Surprise: ODIN Is More Expensive Than The Real World
“We found that by consolidating category 1 IT purchases, NASA could achieve efficiencies and associated benefits including cost effectiveness, through value-added services included in the cost of an IT purchase made through ODIN. We determined that for category 3 IT purchases, in some instances, ODIN’s prices for specific items were higher than prices advertised by IT suppliers dealing through the Internet. During our review, we also found that NASA does not have formalized procedures for negotiating price modifications from ODIN and does not provide instructions for employees on how to seek and identify lower costs than ODIN’s for category 3 IT purchases. Providing price negotiation procedures and instructions could provide NASA cost savings for category 3 IT purchases in the future.”
