The Army is in the midst of a major overhaul of its business systems and was recently awarded an enterprise contract that will bring it closer to achieving long-sought integration and cost savings goals. The new contract, signed Dec. 31, 2009, is a major shift from previous enterprise resource planning (ERP) product procurements in three ways:

• It was procured directly from the vendor, as opposed to our ERP program system integrators.
• Licenses are not restricted to a single ERP program (as in the past) and instead can be used anywhere in the Army enterprise.
• Final price was lower than what has been paid in the past through program system integrators.

The contract was negotiated through the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software, and Solutions (CHESS) Program Office and was awarded by the U.S. Army Contracting Command’s Information Technology, Electronic Commerce, and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4) to the winning competitor and SAP reseller, Carahsoft.

PEO EIS Program Executive Officer Gary Winkler said the move will leverage the Army’s significant buying power. “In the past, each Army project and product office ordered licenses separately through individual program integrators. Now, there is an easier and less expensive way to procure these licenses without restricting their use to a single program,” he said. PEO EIS oversees the CHESS program, as well as the four project offices implementing SAP-based ERP systems:

• Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program, the hub and enterprise enabler
• General Fund Enterprise Business System, the Army’s financial system
• Global Combat Support System-Army, the tactical logistics system
• Logistics Modernization Program, the national logistics system

Upon full deployment, it is estimated that these systems combined will have more than 230,000 users. The move is the latest in a series that is turning the Army’s vast and complicated business environment into an integrated enterprise for Soldiers and civilians who operate and manage the Army’s business.

The Army anticipates an investment of approximately $6.5 billion for its business modernization effort going forward, but Winkler noted that, “Crucial steps taken now will achieve substantial life-cycle cost savings in coming years. We are incrementally consolidating functions of the separate programs now, with an ultimate goal of combining them in the future to encompass the Army’s entire business mission area.”

CHESS, the Army’s 1-stop shop for IT purchases, provides continuous vendor competition and consolidates requirements to maximize the Army’s buying power, achieve cost savings, and provide best value. CHESS works diligently with other Army Knowledge Management partners, including the Army Chief Information Officer/G-6, Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command(A), and ITEC4 to provide architecturally sound, standards- and policy-compliant IT enterprise solutions to Army customers around the world.