BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
More high-demand surplus property will make its way onto Defense Logistics Agency supply shelves thanks to a new customer-focused “Top 50” reuse optimization initiative.
In February, DLA Disposition Services Electronic Turn-In Documents, or ETIDs, began featuring a big, bold “TOP 50 FSC” marking as a heads up to the agency’s network of field site property receivers who evaluate the worthiness of military equipment for reuse potential when it is turned over by units. The marking lets them know that an item is among the 50 most popular federal supply codes, or FSCs, that reuse customers sought from DLA during the previous quarter.
Property Disposal Specialist Lori Shook serves as the ETIDs process owner in DLA Disposition Services’ Operations directorate. She said close to a quarter of all turn ins are now handled using digital documentation, with around 55,000 currently registered ETIDs users who can create DD 1348 forms with the tool. Shook said rolling out the effort with ETIDs first provides a good testing ground to evaluate impacts of the Top 50 marking.
“ETIDs automatically fills turn-in document fields, instead of the customer having to hand-write fields,” Shook said. “It alleviates errors and saves time. If they use ETIDs, it tracks these Top 50 FSCs and tells our receivers ‘this is something we want on the shelf’ and heightens their awareness level.”
Shook said DLA wants to continue moving toward the full digitization of its surplus property receipt processes and an initiative like the Top 50 represents one more avenue to achieving greater efficiencies by helping ensure on-the-shelf items are ones likely to move through the system more quickly.
After data pulls by the organization’s Reutilization, Transfer and Donation team in November and February, just over half of the most popular FSCs for property reuse remained on the Top 50 list. A few FSCs stayed among the top 10 most requested, like FSC 8465, also known as individual equipment like duffel bags, backpacks, belts, sleeping bags, and knapsacks. Special purpose clothing, FSC 8415, includes cold weather gear – a popular property group for Veterans Affairs standdown events. Other property groups that have remained very popular so far include FSC 5310 – nuts and washers, FSC 5340 – commercial hardware like hinges, locks, and standard construction components, and FSC 8430 – men’s footwear. Other Top 50 categories include items like air and oil filters, medical and surgical instruments and supplies, and parachutes, slings, and tie-downs.
“In a warehouse – even in the retail world – you want it in, you want it out. That’s the whole game,” Shook said. “Get it out as fast as you can. If a Top 50 marking lets a receiver know that the item will go out fast, that’s great for everyone. A customer doesn’t have to buy it new because they can look to us and save taxpayer money. In my opinion, that’s the bottom line.”