Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the viability of the cost-per-copy (CPC) service concept, focusing on the Department of Defense's (DOD) and the General Services Administration's (GSA) use of CPC.
GAO found that: (1) several military components purchased CPC services, but the terms and conditions varied by contract; (2) DOD and GSA did not provide agencies with guidance on the factors to consider in establishing contract terms; (3) Army and Navy cost feasibility studies concluded that conversion to CPC service significantly reduced copying costs; (4) DOD and GSA guidance for conducting cost feasibility studies was inadequate; (5) military officials perceived numerous advantages and disadvantages associated with CPC service; (6) DOD and GSA could further expand their CPC services within military departments and across agency lines; (7) DOD and GSA did not have a central source of information on existing CPC service contracts to identify CPC service availability; (8) industry views on the government's use of CPC ranged from ready acceptance of the concept to a lack of interest in participating in future contracts; and (9) copier firms' representatives and industry associations identified suggestions that they believed could improve CPC service for the government.
