US Navy officials tour a Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, Italy. The DLA pre-positions equipment and goods at warehouses around the world. (US Navy)
The US Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA's) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) has launched a mentor-protégé programme (MPP) to strengthen small vendors in its supply chain. The programme is meant to enable DLA prime contractors to assist small businesses interested in obtaining new skillsets, refining processes, and navigating federal acquisition processes, DLA said in a 13 August statement.
The programme started in April 2024, with the first three agreements expected to be concluded before the end of the fiscal year (FY) on 30 September, Daniele Kurze, director for the DLA OSBP, told Janes in a 27 August interview.
To start, DLA focused on specific weapon systems within its hardware supply chains, Kurze said. She declined to provide more details but said those systems would be identified later. Having established a repeatable process, the agency can now move faster and expand the programme to all its supply chains, she said. There are needs “in all of our supply chains from a small business perspective, but also in strengthening the industrial base”, Kurze noted.
DoD programme
The DLA MPP is an extension of a US Department of Defense (DoD) pilot programme established in the early 1990s. It became permanent under the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). DLA MPP agreements are funded by DoD but based on agency requirements, according to the statement. When the DLA identifies a mentor agreement it wants to support, it recommends it to DoD for funding, Kurze said.
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