Bridging Supply and Transportation

When it comes to supplying warfighters, the Defense Logistics Agency doesn’t do it alone.
 
“Supply chain success depends on a good partnership between DLA and the U.S. Transportation Command. We can’t do our jobs without them; they can’t do theirs without us,” said Scott Rosbaugh, director of the Distribution Process and Planning Branch for DLA Distribution.
 
The Defense Department designated USTRANSCOM the distribution process owner for the military’s global distribution system in 2008. That move inspired more collaboration between DLA, USTRANSCOM and agencies such as the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and General Services Administration, all of which rely on the same system to get supplies to warfighters.

“No one owns the process from cradle to grave. What the designation did was push us to collaborate with DLA and our other partners so that we’re synchronizing and integrating all of our processes,” said Diana Roach, the change management lead in USTRANSCOM’s Office of the Chief of Staff.

The process of equipping warfighters begins when representatives from one of DLA’s eight supply chains order material, which is then distributed by either commercial manufacturers or  one of DLA’s 26 distribution centers for  direct delivery to customers. Material that goes to DLA Distribution facilities en route to places such as Afghanistan is packed by DLA’s distribution process workers according to which mode of transportation USTRANSCOM will use to move it: air, surface or sea.
 
It’s important that members of DLA understand how the transportation pipeline works, said Tom Shively, DLA’s liaison to USTRANSCOM.

“It affects what we position, where we position it, how much we position and how much we put in that transportation pipe in order to keep sufficient supplies,” he said. “And with 26 distribution centers located around the world, we need to integrate our placement of stocks and our distribution strategy with USTRANCOM’s capabilities to make sure they match up.”

The closure of supply routes from Pakistan into Afghanistan  in November is a strong example of the need for collaboration between DLA and USTRANSCOM, said Air Force Col. Emily Buckman, chief of DLA Logistics Operation’s Combatant Command Support Division.

“We were involved in intense discussions with both U.S. Central Command and USTRANSCOM to determine alternate ways for our prime vendor to get subsistence into Afghanistan,” she said.

Losing access to those supply routes forced some innovative solutions that also saved money, Rosbaugh added.

“USTRANSCOM came up with an intermodal solution in which we’re now shipping some items ... from the United States all the way over to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, in 40-foot containers,” he said. “Once those containers get to Jebel Ali, they’re put on air pallets and flown into theater. That’s huge, because it enables us to avoid Pakistan but doesn’t take away our southern leg into theater.”

Soon after President Barack Obama announced the 30,000-troop increase in Afghanistan in December 2009, DLA and USTRANSCOM worked together to get housing and construction materials into the country.

The troop surge also led to increased demand for airdrops in Afghanistan, but DLA originally lacked the stock to support requirements for low-velocity parachutes. Distribution process workers at DLA Distribution Warner Robins, Ga., worked 24/7 to palletize newly ordered parachutes so they’d be ready for transporting, then turned them over to USTRANSCOM, which loaded them onto planes for immediate shipment, Rosbaugh added.

DLA has also worked to lessen demands on transportation networks by turning to local procurement, said Steve Dubernas, a management analyst on Buckman’s team.

“By procuring some items locally in Central Asian states and the Southern Caucasus, we were able to free up portions of USTRANCOM’s pipeline. We’re constantly enabling each other,” he said. “You’d think the supply chain process is linear, where DLA just hands cargo off to USTRANSCOM for strategic movement, but our partnership goes beyond that.”

Shively used the example of water treatment facilities in Afghanistan to illustrate the local procurement effort.

“Think about the drinking water manufacturing plants we built in Afghanistan. … The more we acquire locally, the less we have to move long distances to get supplies to our warfighters,” Shively added. “There’s always a big effort to get these pieces integrated and to reduce the transportation footprint.”

The merging of DLA’s Integrated Data Environment and USTRANSCOM’s Global Transportation Network has resulted in a single data source that logistics and transportation experts can rely on when making decisions about day-to-day operations. But it doesn’t replace the need to colocate representatives from both organizations, Buckman and Shively said.

“A lot of the daily discussions that occur between USTRANSCOM and DLA revolve around situations where there are conflicting requirements or there’s too much demand but not enough strategic lift, whether it’s surface, air or a combination of surface and air,” said Shively, who has served as DLA’s liaison officer, known as an LNO, to USTRANSCOM since 2005.

“Our LNOs play an important role because they have immediate reach back to various parts of our organizations,” Buckman added. “They have an ear to any emerging issues and can usually head something off before it blows up.”

How do members of DLA’s primary-level field activities describe the relationship between DLA and USTRANSCOM?

“It’s never been better,” Rosbaugh said. “By working together, we’re supporting warfighters with effectiveness and efficiency.”

Leaders from both organizations are already planning for the drawdown of troops and equipment in Afghanistan.

“Military material over there eventually has to come back out, so we’re already talking about how to do that smartly,” Shively said. “There’s a sincere desire on the part of both DLA and USTRANSCOM to continue strengthening the collaborative relationship we have now. And in the end, it’s all about meeting warfighters’ needs.”

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