Description
Organization: NAVSUP
Team Name: Navy Electronic Commerce On-Line Program Team
Related Acquisition Topic(s): Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Integrated Digital Environment (IDE), Integrated Product Teams (IPT), Paperless Contracting, Partnering
Description:
The Navy Electronic Commerce On-Line (NECO) system is a low cost, easily accessible Internet based system for Navy and Business to do Electronic Commerce (EC). It is made up of commercial off the shelf tools merged to accomplish the contracting mission in a very innovative manner. It is a partnership between DoD and business, namely the Naval Supply Systems Command, Dynamic Systems Incorporated and Federal Data Corporation.
The NECO system applies web-enabled technology to simplify the procurement process. The process includes the solicitation, solicitation response, order/award and modification processes. NECO is fully capable of processing traditional Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) using commercial American National Standards Institute (ANSI) solicitation (840), solicitation response (843), order (850) and modification (860) transactions. On the Internet, NECO posts solicitations, receives secured solicitation responses, and sends electronic mail orders, awards and modifications. NECO also allows the posting of plain text solicitation documents for download. This process makes vendors able to do business with just a personal computer, modem, browser and Internet connectivity. The San Antonio Electronic Commerce Resource Center (ECRC) judged NECO the best web based EC system in DoD. Both Army and Air Force reports show support for NECO technology. NECO can be found at http://www.neco.navy.mil.
The technology provides electronic access to Navy procurement documents to the entire vendor community at no cost. This is particularly valuable to small and disadvantaged businesses and NIB/NISH vendors. The use of NECO facilitates the fulfillment of socio-economic policies.
NECO was started based on a simple vision of open electronic commerce using the Internet and EDI. It shows the use of best practices, including electronic commerce, EDI, and the use of commercial tools. 1998 has been a year of growth and expansion for NECO. It fills an important niche in the acquisition process for the Navy and in the future, possibly for all of DoD. This is one part of the acquisition process but the technology developed, especially the use of standard data throughout the process, can be applied to other areas inside and beyond procurement. NECO provides electronic data to payment systems, including the DFAS MOCAS system.
NECO is a first time merger of EDI and Internet technologies. The Navy is ahead of even the commercial world in this very innovative use of standard data structures and user-friendly Internet tools.
The use of the Internet and electronic mail speeds the procurement process by eliminating third parties and paper intensive processes, ensuring that only steps that have value are done. The elimination of printing alone at the initial sites will result in annual savings of $2.3M. The process also yields more timely support of war fighters and other end users.
NECO requires no re-keying of data by the user. This greatly increases the accuracy of the data in the acquisition process and streamlines the electronic process.
When legislation and DoD paperless initiatives came about, NECO was ready. The NECO system fulfills the requirements of goals associated with acquisition reform initiatives, including the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) and Management Reform Memorandum #2, paperless contracting. NECO works with diverse procurement automated information systems, including the Navy's Integrated Technical Item Management Procurement (ITIMP) and Automated Procurement and Accounting Data Entry (APADE) systems, the Army's PADDS system and DoD's Standard Procurement System (SPS). NECO's interoperability through an innovative use of standard file structures increases its scope.
In summary, the NECO system profoundly impacts the future of contracting, electronic or otherwise. It is both a strong individual and team effort. It speeds up and significantly increases access to the contracting segment of the acquisition process. It is an end to end paperless system. It is truly a highly significant development in the acquisition process.
