PHILADELPHIA –
Employees with the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support saw a clearer picture of how they work with DLA Distribution during a tour of the Eastern Distribution Center in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, Dec. 12.
The Culture Improvement Team from DLA Troop Support’s Industrial Hardware supply chain facilitated the tour for 27 IH employees in response to requests in the 2016 DLA Culture Survey.
EDC strategic planning specialist Ron Hunziker said the tour helped employees enhance their understanding of how DLA processes are linked.
Hunziker believes that giving faces and context to Distribution’s operation improves DLA processes and leads to more collaborative solutions.
“They see some of our struggles … they tend to work better with us as a result,” Hunziker said.
To Tiffany Watkins, a resolution specialist and IH CIT member, the trip provided insight into how Troop Support contracting efforts yield tangible parts that DLA Distribution delivers to the warfighter.
Watkins, who works with part numbers and delivery status codes to resolve purchase request discrepancies, was excited to see her work translated into physical objects and processes. It assured her of her work’s purpose, she said.
“Those numbers and codes that we see, we actually see them physically (here),” said Watkins. “That helps bring it into perspective.”
Based on the trip’s success, the IH CIT is planning another visit to the EDC, the Department of Defense’s largest distribution facility, for 2018. For information on upcoming IH CIT events, contact team chairperson Joseph Evans.