PUGET SOUND, Wash. –
During a visit to the Northwest earlier this month, DLA Distribution commanding general Army Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi sat down with DLA Distribution Puget Sound, Washington, leadership to discuss the facility’s improvements in customer support and employee resiliency.
DLA Distribution Puget Sound is a tenant command on Naval Base Kitsap and located next to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility and several other Navy activities. The distribution center supports primary customers such as Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Fleet Readiness Center Northwest and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from its three geographically distant locations: Bremerton, Bangor and Everett.
During a briefing with the site’s commander and deputy commander, Laskodi learned how the distribution center is meeting customer needs and self-imposed metrics, despite its lack of automation and aging facilities.
Over the past two years, DLA Distribution Puget Sound leadership implemented multiple facilities changes and upgrades increasing much needed warehouse square footage and aligning administrative space to the mission area while creating a streamlined workflow leading to process improvements to store and distribute the site’s more 32,000 National Stock Numbers valued at nearly $477 million.
It is these types of continuous improvements and tailored solutions, as well as regular meetings with customers, which allow the distribution center to remain operationally ready for tasking, said deputy Ray Martin.
Additionally, the group discussed how focusing on people and culture positively contributed to the metrics. “With a core value of ‘people first’ and a focus on top-down communication, DDPW has been able to rebuild trust, increasing the culture survey index significantly,” said Martin.
By implementing a “One Team, One Fight” culture, the leadership improved its relationship with employees, ultimately increasing the cultural satisfaction rating by 44 percent- a statistic Laskodi found impressive.
“Whatever the metrics area, I know the team here will answer the challenge. You’ve proven it time and time again,” concluded Laskodi.