Paperless policy: digital filing system benefits to DoD contracting organizations

Abstract

The year 2000 was the cutoff date for the Department of Defense (DoD) to have paperless processes in place. Since then, advances in computer technology have led to such paperless contracting processes as the DoD wide Standard Procurement System (SPS), Wide Area Work Flow, and other department specific major weapon procurement information systems. Although great strides were made by the DoD to implement paperless contracting processes, there still exists substantial room for improvement. Despite the use of all of the paperless system processes, now, seven years beyond the paperless cutoff date, many organizations still use a paper based filing system. This thesis will explore the policy and benefits of implementing a paperless contracting filing system using a software program such as Adobe Acrobat, provide a brief assessment of current Air Force and Navy/Marine contract filing systems, and include a real-world case study of the implementation of a paperless policy change at the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB).