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The US has 222 C-17 Aircraft. A single C-17 costs over $300 million. If you ask Boeing for soap dispenser parts for these, what should they cost? Boeing charge

The US has 222 C-17 Aircraft. A single C-17 costs over $300 million. If you ask Boeing for soap dispenser parts for these, what should they cost? Boeing charged $149,072 for the dispensers. That's $671 per plane. Is that too much? If you had to make these dispensers, make sure they conform to rules for aircraft parts and Air Force parts, provide formal responses to bids, etc., how much could you make them for? It seems high to me. The article says 8000%, which is less than $10 per plane. So while it seems high, it's definitely not 8000% high.

edm0nd 2y ago
What about designing the plane to use a common soap dispenser that doesnt cost $150k? Why not just use existing solutions like a soap dispenser that is found on common commercial passenger planes that Boeing already has and makes? There is no world where a simple soap dispenser is $150k. They seemingly design them like this so they can bilk the US government aka tax payers with these absurd prices for simple objects.
- dyauspitr 2y ago
  It’s $150k for 222 dispensers, not just one. At $671 it’s overpriced but depending on what custom spec they had, maybe not by a whole lot. I’m imagining the metal soap dispensers in airline bathrooms maybe with some additional military specs.
- sschueller 2y ago
  Also I assume they are still using regular soap refills for these things or are they?
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    I’m sure the Boeing Soap is $50K per liter.
- ars 2y ago
  > What about designing the plane to use a common soap dispenser that doesnt cost $150k? Which one? Whichever you pick you need to stock that exact same one for the next 50 to 100 years. By the time you finish exactly defining it, you are back where you started. (Also it's not 150k each - that's the price for the entire fleet.)
- arcticbull 2y ago
  I mean it doesn't cost $157K it costs $671. They ordered a couple hundred of them. This one from CB2 is $40 and it doesn't conform to FAA rules and it's not MIL-SPEC. [1] I suspect if I wanted a limited run of soap dispensers, I was only willing to buy 300 made-to-order, tested and conformant to niche military specifications and aviation specifications, I'd probably end up paying a decent chunk more than CB2. How much does the entertainment system in your car cost vs an iPad? Is that a rip-off, or is it a niche, custom part that has to be made from automotive grade components? How much does the soap dispenser cost in a 777 bathroom? That's the real point of comparison, not CB2. [1] https://www.cb2.com/ramsey-calacatta-gold-marble-soap-pump/s447894 https://www.cb2.com/ramsey-calacatta-gold-marble-soap-pump/s...
  - oivey 2y ago
    Your example is a marble soap dispenser. Did you go on Google and search for the most expensive one you could find?
    - arcticbull 2y ago
      I did, yes, lol. I mean the most expensive one on sale at CB2 which is kind of a mid-range home furnishings store. I'm confident I can find a soap dispenser that costs more than $671 for home use, though. [edit] Here you go, just under $845. I present you the Labrazel Discus Brown Pump Dispenser available at Nieman's. Only $77 per month thanks to the magic of Affirm. Good news is thanks to Black Friday you get a $125 gift card. Still not MIL-SPEC though. https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/labrazel-discus-brown-pump-dispenser-prod220090305 https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/labrazel-discus-brown-pump-di...
      - Y_Y 2y ago
        > The finest natural materials and the most exceptional quality of craftsmanship converge at Labrazel due to a singular focus—the design and creation of luxury accessories for the bath Maybe the Pentagon should check these guys out.
        deleted 2y ago
bagels 2y ago
Can you imagine even being a one-man shop making 222 bespoke soap dispensers to some absurd spec AND jumping through all the documentation hoops that are required for only $150k? I wouldn't take that job. Sounds awful.
- wmf 2y ago
  You also need to provide exact replacement parts for 50 years so you should probably make 666 of them just to be safe.
  - cenamus 2y ago
    But you also get paid for those
- JohnBooty 2y ago
  Yeah. People who haven't done manufacturing may laugh, but depending on how many custom parts there are you could easily spend most or all of that $150K just on the molds/tooling. Now, like you said... the root cause here is probably some absurd spec that prevents them from using some existing commercial soap dispenser whose costs have already been amortized. Then again, maybe the spec isn't absurd. The C-17 may need to fly in contested airspace. Maybe damage control is a concern. Maybe they can't use commercial soap dispensers because they're plastic and they don't want the plane to fill up with toxic fumes from burning plastic. That is a random guess. I have no idea. I couldn't find pictures of the soap dispenser, but here's apparently a urinal from some version of the Globemaster. I get the feeling these parts are kinda custom... https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganone/122375474/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganone/122375474/in/photost...
  - bagels 2y ago
    You probably also really don't want slippery floors at a critical (or any) time.
    - XorNot 2y ago
juliusdavies 2y ago
Whoever wrote the article has never had to replace a cup holder in their car.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Suppafly 2y ago
They apparently aren't really any different from the sort you see in public restrooms and those are so cheap the supply companies give them to you for free when you buy a case of soap.
_1tem 2y ago
Here's an idea: what if the US military just had in-house manufacturing capability and could build soap dispensers (or anything else) to specification at basically the cost of the materials? The factory, the staff, and everything else would be a built-in sunk cost, because they're already in operation. The analogy here would be hiring a software consulting firm to make every little one-line-of-code change to your website, instead of just having a full-time in-house developer who could make small one-time changes and maintenance at no additional cost.
- jfengel 2y ago
  People complain about government employees, and continually insist that private industry can do it better. It would almost certainly be cheaper and more effective to do it in house. But instead, in-house capabilities are continually decreasing. The actual government agencies are reduced to supervisory roles. Stories like this usually result in even more hatred for government employees and more outsourcing.
ano-ther 2y ago
Here is the original report and the press release with pictures [1,2] > The DoD OIG found that overpayment occurred because the Air Force did not: > Validate the accuracy of data used for contract negotiation. > Conduct contract surveillance to identify price increases during contract execution. > Review invoices to determine fair and reasonable prices before payment. > In addition, the DoD OIG found that the DoD did not require the contracting officer to verify the accuracy of the bill of materials before negotiation or to review invoices for allowable, allocable, and reasonable costs before payment. This does not sound like expensive MilSpec. Wouldn’t it be fair to assume that the DoD Inspector General is aware of these before making such accusations? [1] https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/3948601/audit-of-c-17-spare-parts-pricing-report-no-dodig-2025-009/ https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/3948601/audit-of-... [2] https://www.dodig.mil/In-the-Spotlight/Article/3948604/press-release-audit-of-c-17-spare-parts-pricing-report-no-dodig-2025-009/ https://www.dodig.mil/In-the-Spotlight/Article/3948604/press...

edm0nd 2y ago

What about designing the plane to use a common soap dispenser that doesnt cost $150k? Why not just use existing solutions like a soap dispenser that is found on common commercial passenger planes that Boeing already has and makes? There is no world where a simple soap dispenser is $150k. They seemingly design them like this so they can bilk the US government aka tax payers with these absurd prices for simple objects.

dyauspitr 2y ago
It’s $150k for 222 dispensers, not just one. At $671 it’s overpriced but depending on what custom spec they had, maybe not by a whole lot. I’m imagining the metal soap dispensers in airline bathrooms maybe with some additional military specs.
sschueller 2y ago
Also I assume they are still using regular soap refills for these things or are they?
- ryandrake 2y ago
  I’m sure the Boeing Soap is $50K per liter.
ars 2y ago
> What about designing the plane to use a common soap dispenser that doesnt cost $150k? Which one? Whichever you pick you need to stock that exact same one for the next 50 to 100 years. By the time you finish exactly defining it, you are back where you started. (Also it's not 150k each - that's the price for the entire fleet.)
arcticbull 2y ago
I mean it doesn't cost $157K it costs $671. They ordered a couple hundred of them. This one from CB2 is $40 and it doesn't conform to FAA rules and it's not MIL-SPEC. [1] I suspect if I wanted a limited run of soap dispensers, I was only willing to buy 300 made-to-order, tested and conformant to niche military specifications and aviation specifications, I'd probably end up paying a decent chunk more than CB2. How much does the entertainment system in your car cost vs an iPad? Is that a rip-off, or is it a niche, custom part that has to be made from automotive grade components? How much does the soap dispenser cost in a 777 bathroom? That's the real point of comparison, not CB2. [1] https://www.cb2.com/ramsey-calacatta-gold-marble-soap-pump/s447894 https://www.cb2.com/ramsey-calacatta-gold-marble-soap-pump/s...
- oivey 2y ago
  Your example is a marble soap dispenser. Did you go on Google and search for the most expensive one you could find?
  - arcticbull 2y ago
    I did, yes, lol. I mean the most expensive one on sale at CB2 which is kind of a mid-range home furnishings store. I'm confident I can find a soap dispenser that costs more than $671 for home use, though. [edit] Here you go, just under $845. I present you the Labrazel Discus Brown Pump Dispenser available at Nieman's. Only $77 per month thanks to the magic of Affirm. Good news is thanks to Black Friday you get a $125 gift card. Still not MIL-SPEC though. https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/labrazel-discus-brown-pump-dispenser-prod220090305 https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/labrazel-discus-brown-pump-di...
    - Y_Y 2y ago
      > The finest natural materials and the most exceptional quality of craftsmanship converge at Labrazel due to a singular focus—the design and creation of luxury accessories for the bath Maybe the Pentagon should check these guys out.
      - deleted 2y ago

bagels 2y ago

Can you imagine even being a one-man shop making 222 bespoke soap dispensers to some absurd spec AND jumping through all the documentation hoops that are required for only $150k? I wouldn't take that job. Sounds awful.

wmf 2y ago
You also need to provide exact replacement parts for 50 years so you should probably make 666 of them just to be safe.
- cenamus 2y ago
  But you also get paid for those
JohnBooty 2y ago
Yeah. People who haven't done manufacturing may laugh, but depending on how many custom parts there are you could easily spend most or all of that $150K just on the molds/tooling. Now, like you said... the root cause here is probably some absurd spec that prevents them from using some existing commercial soap dispenser whose costs have already been amortized. Then again, maybe the spec isn't absurd. The C-17 may need to fly in contested airspace. Maybe damage control is a concern. Maybe they can't use commercial soap dispensers because they're plastic and they don't want the plane to fill up with toxic fumes from burning plastic. That is a random guess. I have no idea. I couldn't find pictures of the soap dispenser, but here's apparently a urinal from some version of the Globemaster. I get the feeling these parts are kinda custom... https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganone/122375474/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganone/122375474/in/photost...
- bagels 2y ago
  You probably also really don't want slippery floors at a critical (or any) time.
  - XorNot 2y ago

juliusdavies 2y ago

Whoever wrote the article has never had to replace a cup holder in their car.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Suppafly 2y ago

They apparently aren't really any different from the sort you see in public restrooms and those are so cheap the supply companies give them to you for free when you buy a case of soap.

_1tem 2y ago

Here's an idea: what if the US military just had in-house manufacturing capability and could build soap dispensers (or anything else) to specification at basically the cost of the materials? The factory, the staff, and everything else would be a built-in sunk cost, because they're already in operation. The analogy here would be hiring a software consulting firm to make every little one-line-of-code change to your website, instead of just having a full-time in-house developer who could make small one-time changes and maintenance at no additional cost.

jfengel 2y ago
People complain about government employees, and continually insist that private industry can do it better. It would almost certainly be cheaper and more effective to do it in house. But instead, in-house capabilities are continually decreasing. The actual government agencies are reduced to supervisory roles. Stories like this usually result in even more hatred for government employees and more outsourcing.

ano-ther 2y ago

Here is the original report and the press release with pictures [1,2] > The DoD OIG found that overpayment occurred because the Air Force did not: > Validate the accuracy of data used for contract negotiation. > Conduct contract surveillance to identify price increases during contract execution. > Review invoices to determine fair and reasonable prices before payment. > In addition, the DoD OIG found that the DoD did not require the contracting officer to verify the accuracy of the bill of materials before negotiation or to review invoices for allowable, allocable, and reasonable costs before payment. This does not sound like expensive MilSpec. Wouldn’t it be fair to assume that the DoD Inspector General is aware of these before making such accusations? [1] https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/3948601/audit-of-c-17-spare-parts-pricing-report-no-dodig-2025-009/ https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/3948601/audit-of-... [2] https://www.dodig.mil/In-the-Spotlight/Article/3948604/press-release-audit-of-c-17-spare-parts-pricing-report-no-dodig-2025-009/ https://www.dodig.mil/In-the-Spotlight/Article/3948604/press...