Troop Support
Written by Kelly Fodel
MLF 2009 Volume: 3 Issue: 10 (November/December)
Additionally, “While I have four different supply chains, I also have a very robust global supply chain that supports the rest of the industry. We try as much as possible to take advantage of the best practices out there to support our warfighters,” said Montoya. To that end, DSCP Europe and DSCP Pacific are field activities of the DSCP and DLA, ensuring combat readiness and sustainment, as well as troop and commodity support of the warfighter.
SUBSISTENCE DIRECTORATE
The Subsistence Directorate of the DSCP serves as the key link between the armed forces and the U.S. food industry. It also provides support to other federal agencies, the Veterans Administration, Public Health Service hospitals, the USDA’s National School Lunch Program, and the District of Columbia School District.
Within the Subsistence Directorate, distinct divisions handle areas such as food safety, common food management, produce, food services, supplier support and operational rations. The Food Service CBU provides total dining hall support worldwide to military and other authorized federal customers. Through the Subsistence Prime Vendor (SPV) program and direct vendor delivery, customers can receive their food 48 hours after placing an order.
The DSCP Produce Division is the worldwide provider of choice for fresh fruits and vegetables to the military services, military exchanges and MWR facilities, Job Corps centers, VA hospitals, and federal prisons, as well as schools and Native American reservations in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National School Lunch Program and related food and nutrition services programs.
The mission of the Supplier Support Division is to support the supplier operations organizations within the subsistence supply chain. The Supplier Support Division provides streamline management of both subsistence quality audit programs, and a master strategy for the integration of the subsistence standardization program to manage all subsistence technical and quality documents cited in contracts or that are available electronically to all DSCP customers and government organizations. The primary focus is the military customers’ quality and technical requirements.
The Operational Rations Division provides streamline management of all operational rations programs and a master strategy for the integration of the nation’s industrial base for these rations. The primary focus is customers’ requirements. The division responds by implementing and providing operational rations programs/items and logistical infrastructures to support their use.
“If I look at the whole industrial base for food and I think about what we are doing here to support our warfighter, it was about $4.8 billion in sales last year, and we probably only represented maybe 2 percent of that whole supply chain demand. I’m more of a follower, adapting to whatever the industry is doing,” said Montoya. There are some items that only Montoya and DSCP procure, such as MREs, UGREs, and first strike rations, because they are used to go to war. There is a heavy demand for these products due to the current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Montoya says a main goal is to make sure that the food supplied to deployed troops is the same as what they would eat back home. A prime initiative is also making sure that troops get a special meal every holiday. Montoya’s main goal with the Subsistence Directorate is to drive down costs and still provide a valuable product to customers.
CLOTHING AND TEXTILES DIRECTORATE
“We’ve got an industrial base out there made of a lot of partners. They step up to the plate every day to make sure we provide the best uniforms and other items to our troops, down to boots and everything in between,” Montoya said.
In fiscal year 2007, C&T’s sales of clothing, textiles and equipment to military personnel worldwide surpassed $2 billion. While buying more than 8,000 different items ranging from uniforms, footwear and undergarments to ecclesiastical items, individual equipment, flags and tents, C&T actually manages over 31,000 line items when individual sizes are factored into the item mix.
Montoya must follow strict guidelines about the sources of the products used in the supply chain. “My requirement is I must buy from American sources only. I am challenged by making sure all the products I support are made by American companies.” Another challenge is maintaining a steady demand based on what the customer’s needs are. “We represent 80 to 90 percent of that supply chain’s demand in C&T,” said Montoya.
Over the past year, DSCP has visited the military’s nine recruit training centers to improve the delivery of products, using technology including barcoding. Just recently, 13,000 recruits went through the RTCs in the span of one week, and every single recruit got the right item in the right size, right away.
DSCP directs items to companies that are not only providing quality products but also providing opportunities for disabled or incarcerated individuals to obtain work. “We not only provide a good product to our customers but also help companies provide jobs” for those who might not otherwise be able to obtain a job.
CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT DIRECTORATE
The Construction and Equipment Directorate is a class four supply chain. Montoya said they utilize a prime vendor arrangement within C&E. Companies will often deliver items to the customer on behalf of DSCP. The construction and equipment chain covers a wide variety of supplies for the military customer. Products range from light bulbs to bulldozers, including lumber and plywood, fire and emergency vehicles, forklifts, HVAC, and plumbing, as well as imaging and telecommunication devices, targets for training, and ADP equipment and supplies. Annual sales exceed $2 billion.
This is the area in which Montoya has seen the most growth, due to wartime. “We keep a close eye on this area. Construction items are big and bulky, so we need to make sure we can quickly react to customer demand and get these items forward that customers need.”
MEDICAL DIRECTORATE
The Medical Directorate at the DSCP is the wholesale-level partner in the Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS) program, an integrated, 10-year DoD Major Defense Acquisition Program—Automated Information System. The DMLSS mission is to modernize the entire military health care logistics supply chain. The DMLSS program partnership is manifested in synchronized initiatives at the retail and wholesale support levels that provide the electronic processes and backbone necessary to enable retail customers to efficiently obtain materiel from wholesale commercial sources. Information systems development and fielding at both levels must be synchronized to deliver efficient customer service at minimum costs.
The medical directorate deals with all facets of medical care, from pharmaceuticals to medical and surgical equipment. “I am [only dealing with] about 3 to 4 percent of that whole supply chain. Even though it is about $4.6 billion last year in sales in medical, it is a small number when you look at the total medical supply chain. Again [like with the Subsistence Directorate], I am more of a follower trying to take advantage of industry practices out there,” said Montoya. He also partners wherever possible, such as with the DEA, so that they can jointly obtain the best prices from vendors.
EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCT QUALITY
While DSCP continues to support the warfighter, the organization is continuing to pursue the greatest level of efficiency and product quality in their usage of the taxpayers’ dollars. “Before I came here, I did not know how difficult it is to procure at the best price for our customer and procure and deliver a lot of these items. When you think in terms of getting the best price for the product and delivering it forward [as financially efficiently as possible], there has been a phenomenal challenge for us,” Montoya said.
To that end, DSCP tries to limit the amount of air shipments to minimize costs. Staff also attempts to negotiate the best prices by partnering with suppliers who can combine their buying power with DSCP’s buying power. Montoya said these efforts, among others, allow DSCP to continue to be very effective with its warfighter support.
Now that the U.S. is considering a possible drawdown in Iraq, Montoya said the DSCP is carefully considering how much product to ship to the warzone. It is a delicate balance between making sure there is enough product available to the troops who need it, and avoiding sending too much product that ends up not being used and is given to Iraqis or must be shipped back to the United States. “We do our part to minimize the amount of material going in,” Montoya said.
The other area Montoya said DSCP is focused on is improving collaborations with customers. Better planning leads to a better understanding of the customers’ ordering patterns, which allows for longer term projections of which products will be needed in the future.
Montoya pointed out that all of these accomplishments would be impossible to achieve without the efforts of the DSCP work force. The DSCP makes an effort to keep its work force strong by supporting a variety of educational opportunities for employees.
“We have a plan for the future. Eventually we need to have other individuals step up into positions like mine, and I think that is the one thing we are doing now—planning to know what our future needs are going to be,” Montoya said. “We are also looking at our work force compared to what the work force around us looks like, to make sure we have the right mix, the proper diversity.”
He continued: “I could do none of this without our great work force. Folks here, day in and day out, understand that what we do here is a little more important than the normal Fortune 500 company. If we do not do our job right, someone could lose a life. At the end of the day, I think our warfighters really appreciate the work that these 2,200 people do for them.” ♦