Summary: The Government operates a fleet of more than 420,000 commercial passenger cars and trucks and spends over $29 million each year for about 716,000 new replacement tires. Because tires represent a significant part of the millions spent to operate and maintain these vehicles, an examination was conducted of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) and the General Services Administration's (GSA's) tire management policies and practices relating to the storage and distribution of new tires.
DOD's central management and distribution of automotive tires has been plagued with problems, including high operating costs and slow response to customer needs. Although current DOD policy encourages military users to reduce operation and support costs by buying more commercially available items and using commercial distribution networks, military activities are still required to use the DOD system for tires centrally managed and distributed through the supply depots. The DOD system of purchasing and centrally stocking and distributing tires that are available commercially on the open market is no longer cost effective and should be discontinued. DOD's requirements for commercial tires can be met through GSA's Federal Supply Schedule System and direct local purchase at less cost to the Government and quicker response to customer needs.
