requisition in the ERP system. That request is then sent to Finance, then to Contracts. However, the Contract Department sometimes needs divergent materials, more clarification, or different information than ERP has given. There is no current standard for the ERP to know which requisitions will be kicked back, which honored, and which may have too much information. Further, if there is an error in any portion of the material, the entire ERP purchase requisition process must be cancelled and restarted from the beginning, adding up to 30 days to process the modification.

Alternatives

Several alternatives exist that may free up the system and make it more efficient, which in turn has several benefits:

Cost Efficiency

Time Efficiency

Morale Improvement

Greater Customer Service for Stakeholders

Command meets goals

Alternative a -- Implement Additional Cross-ERP Training - This would create a larger degree and depth of knowledge and expertise in ERP, greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the individual players invested in the purchase requisition process (program office acquisition managers, financial managers, contract specialists).

Alternative B -- Implement a Contracts Procurment Requisition Pre-Approval Process -- This would eliminate ERP system errors created by utilizing incorrect information and shortening the time to execute a contract modification.

Alternative C - Implement a shared drive system utilizing the local network to track funding actions by contract. This effort would create a filing system housed completely on the LAN. Specialists would save their funding action files on the network using a predetermined organized format, as well as a universal naming system for different document types. This would eliminate ERP system errors and shorten time to execute contract modifications.

Criteria

Performance -- measured by capabilities and overall effect on the ability of the contracting department to fulfill its mission (50% weight)

Cost -- Monetary cost to command (25% weight)

Sustainability -- Long-term implications and future viability, effect on moral, success of solution (25% weight)

Criteria / Alternatives

Performance

Cost

Sustainability

Summary

Alternative a

Medium

Low

High

Medium

Alternative B

High

High

High

High

Alternative C

High

High

High

High

Analysis

Alternative a -- Scores lowest, but has the best long-term sustainability between functional areas and high morale scores