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News | June 24, 2016

With audit ready software, DLA better tracks recruit training center inventory

By Mikia Muhammad DLA Troop Support Public Affairs

In the spirit of audit readiness, the Defense Logistics Agency is installing inventory tracking software at military recruit training centers across the country.

Several DLA organizations worked together to install the distribution standard system at three of the eight recruit training centers that DLA Troop Support’s Clothing and Textiles  supply chain supports with military clothing items, Angela Richwine, C&T business process support chief, said.

DLA Distribution, DLA Information Operations, DLA Logistics Operations and DLA Troop Support worked together to install DSS at the RTCs.

The user-friendly software utilizes radio frequency technology to capture items’ location and quantities, improving accuracy of materiel availability, Jerry Padgett, RTC program manager for DLA Distribution business development, said.

“The RTCs will have real-time accountability and control of the DLA material in their possession,” Padgett said. “It provides automated management reports for RTC [staff] to identify trends and required corrective actions.”

Padgett has been working with DSS since 1996 and said it’s an outstanding warehouse management system. DSS was designed to replace the legacy virtual item manager system, he said.

“The DSS subject matter experts in DLA have been continuously refining DSS training material and standard operating procedures, which provide outstanding training tools for new DSS operators,” Padgett said.

Since the first DSS installation in November 2015 at Lackland Air Force Base, DSS has been customized to fit the respective workflow of each RTC, allowing staff to maintain the functionality they’re accustomed to, Tom Holtz, C&T recruit training division chief, said.

 “[At] each recruit training center, their duties are the same: support the in-bound recruits,” Holtz said. “But each of them has little nuances and they do the mission differently.”

Utilizing the standard DLA Inventory Reconciliation Management process, a quantification model used across all DLA sites, DSS increases inventory accuracy at RTCs to more than 98 percent, David Griffin, a DSS program manager with DLA Information Operations, said.

DSS was implemented at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina in March and MCRD San Diego in May.

While MCRD Parris Island staff is still learning the system, DSS is working good so far, Rich Vidinha, supply system analyst, said.

“DSS gives a more detailed view of what we have and where we have it,” Vidinha said. “It’s given us a lot of advantages [and] more visibility on some of our assets.”

The installation process includes in-person training by DLA personnel and takes up to 30 to 60 days to complete, Padgett said.

DLA’s goal is to complete DSS installation at the remaining RTCs by fall 2017, Richwine said.