DLA - Defense Logistics Agency

10/31/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2024 12:46

Senior leaders, industry partners discuss solutions to logistics challenges

ARLINGTON, Va. -

Contested logistics challenges, post-COVID-era supply chain conditions, and driving logistics innovation through artificial intelligence and data where some of the key topics discussed during the Defense Logistics and Support conference Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Pentagon City, in Arlington, Virginia.

Defense Logistics Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly shared an overview of the agency, to include the new strategic plan and solutions to overcoming challenges of the contested logistics environment, during the Defense Logistics and Support conference Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Pentagon City, in Arlington, Va. The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement hosted the two-day conference for military and civilian senior logistics leaders and industry partners from across the globe Oct. 29-30. Courtesy Photot.
Senior leaders, industry partners discuss solutions to logistics challenges
Defense Logistics Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly shared an overview of the agency, to include the new strategic plan and solutions to overcoming challenges of the contested logistics environment, during the Defense Logistics and Support conference Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Pentagon City, in Arlington, Va. The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement hosted the two-day conference for military and civilian senior logistics leaders and industry partners from across the globe Oct. 29-30. Courtesy Photot.
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VIRIN: 241029-D-D0441-1001
The two-day event, hosted by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement, provided a space for Defense Logistics Agency senior leaders, Defense Department logistics leaders, military logisticians from other nations, and industry partners from across the globe to share critical logistic challenges and capabilities, best practices, and lessons learned to develop solutions for the future.

DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly shared an overview of the agency, to include the new strategic plan and solutions to overcome challenges of the contested logistics environment. Simerly stated that great power competition has returned and is changing the character of war. The homeland is no longer a sanctuary, he added.

Simerly told the audience that logistics operations are currently contested in all domains: lands, sea, air, space and cyber.

"An agile and adaptable logistics system is critical, so we need to develop strategies to maintain supply chain integrity and operational readiness under adverse conditions," he said.

As DLA looks to solve contested logistics challenges and transform as an agency, the organization's people are its most important asset and workforce readiness a critical goal, Simerly said.

"Our people must be adaptable, willing to do things different in the face of rapid change," said he added. "In this era of digital transformation, we also want to equip our people with the relevant skillsets, like data acumen. We need digital warriors in every one of our formations to help us achieve mission success."

Supply chain challenges

DLA Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson shared that the pandemic did not cause any new supply chain challenges, but it did accelerate the challenges that we had seen prior to the pandemic. Watson discussed that some of the supply chain challenges with acquiring repair parts for legacy weapon systems and military vehicles were due to many parts being obsolete or out of production for decades and reductions in the defense industrial base.

Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson discussed supply chain conditions in a post-COVID era during the Defense Logistics and Support conference Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Pentagon City, in Arlington, Va. The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement hosted the two-day conference for military and civilian senior logistics leaders and industry partners from across the globe Oct. 29-30. Courtesy Photo.
Senior leaders, industry partners discuss solutions to logistics challenges
Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson discussed supply chain conditions in a post-COVID era during the Defense Logistics and Support conference Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Pentagon City, in Arlington, Va. The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement hosted the two-day conference for military and civilian senior logistics leaders and industry partners from across the globe Oct. 29-30. Courtesy Photo.
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Photo By: Courtesy Photo
VIRIN: 241029-D-D0441-1003

"We are moving away from 'just in time' to 'just enough' in terms of how we do supply chain business at DLA," Watson said. "Over the last five years within DLA, we have lost a quarter of the folks that we used to do business with in the defense industrial base, so we are actively looking for new entrants."

Watson shared that DLA Land & Maritime hosted a Manufacturing Summit for small business manufacturers in Columbus, Ohio, a few weeks ago to discuss some of DOD's sourcing challenges.

"The purpose of the summit was to show them some of the products that we are having trouble producing, how they can make money providing items to us, and to make it easy for them to do business with us," Watson said.

Driving logistics innovation through artificial intelligence and data

DLA's Chief Information Officer Adarryl Roberts served as a member on a panel to discuss how the agency is modernizing its information technology and legacy systems, using data analytics and AI to increase operational efficiency, predict future requirements, and optimize supply chains and warfighter readiness.

"Data interoperability and creating data decision advantage is not just for DLA but postures us to support the defense industry and our NATO allied partners," he said. "We need data interoperability to help us connect worldwide and faster."

Roberts described the organization as being too complex to try to integrate and standardize to one system. For DLA, he said the key to digital data interoperability is the use of logistics and financial data standards throughout our various transformation efforts to position ourselves for more prescriptive analytics and AI to enable the agency to transition at its own pace while continuing to support the enterprise.

Data standardization starts with working with DLA's partners to understand their transformation timelines and to also provide data back to them. DLA also must find ways to address policy challenges that hinder the agency's ability to connect and exchange data effectively, he said.

"We are at war now from a cyber and data perspective," Roberts said. "We are going to integrate ourselves more into exercises and wargames to show the value that data can bring to the fight."