Magazine Recognizes Defense Logistics Agency's IT Operations

DLA's information technology capabilities and its chief of information operations, Mae De Vincentis, and her staff are profiled in the Aug. 15 issue of the magazine.

Every year, CIO recognizes 100 organizations for their operational and strategic excellence in information technology. This year's theme was "Agile 100," and organizations were evaluated on their ability to respond quickly to changing business environments, showing measurable results in how they used information technology to enable and support agility across the organization. The magazine covers private and public sector IT practices from an executive perspective.

"At a time when the country's military is meeting numerous challenges, this award means a great deal to all of us at DLA," said Navy Vice Adm. Keith W. Lippert, DLA's director. "It is particularly meaningful because it is based on ways that IT's agility contributes to the agility of the whole organization, and thus reflects how IT makes us more responsive to warfighters' needs worldwide."

Among the other companies and government agencies included in this year's Agile 100, are Dell, the Dow Chemical Company, 7-Eleven, FedEx, General Motors, the Harvard Business School, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Staples.

"I am proud of the contributions we have made in IT that help DLA meet its many commitments to America's armed forces," said DeVincentis, who reports directly to Lippert.

The recipients of the CIO 100 award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their agile practices in both business and IT. Next, teams of CIO magazine editors and writers reviewed the applications in depth, looking for unique practices and substantial results. Finally, the teams met for a day-long meeting to debate the merits of each nominee and vote on the final 100. While DLA officials are understandably pleased with the recognition, De Vincentis said, they also understand that their IT capabilities are only a part of the whole picture.

"IT can be a great enabler of faster, more flexible responsiveness, but only if it is part of an integrated cross-functional approach," she said. "DLA is constantly striving to quickly and consistently muster all its strengths across the enterprise to meet customers' needs. This type of strategic approach to leveraging IT's potential is not easy to implement and sustain, particularly in a large global organization like DLA, given the number of competing priorities and the daily challenges of operational commitments. So this award provides an important reinforcement that we are on the right track as we continue to refine our approach to be increasingly agile and effective."

De Vincentis and several members of her team will be present at the sixth annual awards ceremony Aug. 24 in Colorado Springs, Colo. She said she would accept the award not only on behalf of her IT staff, but also on behalf of the entire DLA team.

"Our work force understands the needs of DLA's external customers, and they do a great job of providing IT support that is effectively focused on the related business process requirements of our internal DLA customers. Thus they play a key role in ensuring DLA provides strong service across its several mission areas," De Vincentis said. "We also receive support from other organizations within the Department of Defense and from various private sector firms. So this award honors all of those who help make IT a valuable contributor to DLA's vital role in providing a broad array of logistics support functions for our military services and numerous other customers, every minute of every day."

From its headquarters here, DLA is the one source for nearly every consumable item the U.S. military uses, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations.

(Courtesy of Defense Logistics Agency.)