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FRONT BURNER

Subsistence Supply Chain Partners Discuss Improvements

horeographing the supply chain’s many partners to
Cmove smoothly so that warfighters, especially when
engaged in major overseas operations or training exercises,
receive food supplies when expected is a complicated process.
Managing that process is a responsibility that falls on
the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, which hosted
a series of meetings with its subsistence supply chain pro-
fessionals and supply chain partners to improve on the
record of successful cooperation.
The meetings at DLA Headquarters in Fort Belvoir, Va.,
last December, aimed to increase synchronization and
efficiency among the supply chain’s many partners and
stakeholders, including private vendors, carriers, military Representatives from military units, government organizations and private
transportation organizations, contracting specialists, cus- industry gather for a meeting at DLA Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., Dec.
tomers and other logistics professionals. 18-19. DLA Troop Support held the event to discuss improvements to the supply
chain that provides food to troops in Europe and Africa. (Photo by John Bell.)
Army Lt. Col. Abel Young, the director of DLA Troop
Support’s Subsistence supply chain, said the partnership language that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the
has been effective, but like most complex systems, there vendor and the carrier to better synchronize the timing
is room for improvement. of those handoffs.
“We are doing a pretty good job when you consider the The event’s attendees also identified foreign ports as
global scope of the Subsistence supply chain, but there another point of delay within the supply chain. Most
are opportunities to be more effective and more efficient,” delays are caused by shipping document errors. When
he said. shipments can’t clear customs due to paperwork, time
The supply chain is a combination of multiple supply is wasted on administrative actions to correct the issues
chains with several independent agencies and mutually while the cargo sits.
exclusive contracts, which Young said results in “a breeding Henwood said greater attention must be paid to the
ground for stakeholders with potentially different expecta- requirements of specific ports because they can vary.
tions and objectives.” Improving efficiency during handoffs should reduce
To improve the supply chain, he said he saw a need to delay, but Henwood said additional visibility of in-progress
better integrate internal and external stakeholders into a deliveries would benefit the supply chain’s customers. Un-
streamlined process with a continuous flow of data. der the current process, Troop Support isn’t made aware
The two days of meetings placed an emphasis on im- when a delivery is running late until it doesn’t arrive on
proving the on-time delivery of operational rations to its required delivery date, known as an RDD.
troops in Europe and the Middle East. “As the entity the customers place the order with, Troop
Navy Cmdr. Andrew Henwood, the chief of the Readiness Support must be informed any time a sail date is missed
Division within Troop Support’s Subsistence supply chain, or a shipment is rolled from one ship to the next. Right
said there have been a few instances of late deliveries. To now we’re not getting that visibility,” he said.
help identify potential solutions, Young and Henwood Henwood believes greater visibility would allow for
have been working with DLA Troop Support’s Continuous more predictability, whether a delivery is delayed or not.
Process Improvement (CPI) office. Going forward, he said DLA would take a more active role
The CPI office mapped the operational rations supply in tracking in-transit overseas food shipments.
chain, step by step, from the vendor to the customer. The “If we know that we’ve rolled an RDD, I’d rather know
map illustrated the numerous intersections that involved in day three of the 90-day process instead of day 90, when
more than one organization. Henwood said walking through it doesn’t show up in the port. Because then you have to
the process with all of the stakeholders in the same room scramble,” he said. “Rather than relying on crisis man-
was useful for revealing where miscommunication occurs, agement at the last minute, we’re getting out in front of
where assumptions may differ and where coordination it and managing the solution. The warfighter shouldn’t
could be improved. suffer because of an error.”
“We identified gaps and seams where there are handoffs Overall, Henwood said event participants helped iden-
between us and the vendor, the vendor and the carrier, tify 30 action items to improve the process. Some will be
and the carrier and the port,” he said. “Each handoff is implemented immediately, but others will require more
an opportunity to add time and delay to the process.” time and coordination.
Henwood said the handoff between the vendor and The face-to-face meeting also helped the attendees es-
the carrier was an area where, in several cases, inefficient tablish a rapport with their fellow stakeholders. Henwood
coordination led to late deliveries. Going forward, Troop said greater familiarity reduces the time required to fix
Support and Transportation Command will use contractual problems when they arise. —Continued
4 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • APRIL 2018