Government Agencies Work to Improve Supply Chain Management

GSA # 10456

February 26, 2007 
Contact: Viki Reath, (202) 501-1231
viki.reath@gsa.gov

FORT BELVOIR – VA.The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) have established a formal partnership designed to improve supply chain management for our armed forces.

Leaders from the three agencies recently signed an agreement establishing a customer support partnership among the three organizations that will result in improved support to the warfighter.

As global supply chain integration evolves, USTRANSCOM, DLA and GSA commit to provide best value supplies and services, in a timely manner.

The agreement establishes an Executive Steering Committee (ESC) to oversee initiatives that assure each organization’s performance aligns with mutually shared expectations.  The ESC will be made up of executives from all three organizations that will establish and direct joint working groups, to ensure the goals and objectives for the overall initiatives are followed.

“This agreement provides us with an excellent opportunity to better align supply chain management,” said Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, USTRANSCOM Commander, “and solidify interagency partnerships in support of the warfighter."

The partnership establishes methods for each agency to combine performance measurements collaborate across organizational boundaries and, most importantly, achieve the operational effect of adopting shared efficiencies in delivering goods and services to the warfighter.

"The cooperative agreement extends our commitment to achieve supply chain excellence with our national partners," said Army Lt. Gen. Robert T. Dail, Director, DLA.  “This guides us – as partners – to further improve operations, information sharing and integrated supply chain planning.”

The agreement, which outlines specific responsibilities for each agency, identifies the partnership’s goals as improving operations, information sharing and integrated supply chain operations planning; adopting shared processes to gain efficiencies in the delivery of goods and services to the warfighter; determining information technology requirements to enhance warfighter support capabilities and implementing solutions approved by the ESC; developing shared customer relationship activities and initiatives; sharing supply chain, distribution business intelligence and current events information, related to ongoing or potential initiatives and innovations and collaborating across boundaries of the organizations and seeking partnering opportunities whenever the opportunity arises.

“This arrangement demonstrates how Department of Defense's (DoD’s) strong partnership with GSA is ensuring taxpayer savings through best value strategies,” said GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Jim Williams.  “It is another great example of how the FAS is partnering with DoD to optimize supply solutions for the warfighter.”

USTRANSCOM, at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois is responsible for creating and implementing world-class global deployment and distribution solutions in support of president, secretary of defense, and combatant commander-assigned missions.  The command provides air, land and sea transportation for DoD, both in time of peace and time of war.

The Defense Logistics Agency is DoD’s largest logistics combat support agency.  DLA provides supply support and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies.  Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations, inside DoD.

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Founded in 1949, GSA serves as a centralized procurement and property management agency for the federal government.  GSA manages more than one-fourth of the government’s total procurement dollars and influences the management of $500 billion in federal assets, including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 208,000 vehicles.  GSA helps preserve our past and define our future, as a steward of more than 425 historic properties, and as manager of USA.gov, the official portal to federal government information and services. GSA’s mission to provide superior workplaces, expert technology solutions, acquisition services, purchasing and eGov travel solutions and management policies, at best value, allows federal agencies to focus on their core missions.