A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report indicates that the volume of commercial items purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense has gradually declined over time, but experts say a proposed move to allow the use of online commercial marketplaces like Amazon.com could reverse that trend.
Buying through a marketplace method, rather than the now-common method of issuing task orders for commercial items under overarching indefinite-quantity contracts, “may truly revolutionize and greatly increase the purchase of commercial items,” McCarter & English LLP partner Daniel Kelly said.