by Melissa Becker, Government Contracting Specialist
Northwest Commission, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense that provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and other federal agencies with the full spectrum of logistics, acquisition and technical services. DLA sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America’s military forces need to operate — from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment.
DLA is comprised of four Primary Level Field Activities (PLFAs) responsible for purchasing commodities and services common to all Military Services and other Federal agencies. These PLFAs are: DLA Land & Maritime, DLA Aviation, DLA Energy and DLA Troop Support. Each of the PLFAs has their own Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) whose primary purpose is to assist and guide small businesses in seeking opportunities with DLA. This article focuses on DLA Aviation and some areas of opportunity highlighted on its OSBP website.
DLA Aviation, based in Richmond, Virginia, manages consumable repair parts for aviation weapon systems and environmental products. Their Small Business Office website is found online at www.dla.mil/aviation. When visiting this site, small business vendors will find useful information and resources on how to do business with Aviation. The site includes links to Points of Contact, a “Doing Business With” guide, and a manufacturers Capability Survey.
Among the areas of opportunity provided on the site are a list of Unawarded Solicitation Opportunities and information on the agency’s Replenishment Parts Purchase or Borrow program known as RPPOB. RPPOB is a program offered through Aviation’s Value Engineering department where a manufacturer may purchase or borrow a part and attempt to reverse engineer it with the goal of becoming a supplier of the part. For further information on the RPPOB program, Click Here to visit their website. In addition to the valuable information and resources available via the DLA Aviation Small Business Office, the agency will be hosting a Sup
plier Industry Day event, April 19-20, 2016 in Virginia. For details and to register for this event, Click Here.
The Northwest Commission Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) is a free resource to businesses of all sizes wishing to pursue government contracting on the federal, state, or local levels. PTAC is hosting a free training workshop on How to Do Business with the DLA on May 19, 2016 in Meadville. Check out the Northwest Commission PTAC events calendar for details.