Performance Based Logistics | The Contracting Education Academy

January 10, 2019 By AMK

DoD says blockchain can help in disaster relief

The U.S. Department of Defense says blockchain technology has “enormous” potential in helping improve disaster relief efforts.

The Troop Support division of the Defense Logistics Agency held a meeting last month in Philadelphia to understand how blockchain could have helped its already “successful” efforts assisting in Puerto Rico after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017. The meeting was hosted by Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) office.

“The potential is absolutely enormous,” said CPI management analyst Elijah Londo, according to a DLA report of the event. “Talk about blockchain, and you’ll hear experts comparing it to transforming trust or transactions in the same way the internet changed communication.”

Currently, the DLA tracks logistics processes through centrally managed systems, which makes it hard for involved parties to synchronize data and ensure they all are tracking correct and up-to-date information. By using blockchain technology, the agency could track data and thereby improve supply chain transaction processes and in-transit visibility of shipments, it said in the report.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.coindesk.com/us-defense-department-says-blockchain-can-help-disaster-relief

August 10, 2017 By AMK

Congress turning its attention to acquisition, training challenges at VA

Veterans affairs congressional committees have been busy this year, passing new accountability legislation and finalizing details to change the outdated veterans appeals process.

Now, lawmakers are beginning to turn their attention to some of the more nitty-gritty challenges facing the Veterans Affairs Department.

VA, however, doesn’t see the need for new legislative fixes, or at least, not these particular suggestions related to the department’s training and onboarding for acquisition professionals, as well as its procurement reporting standards.

But Congress, long frustrated by VA’s lengthy contracting processes and the scheduling and cost overruns it’s seen with major construction projects in the past, isn’t convinced the department can more effectively manage the procurement process and staff its offices properly without new legislation.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/veterans-affairs/2017/06/congress-turning-its-attention-to-acquisition-training-challenges-at-va/

September 8, 2015 By AMK

Georgia Tech launches new logistics center in Singapore

Georgia Tech, in collaboration with The National University of Singapore, officially launched the Center for Next Generation Logistics on July 24, 2015 in Singapore.

The inauguration ceremonies were attended by 150 industry and government representatives and included presentations by the provosts of both universities. The Center will serve as an open logistics innovation platform to:

Identify and pursue pre-competitive and industry-focused research inspired by significant promise for economic and social impact and contributions to the body of knowledge,
Accelerate and de-risk the path from knowledge discovery to innovation and commercialization,
Nurture and develop the Next Generation supply chain & logistics workforce,
Provide up-to-date business intelligence to better understand today’s competitive landscape.

Georgia Tech, in collaboration with The National University of Singapore, officially launched the Center for Next Generation Logistics on July 24, 2015 in Singapore.

During the inaugural ceremonies, Georgia Tech Provost Rafael Bras noted, “Logistics is a major player of the U.S. economy comprising over eight percent of the U.S. GDP, and Georgia, in particular, is a U.S. logistics hub. In parallel, Singapore and its container port thrive on expert logistics know-how. The new generation of logistics must integrate supply chains, movement of goods, manufacturing innovation, data analysis for predictive logistics, and growth of urban regions and megacities. It represents the future, and we are thrilled to define that future together with our Singaporean partners.”

Chelsea C. White III, Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics and Professor in the Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, has spearheaded Georgia Tech’s participation in this initiative and is co-leader of the center with the NUS principal investigators, Professors Lee Loo Hay and Chew Ek Peng.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with NUS in an area of research and innovation that has such potential societal and economic impact for both our countries. Next Generation technology, data availability, customers, manufacturing innovations, and demographic trends will shape Next Generation logistics and supply chain systems, and it is critical that both nations are leaders in these areas to insure sustainable economic growth and prosperity,” said White, who presented the Center vision during the inaugural ceremonies.

Georgia Tech has collaborated with NUS for more than 15 years as the co-founders of The Logistic Institute – Asia Pacific, and the new Center will further expand this collaboration.

The Center has received seed funding from Georgia Tech and NUS over a two-year period to develop the Center concept and expects a 5-year initial funding commitment of $3 million annually from collaborating government agencies and industry partners to support approximately 25 faculty and graduate researchers.

Source: https://www.scl.gatech.edu/news/new-georgia-tech-and-nus-center-next-generation-logistics-launched

March 13, 2015 By AMK

DoD doesn’t know cost or performance of non-major acquisition programs, GAO says

The Defense Department doesn’t have the information to determine the cost or performance of its non-major acquisition programs, says a March 2 Government Accountability Office report.

These non-major programs, called category II and III programs, range from a multibillion dollar aircraft radar modernization program to soldier clothing and protective equipment programs in the tens of millions of dollars, the report says.

GAO found that the accuracy, completeness and consistency of DOD’s data on these programs were undermined by widespread data entry issues, missing data and inconsistent identification of current category II and III programs.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dod-doesnt-know-cost-or-performance-non-major-acquisition-programs-gao-says/2015-03-03

GAO Report 15-188 can be downloaded here: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/668783.pdf

February 14, 2014 By AMK

GSA overhaul of delivery system to save $500 million

The General Services Administration is overhauling the way it delivers goods and supplies to agencies, according to a Jan. 30 blog post by Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Tom Sharpe.

The agency will no longer own and operate large warehouses to store goods before they ship and will instead partner with private companies to have the items sent directly to agencies.

Sharpe said the move would simplify the acquisition process and have $500 million over the next five years. The agency operates warehouses across the country and retail operations around the world.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20140131/ACQ01/301310006/GSA-overhaul-delivery-system-save-500-million

The U.S. Department of Defense says blockchain technology has “enormous” potential in helping improve disaster relief efforts.

Veterans affairs congressional committees have been busy this year, passing new accountability legislation and finalizing details to change the outdated veterans appeals process.

Georgia Tech, in collaboration with The National University of Singapore, officially launched the Center for Next Generation Logistics on July 24, 2015 in Singapore.

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