Reduced Government Facsimile Communications Costs Possible through Better Management

Civilian Government agencies and military departments have not managed facsimile communications equipment effectively. Established policies were disregarded; other policies and procedures which were not efficient or economical were instituted, and lease-versus-purchase analyses have not been made. As a result, many of the more than 8,000 facsimile machines used by the Government at an annual cost of $5.3 million were little used and could have been eliminated through sharing or common-use arrangements. Also, 96 percent of the machines were leased when substantial savings could have been achieved through purchasing. It is recommended that GSA and DOD identify all equipment owned or leased by executive agencies, determine usage, and evaluate present and future needs; encourage common-user or shared equipment; determine periodically which machines are cheaper to buy than to lease; and consolidate procurement and negotiate a better price when the total exceeds the Federal Supply Schedule maximum order limitation.