Army kicks off consolidated buying season

The Army will open its semiannual consolidated buying program for desktop and laptop PCs on Jan. 11, officials said today.

During the consolidated buying period, which will run thtough March 31, Army Desktop and Mobile Computing-2 vendors furnish consolidated buying discounts on top of pre-negotiated low prices for commercial, off-the-shelf products, Army officials said.

The consolidated buying program offers four desktop and four laptop configurations, with available options and upgrades, from various manufacturers and resellers such as CDW-G, Dell, Emtec, Hewlett-Packard, ITG, NCS Technologies, Telos and Transource. All desktops and laptops are preloaded with the latest standard baseline configurations embodied in the Army Golden Master (AMG) program, the officials said.

This year the program has a new category for a Workstation and a 64-bit operating system that conforms to the AMG guidelines, the officials said.

The consolidated buying program is managed by the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) office, which reports to the Army Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems.

The Army’s Information Technology, E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center solicits the requirement. Contracting officers can go to the CHESS Web site and view a side-by-side comparison of specifications and prices, evaluate them in accordance with their procedures, and place an order, officials said.

Army customers should coordinate their desktop and notebook acquisitions through their local information management directorate or equivalent for National Guard and Reserve in accordance with Army Regulation 25-1, officials said.

Last month the Army awarded a contract to help it consolidate purchasing of combat training systems.