Acquisition Awards--Air Force: Blanket savings

A year ago, Michael Arbatte, a civilian manager who oversees

training programs at Kessler Air Force Base, Miss., wanted to buy new personal computers to use in teaching Air Force officers about the latest developments in information technology. But as Arbatte surveyed various computer vendors, he found most offered the same prices and he was left wondering how he could get more bang for his buck. "I wanted to make my money bigger," says Arbatte, who had $86,000 to spend for about 100 personal computers.

Arbatte decided to try the Air Force's new online information technology superstore, the Commercial Information Technology Product Area Directorate (CIT-PAD), which offers big price breaks by consolidating numerous small IT orders into larger buys to win discounts from vendors. Additionally, the online store simplifies and shortens the procurement process by using vendors already approved to sell IT products to federal agencies at set prices under the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Schedule.