The Air Force plans to bundle most information technology purchases.

The council negotiated its first purchase last month, acquiring 12,500 personal computers for the Air Force Materiel Command from Dell Corp. for about $7.5 million.

Air Force chief information officer John Gilligan said other major commands' PC and notebook needs will also be bundled, Government Computer News reported. Speaking at a conference in Montgomery, AL, Aug. 28, he said the Dell PCs were bought at a 30% discount based on the large volume.

The director of the IT Commodity Council, Kenneth Heitkamp. said the same strategy will be used to buy printers, software and services. Commodity councils will be created to buy other products ranging from uniforms to medical supplies.