The aim is to establish one - stop shopping for DoD customers and industry. This demands integration of business functions across the entire Department with tools that provide for interoperability and seamless handoffs. Most of DoD s business affairs are paper and people intensive and, therefore, expensive and slow. Eliminating and reducing paper enable parallel coordination and processing of information. Thus, the time and expense of physically passing documents from one office to another are eliminated.
Information is processed rapidly and responsiveness to contractors and customers is improved.
Electronic commerce reform initiatives are not inventions, rather they are interconnected efforts to permit an orderly transition from existing, disparate practices to private sector commercial tools and languages. The Joint Electronic Commerce Program Office was opened in May 1998 to facilitate and develop a Department-wide transition roadmap to commercial practices, products, and standards, where practicable. DoD recognizes the benefits electronic commerce provides to improve its combat support functions. The course DoD has taken toward a full commitment to electronic commerce will result in tangible savings and will substantively change DoD s business operations. The Defense Reform Initiative outlined a series of improvements to streamline, reduce, or eliminate DoD headquarters elements, beginning with those closest to the Secretary of Defense OSD and the Joint Staff to set an example for the rest of the Department.