Responding to Environmental Uncertainties in Critical Supply Acquisition: An Examination of Contracting for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the Aftermath of COVID-19.

This article examines the challenges faced by U.S. government contract managers in acquiring critical supplies, specifically personal protective equipment (PPE), during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the complexities introduced by reliance on global supply chains. Drawing on interviews with 40 contracting officials from state, local, private, and nonprofit sectors, the study finds that while established contractor relationships helped anticipate behavioral uncertainties such as fraud and deception, they were insufficient to predict environmental uncertainties stemming from supply chain disruptions beyond contractors' control. The research highlights the emerging need for government purchasers to develop expertise in supply chain analysis—assessing factors like supplier origins, inventory capacity, and manufacturing dependencies—to improve contract fulfillment reliability. Although collaborative contract designs and long-term partnerships were recognized as potentially beneficial for supply stability, statutory limitations and risk aversion constrained their use during the crisis. The findings suggest that enhancing supply chain visibility and integrating market intelligence with contractor relations are critical for strengthening government procurement resilience in future crises involving global supply dependencies.