How Can the Air Force Maximize the Value of Reverse Auctioning as a Pricing Technique?

This research examines the pricing tool reverse auctioning. In a reverse auction buyer's state the item they wish to buy and the sellers compete with each other for the sale, driving the price steadily down until no seller is willing to go any lower. Darleen A. Druyun, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition and Management, Washington, D.C., launched the Air Force acquisition reform "Lightning Bolts" initiatives. These initiatives jump-start acquisition reform to find processes leading towards a better, faster, and cheaper way of conducting business. A reverse auction is one of these processes. A review of the extant literature shows that reverse auctioning has been utilized in the commercial sector since 1994, covering thousands of types of items. Preliminary research explored the appropriateness of reverse auctioning in Information Technology. Recent studies indicate the use of reverse auctioning should be expanded beyond Information Technology. Air Force acquisition professionals have utilized reverse auctioning as the pricing technique for twenty procurements, nearly all for the procurement of low price Information Technology. This research will assist acquisition professionals in better understanding the challenges related to the use of the reverse auction beyond low price Information Technology.