Implementation of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)/Financial Electronic Data Interchange (FEDI) in the Department of Defense: lessons learned from private industry

摘要

Acquisition reform has taken center stage within the Department of Defense (DoD) contracting system. A major cornerstone of acquisition reform is the use of technology to streamline and facilitate the procurement process. One primary initiative is the application of information technologies such as Electronic Commerce (EC)/Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). One area where EC/EDI technology is being applied is to the DoD electronic payment process through the implementation of EPT/FEDI. This application of information technology to the payment process has provided for a secure, rapid, and cost effective means for issuing payments to DoD contractors. However, the processes involved before and after the electronic payment itself are still causing inaccuracies in contractor payments. The focus of this research was to provide lessons learned on how private industry has implemented EFT/FEDI to improve the accuracy of contractor payments. The results of this research show that private industry (1) develops an EC/EDI Strategic Plan; (2) emphasizes senior management consensus and communication; (3) re-engineers the payment process; (4) carefully selects a financial service provider; (5) applies information technology; and (6) communicates with the vendor base.