Clearly, taxpayers benefit when government is run as efficiently as possible. That's especially true given the $14.3 trillion national debt. "Budgets have been tight in the past," says Janet Hale, director with Deloitte Consulting LLP and former undersecretary for management with the Department of Health and Human Services. "But, this is a new normal."

Issuing an Executive Order is a "terrific first step," Hale says. However, gaining efficiency is a complex journey, she adds. Federal agencies need to "set up the right structure, and get the right people and performance metrics," in place, she adds. "It's a complex journey."

Margot Dorfman, chief executive officer with the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, is less sanguine about the move. "It's a little too little, a little too late," she says. One particular area of concern is ensuring that smaller- and women-owned businesses have reasonable access to government contracts. Currently, many smaller contracts are bundled into larger ones, which put them out of reach of smaller companies, and reduce the number of potential bidders, Dorfman says.

According to , 44% of government contracts either were noncompetitive, or received only one offer. Given that the value of government contracts awarded in 2010 totaled $537 billion, and topped $4.5 trillion from 2000 through 2010, , the potential for overspending is huge. "When you've got less competition, you're not going to get the best bang for your buck," Dorfman says.