Fort Belvoir, Va. –
A Foreign Military Sales Summit brought together stakeholders from the operational and financial communities to address audit processes May 16 at Defense Logistics Agency Headquarters.
Representatives from the military services, DLA and Defense Security Cooperation Agency discussed their use of multi-domain data and analytics software to gather and share insights.
“We aim for our systems to do an electronic ‘handshake,’ which will allow the services to share data in a streamlined manner up to the leadership level,” said Joe Brooks, chief of DLA’s Whole-of-Government Division.
DSCA administers FMS on behalf of the Defense Department. DLA major subordinate commands provide sustainment support for FMS and two DLA entities – DLA Disposition Services and Defense Logistics Information Services – manage some FMS cases.
“The discussions helped shape ways to build a stronger foundation for innovation in executing the FMS mission,” said Andre Hinson, DLA liaison officer for DSCA and FMS account manager.
Discussions centered around the use of automated tools such as Advana by DOD and foreign partners, federal agencies, academia, and industry to share information from hundreds of business systems. Hinson said data and analytics tools support agility and enhanced responsiveness, two goals identified during last year’s summit.
Discussions at the previous summit also focused on improving operational agility and financial responsiveness. Following that summit, DSCA established the Continuous Process Improvement Board and working subgroups to investigate possible improvements in FMS processes as directed by the secretary of defense.
Areas the board identified as needing attention included a broader understanding of ally and partner requirements, accelerated acquisition and contracting support, and expansion of the defense industrial base, Hinson said.
Laura Durback, DLA’s whole-of-government audit and customer account manager, said future summits may include an additional day for deeper discussions on topics like automated solutions and business intelligence.
Another summit may also be held after Sept. 30, to review lessons learned from the fiscal 2024 financial statement audit.