NEW CUMBERLAND, Pennsylvania –
On Aug. 24, students in the Advanced Study of Air Mobility Program from United States Air Force Expeditionary Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., stopped by DLA Distribution headquarters in New Cumberland, Pa., to learn how the organization operates 25 distribution centers globally, before touring the Department of Defense’s largest warehouse at DLA Distribution Susquehanna.
ASAM prepares mid-level officers to serve as mobility and logistics advisors to warfighting commanders. As such, the students were very interested in learning how DLA Distribution performs inspections and manages items in their care. Kevin Davis, who briefed the students on the organization’s operations, explained that when an organization chooses to use DLA Distribution, they’re not just paying to keep items in a warehouse. “We offer more than storage and distribution- it’s the services that we offer under the umbrella of those functions that really benefit our customers,” said Davis.
Davis explained how services such as regular and random inventories, Care of Stock in Storage, special packaging, tailored kitting, local delivery, dedicated truck routes and audit readiness for accountability are just a few of many that set the organization apart from competitors and provide best value for customers.
To visualize the distribution process and several of the discussed services, the group visited DLA Distribution Susquehanna’s Eastern Distribution Center, the largest warehouse in the Department of Defense. They toured the receiving, processing, storage, retrieval and outloading operations, where they saw the supply chain in action.