Pentagon leadership visit Pennsylvania distribution center

NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –

Senior representatives from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller visited Defense Logistics Agency Distribution headquarters to learn more about the distribution mission and tour the Eastern Distribution Center Dec. 1.

DLA Finance accompanied the OUSD representatives and met with the DLA Distribution leadership team to discuss network optimization and the future of DLA Distribution.

The OUSD Comptroller’s Director of Financial Management Analysis & Operations Mike Fulton and Senior Budget Analyst Chris Heinbach, along with DLA Finance’s Chief Financial Officer Sue Goodyear and Deputy Chief Financial Officer Shawn Lennon, toured the DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, distribution center. They met with DLA Distribution Commander Navy Rear Adm. Grafton Chase and DLA Distribution Deputy Commander Perry Knight.

Tim Kosky, modernization project manager, briefs leaders from the Defense Department and Defense Logistics Agency on the future of receiving material at the Eastern Distribution Center, the largest warehouse in the DOD. Modernization is expected to save $6 million per year for the next five years through cost avoidance.

Chase led this effort, providing a vision for the way ahead for the modernization of processes of the DLA distribution network. This includes major upgrades to the warehousing network infrastructure, including the Warehouse Management System that provides significant upgrades in visibility and audit readiness, as well as the ability to provide a wireless interface to enhance system redundancy.

Current modernization efforts include the transformation of the warehouse environment to equip the Eastern Distribution Center with modern technology, such as tablets for inventory check-in and check-out, and voice technology. Some of the most futuristic modernizations will include Autonomous Guided Vehicles, which are robotic forklifts that will move freight around the over 1.8 million square-foot warehouse. Individually, each AGV will be named in honor of service members who were killed in action.

Another innovation under construction is the AutoStoreTM, which is a commercial off-the-shelf fully automated warehousing system designed to rapidly store and retrieve stock. It maximizes the use of space, allowing warehouse storage potential to be quadrupled. Ongoing modernizations are expected to be completed in 2025.

Fulton expressed he was pleased and excited about the progress and innovation.

“It’s fantastic to see the vision in operation,” Fulton said. “I want to come back in 2025.”

Leaders from the Defense Department and Defense Logistics Agency watch an informational video about modernization efforts underway at the Eastern Distribution Center, the largest warehouse in the DOD. The improvements will increase through put while also creating a better environment for the workforce.