Defence procurement is a complex process that involves numerous federal ministries and organisations, including the Department of National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. This multi-departmental, decentralised approach to defence e procurement is unique to Canada.
Other industrialised countries have adopted a variety of distinct defence procurement methods, with procurement carried out by individual armed services, defence departments, centralised defence organisations, separate government agencies, or independent civilian firms.
What are the procedures?
Despite the presence of numerous defence procurement models and reforms in a number of countries in recent years, most procedures, regardless of model, continue to encounter similar issues and complaints. Many procedures are characterised by bureaucratic roadblocks, political sway, cost overruns, and delays in completing big projects.
No existing defence eprocurement model appears to be capable of satisfactorily addressing all of the issues connected with defence procurement in the twenty-first century. Among these concerns include the increasing complexity and cost of major military systems and worldwide supply chains, as well as the increased speed of technical change in particular domains.
What exactly is the procedure?
The Department of Defense (DOD) manages the defence procurement process in the United States, with numerous agencies within the DOD playing a role. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment is in charge of overseeing the procurement activities of the Department of Defense's numerous components. The Under Secretary of Defense, in particular, reports directly to the Secretary of Defense of the United States.
In performing its defence procurement, every single individual armed service (the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard) happens to bereinforced by a discrete procurement office:
For the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition;
For the U.S. Army, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology;
For the U.S. Air Force, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; in addition
For the U.S. Coast Guard, the United States Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate.
Each of these procurement offices has a number of sub-organizations that specialise in various parts of procurement, including as research and development, acquisition of weapon systems, military equipment and infrastructure, purchase of commercial products, and provision of support services.
Furthermore, several of the DOD's combatant commands, such as the United States Special Operations Command and the United States Cyber Command, have their own purchase authorities and budgets for equipping their forces.
Several models of defence procurement exist throughout the industrialised world, with governments selecting a strategy and, in general, tailoring their acquisition process to match the individual demands and requirements of their armed forces.
Canada's approach to defence procurement is unique, with its decentralised, multi-departmental organisation. Other approaches have been adopted by industrialised countries around the world, with eprocurement handled by individual armed forces, defence departments, centralised defence organisations, separate government entities, or independent civilian firms.
Conclusion
To summarise, no existing defence procurement model appears to be capable of satisfactorily addressing all of the issues connected with defence procurement in the twenty-first century. The expanding complexity and rising costs connected with large weapon systems and worldwide supply chains, as well as the accelerated speed of technical change in specific domains, are among these challenges.
