Quote Originally Posted by Mike Blue View Post
With a giant buying consortium/government, the suppliers are insulated from the feedback of the customers and can continue the ineffective and inefficient processes that make them the most money.
I think the theory goes along the lines that if the suppliers provide subpar equipment the government is way bigger than individual consumers, so they would face real consequences. But the practice it doesn't seem to work that way at all.

It's a good question though how to enforce compliance and especially standardization. Has something like this been done in other places and times? I believe medieval armies supplied their own weapons, how about the ancient rome/greece/assyria? It could be that issuing weapons works better when waging a war, while mandating people to buy their own is good enough for peaceful times.