2024 Highlights: Business Support

The theme word for Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services in 2024 was transformation and the Business Support directorate helped deliver it.

From the major sub-command headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, the directorate had a hand in most of the year's significant accomplishments, including what will probably stand the test of time as the most significant of all: a successful completion of an 18-month transition to DLA's Warehouse Management System.

The new, SAP-based inventory management system replaces the Distribution Standard System and is expected to deliver numerous benefits to the workforce in the field, including faster processing times for turn-ins, increased auditability, and reduced customer waits.

The implementation of WMS across 63 DLA reverse logistics sites promises to revolutionize how warehouses operate, with the introduction of tablets, scanners, and portable printers aimed at minimizing the processing time required for turn-ins. The upgrade underscores DLA's commitment to evolving and meeting the needs of warfighters.

Enterprise Services Division Chief Nick Bristow said that during the year, the WMS team deployed Anniston, Alabama, all the OCONUS sites, the Small Arms Serialization Program module and the Precious Metals Recovery Program modules.

"The Enterprise Services Division coordinated all the support and deployment planning and execution, working with the J6 PMO, J1, J325 and Disposition Services Operations to convert those sites to WMS," Bristow said. "We led the requirements meetings to assist in developing the requirements for the SASP and PRMP modules, and we coordinated for the completion of 13 Change Requests to correct issues in WMS."

Another transformation championed by Business Support was credited with helping change the mindset and culture of the organization by scrapping a site protocol/checklist review and adopting a more holistic view of operational assessments.

Process Health Division Chief Brad Trivett said the old Organizational Effectiveness Review process, which was standardized, rote, and constrained, was reconfigured to the current, holistic Quality Assurance Review, or QAR, at the DLA Disposition Services director's request because the old process was not improving processes in the field.

Trivett called the new QAR process "a real-time, holistic assessment of a field site's operational effectiveness, encompassing improvement, remediation, and learning," and the directorate conducted 10 of the new assessments during the calendar year.

No look back at the year's highlights would be complete without a hat tip to the Law Enforcement Support Office, which always has an outsized impact on DLA Disposition Services' annual metrics. In just the fiscal year that ended at the start of October, the LESO team helped some of the 8,000 participating law enforcement agencies get ahold of about 71,000 excess and surplus items originally worth $213 million.

Over the summer, the office successfully transferred eight elevated sensor surveillance systems (aerostats) to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Each aerostat had an original acquisition value of about $10.5 million and the acquisition saved DHS about $85 million. A month later, the LESO team facilitated the transfer of three King Air 350 cargo transport aircraft from the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Marshal Services' Air Surveillance Unit. Each aircraft had an original acquisition value of $17 million and the transfer saved the Marshals about $51 million. These aircraft will provide unique surveillance capabilities in support of DOJ operations.

In August, the team traveled to San Antonio to host more than 50 representatives from 39 different states for LESO's annual conference to discuss program policies and best practices. The staff also tackled a special project to gather identifying serial numbers and photos for more than 12,000 night-vision devices that had been issued over the past three-plus decades. That effort resulted in the return of 304 radioactive optics to DOD for proper disposal.

"Business Support had an amazing 2024!" said Nina Ekblad, who leads the directorate. She said the accomplishments of the team go far beyond just a handful of highlights. "Much of the work in Business Support is done behind the scenes, supporting the business, building relationships to establish a strong foundation that will contribute to the future success of DLA Disposition Services. I am very proud of all Business Support team members and their achievements."