The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has employed additive manufacturing and other techniques in its supply chain operations to support missions including the delivery of 10,000 face shields to health workers in New York City.
Sly Ahn, supply chain security lead at the Portfolio Program Support Division at DLA, noted during a recent industry event that the agency also used a “reverse logistics approach” to its missions beyond COVID-19 response including hurricane response, humanitarian assistance and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) support in California, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
“This is when one of our customers turns in something either for disposal or for reutilization, effectively making whatever is turned in into a supply chain of itself,” he explained. According to Ahn, this involves transportation lanes as well as infrastructure and information flow between stakeholders throughout the supply chain.
Shon Lyublanovits, senior adviser for cybersecurity at the Office of Information Technology Category (ITC) within the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), added that acquisition officials should also consider clarity when developing contract language for supply chain operations.
“I also think as vendors are trying to get on different schedules and sell their products, they need to understand coming in the door, what the expectation is,” she noted.