The Defense Logistics Agency is the backbone of military sustainment, providing troops around the world with everything from fuel and food to spare parts and medical supplies. With a mission so vast, DLA can’t afford to fall behind when it comes to technology.
Released in December 2024, DLA’s Digital Strategy 2025 – 2030 is a roadmap for transformation, aligning with the Pentagon’s priorities and the National Defense Strategy. It strengthens DLA’s ability to improve efficiency, align technology with business goals and deliver greater value to the warfighter, workforce, customers and partners.
This digital-first strategy emphasizes precision—getting the right material to the right place at the right time, using every tool available. DLA is building a connected enterprise that integrates technology, data, people and processes to strengthen effectiveness and agility.
The agency’s digital strategy is built on four pillars:
- Leverage a digital-ready workforce
- Enhance information technology governance
- Advance a global digital ecosystem
- Drive data and analytics.
Together, these efforts, known by the acronym LEAD, form the foundation for how DLA will support the joint force in the digital age.
“Meeting the objectives in this strategy is critical to DLA’s future,” said Adarryl Roberts, DLA’s Chief Information Officer. “We must stay relevant by continuously modernizing our IT environment and embracing digital concepts to retain an advantage in contested logistics environments. By leveraging data analytics, automation and innovative thinking, we remain at the forefront of logistical excellence, ensuring the warfighter is equipped to succeed in an ever-evolving landscape.”
A workforce built for the future
The first part of the strategy focuses on people. DLA leaders have said that technology is only as effective as the workforce behind it. The agency is investing in training to improve data acumen, giving employees the skills to use digital tools and artificial intelligence in their daily work.
The strategy is designed to evolve, with key performance indicators aligned to the DLA Strategic Plan and a phased approach to AI adoption. To build an agile and digitally resilient workforce, DLA is implementing the Sourcing Talent and Technology Framework to attract and retain employees with advanced digital skills.
“It’s vital that our staff have the skills to take full advantage of emerging technologies like automation and AI,” DLA Vice Director Brad Bunn said during an interview with Federal News Network in September. “We’re reinvigorating a culture of innovation to empower employees to adopt and apply these technologies. Through data acumen training, our workforce is refining analytical, critical and design-thinking skills while also considering the ethical implications of AI. This sets the stage for success across all digital strategy objectives.”
“Digital transformation is as much about people as it is about technology. If the staff isn’t on board, the whole thing falls apart,” Roberts said.
For employees, the digital strategy means better tools, less repetitive work and more opportunities to apply critical thinking, Roberts said. Whether through robotic process automations, data dashboards or AI-enabled decision aids, the workforce is shifting from manual processing to mission-focused problem solving.
For military customers, the benefits are:
- Real-time visibility into inventory and order status.
- Faster, more accurate forecasting to reduce shortages and back orders.
- Stronger cyber defenses across the supply chain.
- Improved global positioning of supplies to ensure readiness anywhere in the world.
DLA is also adopting commercial best practices. New warehouse management systems will function more like Amazon’s fulfillment centers, providing real-time tracking and smoother supplier integration, Bunn said.
A global digital ecosystem
As a combat support agency, DLA delivers worldwide. That means ensuring networks, systems, and data are reliable, resilient and secure. DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly describes this as “setting the globe”—making sure logistics capabilities are ready not just in the United States, but in key regions like the Indo-Pacific.
“It’s about positioning material, supplies, people, and capabilities where they matter most,” Bunn said. “It’s also about building resilience in the industrial base and using innovative methods so we can respond faster—whether it’s fuel, food or repair parts.”
DLA is simplifying and modernizing its information technology environment. Over the last six years, the agency eliminated redundancy and reduced its information technology asset inventory by 90%, from 1,200 to 114 systems. Legacy systems are being upgraded or replaced. The current core environment, SAP Enterprise Resource Planning Central Component, will reach end of life in 2027. To prepare, the Enterprise Resource Planning Transformation Team is migrating systems to the cloud. They’re also conducting business process reengineering and planning the phased transition to standard SAP before 2027.
Robotic process automation is also changing the way work gets done. DLA now runs nearly 200 automations—some operating 24/7 without human error—returning an estimated 300,000 work hours each year. With a dedicated RPA Center of Excellence, the agency plans to maintain 20% annual growth while meeting cybersecurity and audit standards.
Roberts said DLA is also exploring automated inventory management through Automatic Identification Technology solutions. This capability could significantly improve how the agency performs inventory tracking by linking automation with its Warehouse Management System. Requirements are still being developed for the effort, but it represents the next step in connected logistics. This kind of automation depends on data integrity and secure access—much of which resides in industry—reinforcing the importance of strong partnerships.
Cognitive AI will soon accelerate decision making even further. It can help with surfacing insights, detecting anomalies and synthesizing complex information for audit and analysis.
DLA is modernizing its global supply chains to create a common digital thread from factory to foxhole. This integrated approach—spanning 46 states and 28 countries—improves inventory visibility, enhances cybersecurity and mitigates disruptions. Applying AI and improving demand forecasting are challenges in this effort.
“We are prioritizing speed, precision and mission impact over legacy structures and processes,” Simerly said in a July message to the DLA workforce. “Transforming and modernizing our IT environment provides real-time access to engineering data, reduced lead times, a streamlined ordering platform, shipment tracking and a supplier portal for solicitation and response.”
Data and AI as mission enablers
Data and AI are mission enablers at the heart of the digital strategy. With millions of items in motion, the ability to rapidly analyze and act on information is essential, Roberts said. DLA is using AI for predictive maintenance to repair equipment before it fails to reduce downtime.
“We are embracing AI as a cornerstone of our digital strategy,” Simerly said at DLA’s Industry Collider Day in September. “We already have about 56 AI models in development, testing or use—all from employee-generated ideas.”
This bottom-up approach empowers “citizen developers”—employees who understand their challenges best—to design digital solutions. This ensures tools meet real mission needs.
“So much of what we do is about understanding customer requirements and buying ahead of that need,” Bunn said. “The better we can forecast, the better we can signal industry. That’s a game changer for us.”
The new AI and Analytics Center of Excellence helps DLA turn data into decisions faster and apply AI responsibly.
“DLA is investing in a flexible AI architecture designed for interoperability,” Roberts said. “Our new DLA Connect platform simplifies access to AI tools and improves the overall user experience.”
AI isn’t about replacing people—it’s about empowering smarter decisions, reducing back orders, and giving Warfighters what they need, when they need it,” Roberts said.
The path forward
DLA’s mission remains the same: to serve as the Nation’s Logistics Combat Support Agency. How it accomplishes that mission, however, is changing fast. By embracing a digital-first mindset, investing in its workforce, and modernizing its systems, DLA is ensuring that when the warfighter calls, the answer will be ready, reliable and resilient.