In 1999, we were pleased to write the Foreword to A Guide to Contracting for Information in the Electronic Environment. That publication sparked a good deal of interest in e-Business by the Defence commercial community.

In the interim, the MOD and many of its trading partners have made major strides in the introduction of e-Business techniques – for example the launch of the Defence Electronic Commerce Service, the EXOSTAR exchange and the creation of many project-related Shared Working Environments.

The MOD’s commercial policy has kept pace and, in some cases, has been ahead of these developments. This is due in no small part to the open and co-operative working relationship that exists between the Department and Industry. This guide is a product of that relationship, being jointly produced by a team of MOD and Industry representatives, and we are pleased to endorse it as such. It replaces the 1999 guide and also forms part of a suite of guidance produced under the aegis of the Commercial Policy Group – a joint MOD/Industry senior-level committee formed to consider the future development of commercial policy including commercial issues raised by Smart Acquisition.

We commend this guide to commercial managers, and others with an interest in the subject, working in the MOD and the wider Defence Industry community.

By Stan Porter, Director General Commercial, Ministry of Defence and David Scillitoe, Chairman, CBI Defence Procurement Panel