FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Editor’s note: This is one of five stories featuring 2021 DLA Hall of Fame inductees. A video highlighting inductees’ contributions to the agency will be broadcast on DLA’s Facebook page Jan. 11.
The Defense Logistics Agency’s champion of electronic document management is among five inductees to the 2021 DLA Hall of Fame.
Stephen Sherman helped eliminate over 1 billion paper documents for the Defense Department as director of Document Services, now known as Data Management Services, under DLA Information Operations. The success led to DLA’s recognition by DOD as a High Performing Organization.
“As an early adopter of electronic data management, he ensured that the DOD’s printing programs were in lockstep with technological advancements in printing and document management,” according to his nomination.
Sherman’s reengineering of the program through which customers receive devices such as printers also earned DLA the Best-In-Class designation from the Office of Management and Budget for providing cost savings through innovative, leveraged spending. The program saved DOD over $500 million under his leadership.
Following the Office of Personnel Management data breach in 2015, Sherman led the effort to quickly print and mail over 20 million letters providing vital information to those with compromised identities.
“This support to OPM required considerable collaboration and coordination among DOD and federal cybersecurity organizations, an effort adeptly administered by Mr. Sherman for this massive undertaking,” his nomination reads.
Between March 2013 and August 2014, Sherman launched a print-on-demand capability for maps at seven locations that saved DOD tens of millions of dollars and reduced the need for space to store 87 million maps and charts. His on-demand solution demonstrated improved force readiness when it provided critical maps for a training exercise in Korea within just 48 hours. The capability benefited humanitarian support teams during the Ebola crisis in west Africa and an earthquake in Nepal.
Sherman also furthered DOD’s printing transformation by overseeing the conversion of hundreds of millions of printed pages to digital format, allowing organizations to search electronic records and save employees from hours of manual labor.
Sherman began his 39-year federal career as a management intern for what was then Navy Publishing and Printing Services. He retired in 2018.
Visit DLA’s Hall of Fame website for more information about other 2021 inductees and members from previous years.