The Defense Department has made little progress during the past two years in implementing electronic commerce efforts, according to a new General Accounting Office report. Unless steps are taken to fix the shortcomings, the department's efforts to fully integrate an e-commerce program could fall far short of expectations.
Under the Defense Reform Initiative, launched in May 1998, DoD aimed to make much greater use of such e-commerce tools as expanding the use of purchase cards, establishing an electronic mall for customers and moving towards a paperless contracting environment.
While the department has taken steps to implement some of these programs, it's lacking an overall vision for how it intends to move into the e-commerce world, according to the report, "Defense Management: Electronic Commerce Implementation Strategy Can Be Improved" (NSIAD-00-108). Rep. Herbert Bateman, R-Va., chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Readiness, requested the report
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