DLA’s Industry Collider Day serves as call to action for government, industry to collaborate and transform

Tackling tomorrow's logistics challenges requires the Defense Logistics Agency to transform through innovation, powered by industry that serves as architects for those solutions, the director said Sept. 3 during its Industry Collider Day.

"In today's environment, marked by contested logistics, cyber threats and supply chain vulnerabilities, we know resilience is a necessity," Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly said. "And that resilience begins with a robust, responsive and forward-looking industrial base."

This year's theme, "Prevail and Accelerate: Agile Innovation to Optimize the Supply Chain," showcases businesses that play a pivotal role in setting the supply chain to be dynamic and adaptive, one of the agency's three mission-critical priorities found in its fiscal 2026 strategic guidance, which also includes setting the globe and setting the agency.

"DLA has the profound responsibility to ensure our forces have the logistics support they need across the full spectrum of military operations and our role has never been more essential," Simerly said. "As we like to say, you can't be lethal without logistics."

There is a shared commitment to advance the essential capabilities that underpin our national defense, he added, addressing the audience of nearly 1,000 in-person and virtual government, industry and academic participants, the largest attendance in the event's six-year history. "We want to understand your capabilities, your challenges and your vision because when we align our efforts, we don't just improve logistics, we transform it."

DLA Chief Information Officer Adarryl Roberts echoed the need to match industry resources with a DLA workforce empowered with digital tools to better anticipate and meet ever-evolving warfighter requirements.

"Predicting those demand signals with more accuracy involves digital interoperability and common data standards among the military services, government, and our industry and allied partners," he said. He added that maintaining decision advantage with data analytics and artificial intelligence and automation will help ensure DLA remains in the forefront of logistical excellence.

"A key aspect of that is being recognized as the leader in logistics R&D," he said, noting the gateway to DLA's innovation is through R&D. He said that expertise is sought after, not just when solving challenges for the agency and its supply chains, but also when helping from a larger DOD logistics perspective.

Strengthening government-industry connections

Daniele Kurze, DLA's executive director for small business programs, led a panel with participants from the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Defense Industrial Association and DLA's Small Business Innovation Research program. The group explored strategies for bringing in new companies to the defense industry base and tips for successful partnerships.

Roberts acknowledged that navigating DLA's contracting processes and understanding how to do business with the government are challenges for some vendors, so event organizers created afternoon track sessions to help address those issues.

These included panels with DLA contracting officers to discuss R&D contracting options and current and former SBIR contract awardees who shared their experiences and lessons learned with DLA's acquisition process.

Another track included a panel with R&D experts from DLA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, NIST and the Navy to share a dialogue about their partnering efforts with small businesses.

The technology track highlighted the agency's AI infrastructure through a fireside chat with DLA Program Executive Officer James Johnson and a moderated panel on cloud-based solutions to improve data responsiveness with Chief Data and AI Officer Linda VanDyke. The track also included information to help prepare defense companies for current and upcoming cyber and data compliance requirements.

Other breakout sessions included small business-led demonstrations about filling R&D capability gaps with repair parts procurement, AI tools and critical materials recovery.

A knowledge lounge run by DLA experts educated attendees on agency initiatives, while DLA and industry representatives manned booths to discuss collaboration opportunities. Previously scheduled matchmaker meetings that allowed vendors to discuss select technology solicitations with R&D experts rounded out the day-long event.

"Learning from and inspiring each other is an important part of this event because we know that solving our defense logistics challenges takes all of us," DLA R&D Deputy Director Martina Johnson said. "We especially enjoyed sharing insights with new vendors who haven't previously worked with DLA because having a robust supplier base is key to improving mission effectiveness for our warfighters."

Awarding 10 small business contracts

DLA Vice Director Brad Bunn and DLA Acquisition Director Matt Beebe presented 10 contracts awarded through DLA's SBIR program. DLA has awarded over 50 contracts since 2020 with a contract value of over $5 million.

"These awards are designed to empower startups and emerging enterprises to transform bold ideas into practical solutions, bridging the critical gap between R&D and real-world employment," Beebe said.

Bunn noted the importance of positioning DLA R&D's portfolio and budget to logistics products that are closer to market, which is different than high-tech developments like autonomous vehicles and unmanned aerial systems.

"While our R&D efforts may not be as shiny as some others, our program is built for the hard blue-collar work that we do to support the warfighter at speed and scale as a logistics combat support agency," he said.

For this year, awards were given to small businesses that responded to solicitations for proposals in four areas. The agency received 95 proposals for contracts collectively worth $1 million.

The first solicitation was for research to expand the domestic production of raw materials for gallium-based devices used in defense applications, such as radar systems and electronic warfare platforms. The awards will help the War Department reduce its dependence on foreign sources for critical materials and build resilience in the supply chain.

Awards went to CHZ Technologies of Canfield, Ohio; Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. of Kettering, Ohio; Found Energy Co. of Wilmington, Delaware; PHNX Materials of San Leandro, California; and Flash Metals USA Inc. of Houston.

METSS Corp. of Westerville, Ohio, Oceanit Laboratories of Honolulu, and Nabaco Inc. of San Marco, Texas, were given awards to explore advanced technology methods to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables and reduce spoilage during storage and transportation. The goal is to address up to 30% loss of these food items which impacts DLA's operational readiness and drives up procurement and logistics costs.

CTS Cement of Garden Grove, California, received an award to research ways to prolong the shelf life of rapid-setting cement. Currently, many rapid-setting cement products have a shelf life that averages six months to one year. DLA seeks to increase that to 5-7 years, while meeting military specifications and standards. The approach will reduce DLA's resupply demand and increase readiness for more rapid responses.

The last company, AKUA Inc. of Woodside, California, was given an award to test and evaluate options for indicative and conductive electronic seal-locking devices that provide near real-time tracking of high-value sensitive cargo with the added benefit of shipment tamper detection. The objective is to enhance supply chain integrity and reduce theft-related costs.