One-on-One with Censeo's Raj Sharma

The economic downturn forced organizations large and small to tighten their belts and maximize efficiencies. One organization in particular that has faced pressure from all sides to run a leaner ship and cut waste is the federal government. Raj Sharma, CEO of Censeo Consulting, and recent author of a chapter on rethinking government supply chains in the book Governing to Win . Sharma says inefficiencies in government procurement leave billions of taxpayer dollars on the table each year. He also talked about his how his firm, a recent Consulting Magazine Small Jewel, has attracted talent from top-tier firms, and Censeo's expansion into more private sector work.

Consulting: Why is the government purchasing process so inefficient and what is being done to fix it?

Sharma: The federal procurement process is dictated by the federal acquisition regulations, the primary intent behind which is to ensure public dollars are used prudently with transparency the way the process is run to make it fair and competitive. The overall outcome the government is seeking to ensure is the best use of government dollars with the most output. I think while the intent is correct, the regulations and process potentially have an inverse effect. The process has really led to an excruciating amount of detail in terms of the way federal procurement should be run. In many ways the scrutiny put on the process has led to a culture where people are mostly ensuring they're checking the box in terms of the process but not necessarily applying business judgment and really taking educated risks. So we have a process now that's very lengthy and cumbersome, some of the simplest things take a long time to purchase and it's become costly for government as well as for industry. It imposes a lot of excessive costs to both sides.