Federal Contracts: Agencies Widely Used Indefinite Contracts to Provide Flexibility to Meet Mission Needs, GAO-17-329: Published: Apr 13, 2017. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2017.
“The federal government obligated over $130 billion annually during fiscal years 2011-2015 on indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts—which are used when the exact quantity and timing of products or services are not known at contract award. We found that the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs were the main users of these contracts. DOD used these contracts more than all other federal agencies combined. DOD officials cited flexibility as the main advantage of these types of contracts, noting that they were faster and easier to use.”