Battle Creek, Michigan –
Senior leaders and staff from DLA Disposition Services headquarters continue to inform warfighters and other customers about Network Optimization with more details about how field sites in the continental United States will adapt to ensure customer requirements are supported in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible.
A second memo went out March 17 from DLA Disposition Services Director Mike Cannon to confirm that the implementation phase of the project was under way. Cannon also assured customers that all decisions about site changes were based on project workload and site capacity. In fact, on site reviews of impacted sites are part of the implementation plan.
A change highlighted in the latest memo is the transition of some sites to become field offices. While these sites will not receive property directly, Cannon assured customers the office staffs would assist with scrap, hazardous waste, environmental, receipt in place and customer support. Usable property will be scheduled for transportation directly from the customers to full service sites where the items will be processed.
A slide presentation sent with the latest memo elaborated on steps of the initiative discussed in the first memo. The slides included a map showing how each U.S. site is expected to change under Network Optimization. The effort strives to more accurately predict future customer requirements and have minimal impact to them while DLA Disposition Services staff members create the optimal organizational structure.
By Oct. 1, 2018, the initiative should be at the end state, which Cannon described in December as a “network that maximizes efficiency, provides the lowest risk to both individual sites, the collective network, and sustains our current high level of customer support.”
Customer Support Branch personnel are also working to inform customers through mass emails, their Insight newsletter and promotional materials. The newsletter is available through the main page of DLA Disposition Services website. The page also has a Network Optimization icon linked to a page offering all the latest customer information items on the initiative. An email address is also available to capture customer questions that are not answered by the materials.