FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The Defense Logistics Agency had another banner year with small businesses and is looking to continue that success in the new year, an agency official said.
DLA awarded about $18 billion in small-business contacts in fiscal year 2023, said Dwight Deneal, the director of the agency’s Office of Small Business Programs.
“That’s a record for the agency,” he said, adding that this was the 11th year the agency exceeded its small-business prime contracting goals.
Deneal was part of an OSBP directors panel Oct. 10 during the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, held at the Walter E. Washington Center in Washington, D.C.
Other panelists included Kimberly Buehler, director of the Army’s OSBP; Yudi Carmona, small business technical advisor at the Defense Department’s OSBP; Carlen Capenos, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s OSBP; Arveice Washington, acting director of the Navy’s OSBP; and Scott Kiser, director of the Air Force’s OSBP.
Increasing socio-economic performance and sustaining growth will be his office’s two main focuses for 2024, Deneal said. A strategic meeting with all of DLA’s major subordinate commands’ small-business planning offices will look to create new planning initiatives and problem-solving strategies, he added.
DLA’s services to the rest of the Defense Department were noted during the panel.
“In the services, we really rely on DLA to be our partners in making sure that the supply chains are running smoothly, and there are certainly a lot of challenges,” Buehler said. “We appreciate all the work that’s being done at DLA to ensure that we can continue to service our existing weapons systems platforms while we are building a new one in the Army for 2030 to 2040.”
Vendors in the audience asked questions on several issues, from getting help on requests for information and contracting to technological advancements.
DLA’s Small Business Innovation Program is looking to address challenges from platforms and systems that are decades old, to parts that are obsolete or no longer sourced. Vendors can also attend webinars on how to do business with DLA through the agency’s website, Deneal said.
“I very highly encourage anybody that’s looking to do business with DLA, or if you’re an existing supplier looking to grow your footprint with DLA, to take part in our learning series so you can learn how to best get engaged and finding opportunities with DLA,” he said.
After the panel, Deneal, who was recently selected as the vice chairman for the Federal Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Directors Interagency Council, said interaction with vendors is important.
“It’s always good to talk to industry, especially our small-business vendors around the state of play from a DOD enterprise-level perspective, and how we’re all working together collectively as an enterprise to address the problems of today and the future problem sets of tomorrow,” he said.
Vendors’ concerns about technology are valid, he added.
“Historically, there has been a gap from the building of new technology to it being an enduring capability within the DOD footprint for the warfighter to use. That’s a gap that will always need to be lessened and closed,” he said.
The theme for this year’s AUSA conference was, “Be all you can be,” a variation of the Army’s recently revived, “Be all that you can be,” slogan. DLA was one of the hundreds of vendors on the conference center’s expansive floors, with representatives from the agency’s headquarters and several major subordinate commands on hand to answer questions from conference guests.