The Department of Defense's (DOD) Joint Electronic Commerce Program is an outgrowth of the Defense Reform Initiative. Established in May 1998, the program is intended to increase the use of electronic business practices that are common in private sector companies, practices such as using the Internet and commercially available computer software to conduct business. Through this program, the Department expects that all of its business functions-from acquisitions to health care-will be able to reduce operating costs and streamline business processes. In doing this, the Department hopes to free up funds for weapon systems modernization as well as to improve operations. Since the Defense Reform Initiative was announced, the Department has begun laying the groundwork for moving to electronically based business practices. During 1999, it unveiled its first electronic business/electronic commerce strategic plan. At its core, the plan attempts to express a vision in which technologies are used not to simply automate existing processes but to also help fundamentally change the way the Department does business. Besides developing this plan, the Department already has a number of electronic commerce initiatives under way, many of which predate the Defense Reform Initiative and the electronic commerce program. The GAO periodically monitored and reported on the Department's overall progress in implementing the Defense Reform Initiative. This is the first report to focus on the electronic commerce program alone. Specifically, it addresses (1) issues the Department needs to resolve to successfully implement its vision for electronic commerce and (2) the implementation status and performance measures associated with key electronic commerce initiatives.

NSIAD-00-108 Defense Management: Electronic Commerce Implementation Strategy Can Be Improved