- Responsibilities & Process
- Governance
- Summary
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Scope, Responsibilities and Processes, Governance
Scope:
DLA Logistics Management Standards exists as a DOD Enterprise logistics services provider responsible for managing and administering the electronic implementation of DOD-wide logistics materiel management operations through electronic business systems, the business rules that govern logistics business processes in electronic systems, and the standards for electronic data interchange between logistics business systems. DLA Logistics Management Standards is responsible for managing the structure of electronic business transactions, data interchanges and business rules that enable accurate and interoperable logistics operations to occur between DOD and external logistics activities at any level of the DOD organizational structure. DLA Logistics Management Standards provides business rules, standard procedures and data formats to link the various component organizational elements of the Defense logistics community including: inventory control points (ICP), distribution depots, maintenance depots, transportation nodes, and end users in posts, camps, stations, ships, and with deployed units. DLMS also provides standards for electronic interchange of data across the Military Services, defense agencies, other Federal agencies, foreign military sales customers and non-government participants. The OSD-directed mission of the administration and management of the DLMS comprise the most important responsibility of DLA Logistics Management Standards. As the DOD Executive Agent for logistics data interchange, DLA Logistics Management Standards works in concert with the DLA Transaction Services, the DLA Logistics Information Service and the functional logistics operations staff elements of DOD Component Logistics Headquarters (e.g., DLA J-3/4) to define and manage the structure and format of electronic business transactions. DOD business transformation policies are designed to capitalize on best business practices and processes that incorporate current and emerging information technology capabilities, wherever those capabilities can be found, whether in international, private, commercial, or government sectors.
Responsibilities and Processes:
- Inputs to Defense Logistics Management System (DLMS) processes and data standards may originate from many different sources such as proposed changes to policy directives, instructions, and guidance or from logistics functional users or logistics electronic system developers. A request for a change to a DLMS process or data standards is known as a Proposed DLMS Change (PDC). Some examples of sources that drive the creation of PDCs are:
- Policy direction from USD/AT&L.
- Functional logistics user community.
- Upgrade or redesign of legacy logistics business systems.
- New logistics business systems.
- New and emerging information technologies.
- Change coordination through the appropriate Process Review Committee (PRC). PRCs are the mechanism through which changes to the DLMS are accomplished. A PRC exists for each DLMS defined logistics process and each Department of Defense (DoD) Logistics Program administered by DLA Logistics Management Standards. The DLMS PRCs are responsible for the approval/disapproval and prioritization of changes to the DLMS, achieved through DOD Component coordination and consensus, thereby promoting an integrated approach to the standardization and modernization of the DoD enterprise logistics business process.
- Control of changes includes documentation, justification, systematic evaluation, coordination, release, implementation, and publication. Change control includes configuration status accounting, reporting, functional change control reviews, and baseline reviews. Detailed information on the DLMS change process is located on the DLA Logistics Management Standards web site at: http://www.dla.mil/j-6/dlmso/elibrary/changes/processchanges.asp.
- Managing and maintaining configuration control over enterprise logistics data elements that are the payload of DLMS electronic transactions for data interchange is the responsibility of the DLA Logistics Management Standards. Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 8320.2 directs that all DoD data assets should be managed through Communities of Interests (COIs). DLA Logistics Management Standards PRCs for managing DLMS changes predate the COI concept by many years, but they are in effect types of COIs in that they consist of members from across all DoD component organizations that have a shared interest in not only DLMS processes and transactions, but also the enterprise data elements that comprise the structure of those transactions. Functionally, the processes employed by COIs and PRCs for managing change are effectively the same. DLA Logistics Management Standards maintains configuration and content control over DLMS enterprise data elements that are explicitly defined in the DLM 4000.25 series of manuals through the change management process of DLMS PRCs.
- All PDCs that affect DLMS enterprise data elements are coordinated with DLA Logistics Management Standards to assess the impact on interoperability of affected data elements and either validates the proposed change or recommends mitigating alternative solutions to the PRC for its consideration. In addition, DLA Logistics Management Standards maintains membership in other DoD Logistics Community COIs such as the US TRANSCOM Distribution COI to ensure that COIs do not develop local data management processes and procedures that would conflict with the DLMS as the common trusted and interoperable DOD logistics process for Enterprise-wide electronic data interchange..
- Relative to new and emerging Information Technologies, DLA Logistics Management Standards maintains membership in relevant national and international data standards organizations and attends meetings and symposiums of various national and international professional data management associations. For applicable individual process policies/governance (Directives, Instructions, Manuals, Joint Publications, Handbooks, etc.) go to our publications page.
- The mechanism by which DLMS changes are managed is through the collaboration and coordination of teams composed of DoD logistics organizations and Federal Agencies actively participate along with logistics system developers under the leadership of DLA Logistics Management Standards logistics subject matter experts. These teams are defined in DLMS as PRCs, as described in the DLMS manual at: DLM 4000.25 Volume1, Chapter 3. For information about the DLA Logistics Management Standards sponsored committees, go to our committees' page.
- Proposed DLMS Changes (PDC) are fully vetted with Component/Agency representatives to ensure focus remains on logistics interoperability while acknowledging the unique needs of each Component. Successful collaboration results in an "Approved DLMS Change (ADC)" that provides the business rules, transaction formats, and all relevant information necessary to implement the process change. ADCs are posted on the DLA Logistics Management Standards web site and are then formally published in the DLMS manual, DLM 4000.25.
Governance:
Summary:
DLMS processing provides the DoD enterprise an institutionalized set of procedures for developing, analyzing, collaborating and publishing business process changes designed to dramatically improve joint logistics operations. All proposed actions are fully vetted with Services/Agencies to ensure logistics interoperability while recognizing the unique needs of each DoD Component. Finally, DLA Logistics Management Standards has a 1-2 day training course that explains the DLMS process, advantages and implementation guidelines. As of September 2009, more DLMS transactions are routed through the Defense Automatic Addressing Systems Center (DAASC) than MILS (Military Standard), putting the Department on a path to vastly improved capability to support the warfighter.
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