COLUMBUS, Ohio –
The 2018 Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Supplier Conference and Exposition brought together government and industry suppliers and customers during a two-day event in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
The June 19-20 conference featured presentations from public and private-sector leaders and covered an array of topics ranging from performance based logistics to supply chain efficiencies and strategic objectives.
The exposition featured more than 70 exhibitor booths representing organizations that produce or supply equipment or services to support the Warfighter on both land and at sea. Original Equipment Manufacturers displayed their latest technological innovations and an assortment of both small and large-sized businesses were on hand to display how their products benefit the military.
“This conference represents one of DLA’s keystone initiatives in collaborating with industries to guarantee our cooperative efforts ensure our nation’s warfighters remain the best equipped and tactically superior in the world,” said Steven Alsup, deputy commander of DLA Land and Maritime. “Our objective is to come together and re-energize our efforts to make us more responsive, more accurate and definitely more efficient in our logistics support partnerships.”
The first day included a keynote presentation from DLA Director Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams. He gave an overview of the agency’s strategic plans and discussed how the organization’s objectives evolve to stay relevant in a dynamic global environment.
“DLA is an enabling capability,” Williams said. “And this conference allows us to improve our collective ability to support the Warfighter and increase the effectiveness of our Whole of Government partners.”
The conference was co-sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association. The theme for 2018 was “Improving Warfighter Readiness by Improving Industry Alliances and Reforming Business Processes”.
This year’s conference featured an interactive mobile phone application that allowed users to access the agenda, exhibition hall floor plan, speaker list and breakout session schedule. It also included a real-time interactive chat function that let audience members submit questions to guest speakers during and following their presentations.
Each day offered a series of targeted breakout sessions to educate DLA Land and Maritime’s current or potential customers and present information to improve interaction between the agency and its partners.
Topics such as cyber security threats and prevention, pricing and cost analysis, online contract bidding systems, vender processes and strategic engineering principles offered a wide range of diverse material for attendees.