JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) -- The letting of nine European household appliance contracts by two Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center organizations at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is expected to save the Air Force roughly $85,000 annually.
The collaborative effort between AFIMSC’s Detachment 4 and the Air Force Installation Contracting Center’s 764th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron will provide United States Air Forces in Europe installations with brand-name European household appliances for on- and off-base housing residents in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.
Valued at $45.4 million combined, the 10-year Standardized European Household Appliance Contract is expected to net savings by improving customer service and providing a common base of parts and maintenance for appliances at USAFE installations in these countries.
“In the past, procurements for appliances were done at base level and were typically low-bid driven, which has caused a wild mix of different brands and models (in our) inventory over the past years,” said Hans Schulz, AFIMSC Det. 4 housing management specialist and requirements owner representative for the contract.
“Low-cost items are usually not of the same quality as brand name products,” Schulz added. “To maintain the expected life cycle for all these appliances, repairs often become necessary. Parts availability for the different brands and models, and extended downtimes for repairs triggered the need for a (more standardized) inventory of quality products.”
Quality products that last longer are most preferred along with local repair parts availability that supports quick turnaround times,” Schulz said.
“To encourage competition among vendors and generate cost savings for the Air Force, contract requirements solicited full and open competition,” said Jennifer Schneider, 764 ESS contracting officer and team lead for the initiative. “The small as well as larger companies could provide quotes.”
Under conditions of the contract, the delivery period for the 10-year contract began in December, and the first contracting office already started its ordering process,” she said.