A Critical Analysis of the Air Force's International Merchant Purchase Authorization Card Program

The United States Air Force (USAF) purchased over $ 1.3 billion worth of goods and services with the IMPAC in fiscal year (FY) 2000 alone. The proliferation of the IMPAC has changed the way organizations procure goods and services and empowered them with a tool to increase their procurement flexibility and responsiveness. These benefits have been accompanied by regulatory and procedural constraints that have presented challenges to key participants of this streamlined purchase process. This thesis addresses documented deviations of the IMPAC program's execution from its theoretical design. It describes the structure of the IMPAC program, analyzes the execution of the IMPAC purchase process, and documents and investigates the program's recorded deviations from established procedures. The investigation of these deviations is conducted through exploratory research. The chosen methodology is interviewing IMPAC Installation Program Coordinators (IPCs) at selected locations. The results of the study indicate that IPCs recognize many factors that contribute to the program's procedural shortcomings that often result in the execution of inappropriate or inefficient IMPAC transactions. Some of the findings of this study are used to provide succinct recommendations on how to improve the program. Recommendations include conducting more efficient training of program participants, and consolidating written guidance applicable to the program. Other findings offer opportunities for further research in areas including the establishment of standards for determining the ideal level of IPC staffing based on a specific location's account size, and expansion of the IMPAC's use beyond its traditional micropurchase role.