RICHMOND, Va. –
Defense Logistics Agency’s Enterprise Automated One Time Buy Procurement Team made significant strides in supporting the defense industrial base and meeting warfighter requirements, issuing over 400,000 solicitations and resulting in approximately 151,311 awards valued at $1.086 billion from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024.
The team – comprised of 30 personnel from DLA Aviation, Land and Maritime and Troop Support – was recently recognized with the Acquisition Workforce Team Achievement during the 57th Annual Employee Recognition Program held Jan. 23 at DLA headquarters on Fort Belvoir.
According to John Dotchin, DLA Automated Procurement System sub-process owner with DLA Land and Maritime, the team’s success is a testament to collaboration and teamwork.
“We’ve made collaboration a core value, and it’s this mindset that has enabled us to achieve our goals,” he said. “We work together seamlessly, leveraging each other’s strengths and expertise to overcome challenges and achieve success. Our team's ability to put aside individual interests and work toward a common goal has been instrumental in our achievement of the team award.”
The team takes pride in striving to be the best cross-major subordinate command team, said Matthew J. Wood, lead process analyst/automated contracting officer with DLA Aviation.
“We look at problems not only from the lenses of our specific supply chain but from an agency perspective,” he said. “We try to find the compromises and solutions that provide the best outcome for DLA.”
Wood has been involved in the AOTB program since its adoption in the Business System Modernization/Enterprise Business System/E-Procurement SAP rollout and has continually worked on continuous system improvements, breaks and fixes, training, and vendor outreach.
The AOTB Team, comprising a small group of contracting officers, managed all aspects of the automated program, including solicitation, evaluation and award of purchase requests. The team’s efforts were instrumental in reducing administrative lead time and increasing the fulfillment of Warfighter requirements. The automated program processed awards that would have required over 400 additional Contracting Specialists to manage manually.
Juliett Puhiera, procurement analyst at DLA Troop Support, said, “It is a team effort! Despite the physical distance, the Auto team is a very close team. We all communicate with some frequency and work well together to make things happen.”
As a program lead and subject matter expert for DLA Troop Support, Puhiera works closely with the AOTB leads at the other MSCs to ensure the system works properly.
The team also played a critical role in the Compliance Agile Project, collaborating with J6 developers to implement multiple upgrades to the automated program. These upgrades included changes to set-aside determination, Woman-Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business evaluations, and the use of Small Business Administration socioeconomic certifications.
“Our greatest accomplishment is showing how a group of resolute professionals can collaborate and navigate a multitude of challenges and automate very technical and complex processes,” said Wood. “We provide results that continually demonstrate sound decisions, remove human error, and achieve demonstratable gains and savings for DLA.”
When asked about the team’s recognition, Puhiera said, “It felt nice to be acknowledged since most of the work we do with AOTB is behind the scenes. It’s a great program and has a great village supporting it every day.”
Despite the distance, the AOTB team prioritizes communication and teamwork.
“Dedication, collective knowledge, and remote collaboration tools allows us to function as one team even though we are not collocated,” said Wood. “We strive to always disseminate knowledge and create a living library of issues, solutions and ideas. Most of all, we are always willing to fill in or back up other team members and never shy away from a challenge.”
The AOTB Team’s automated program for creating Long Term Contracts below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold also achieved significant success, resulting in 4,312 LTC awards and 11,957 delivery orders valued at $141 million to the defense industrial base. This automated process reduces administrative lead time and increases the fulfillment of warfighter requirements.
The team’s commitment to innovation and continuous program improvement has led to a broader expansion of automated capabilities across DLA. The outcomes driven by the team’s current and enhanced capabilities demonstrate their dedication to supporting the industrial base and improving warfighter support, earning agencywide recognition.
“I believe our team earned the team award due to our exceptional collaboration and teamwork, which has been the driving force behind our ability to achieve our goals,” said Dotchin. “Our team’s unwavering commitment to working together, sharing knowledge, and supporting each other has been the key to our success. The project’s success is a testament to our team’s perseverance and dedication to delivering a complex project over multiple years. The team’s ability to work together, overcome obstacles, and stay focused on the project’s goals was essential to its success.”