Defense printing service targeted for outsourcing

The Defense Logistics Agency announced Monday that the 1,800-employee Defense Automated Printing Service will face privatization in the next two years.

The printing service, a component of DLA, will begin a series of public-private competitions under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, in which employees of the service will have to compete for their jobs with private contractors. The competition process will begin in the next week or so, a DLA spokesman said.

The Defense Automated Printing Service handles printing, copying and document automation services for the Defense Department and military services. The printing service has an annual budget of $378 million. In the 1999 Defense Authorization Act, Congress instructed DLA to review whether printing services could be outsourced.

DLA hired KPMG, a private-sector consulting firm, to study the printing service. KPMG concluded that none of the service's work is inherently governmental, and could therefore be contracted out. DLA decided to begin public-private competitions for the printing service's United States offices, which employ 80 percent of the service's 1,800-employee workforce.

To start with, DLA will write up performance work statements that describe the Defense Department's printing needs. The Defense Automated Printing Service and private contractors will then submit proposals for the work. The competitions will take about two years, DLA estimates.

The Defense Department will keep the Government Printing Office as its main vendor for printing. DoD provides the office with $130 million in business a year. DoD will also maintain a management team to oversee all printing services, including overseas printing offices, which for now will remain in the government.

KPMG estimated that restructuring the printing service will save DoD up to $35 million a year.

"In the implementation of this option, we will apply all available personnel transition tools," DLA said. "We also will keep our employees informed throughout this process."