How the Defense Logistics Agency Powers Procurement in the Aerospace Industry

We’ve talked about the Defense Logistics Agency and their overall mission. The DLA is a huge driver in the procurement of aircraft parts and supplies: The DLA Aviation division is responsible for sourcing and managing over 1.2 million repair parts and consumables for military aircraft.

There is a huge ecosystem of parts and parts suppliers who are competing to provide their services to the massive fleet of military aircraft which numbers around ten thousand (or more) total units across all branches of service. It presents a lot of opportunity for vendors, but there is also a requirement threshold to sell. We’re taking a look at how and why the DLA drives procurement in the aviation industry. 

Understanding the DLA’s Mission and Role in Aerospace

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a federal government agency responsible for providing logistics support to military services, with a significant focus on aerospace procurement. The DLA’s mission when boiled down is to make sure supplies and services that are critical to mission readiness and completion are available and procurement. 

This means billions of dollars in parts, maintenance contracts and other service contracts run through their fairly deep pockets, to the tune of hundreds of hundreds of billions in total. DLA Aviation is a significant part of the overall DLA budget because, with around ten thousand aircraft in the DoD, the operating costs and overhead for aviation is extraordinarily high. 

Aerospace Supply Chain Management and Logistics Support

Not only are there about ten thousand aircraft to support (a staggering fleet by any standard that dwarfs the rest of the world’s militaries), but they are spread out across five distinct branches of the military. The Air Force leads the pack with somewhere around 5,000-6,000 aircraft, and then the Army and Navy each have several thousand. The Marines and Coast Guard are much smaller, but still not small. 

The agency’s aerospace supply chain includes procurement, storage, and distribution of specialized supplies and materials. This means that the DLA works with thousands of vendors on projects all across the DoD to support aviation assets across the military. There are varying degrees of support necessary for each airframe, and all airframes are different. 

For example, all of the DV fleets of aircraft (C-12 Huron, C-26, UC-35, & C-37)are maintained through contract maintenance. All maintenance services, supply chains, and logistics for these airframes go though contractors and subcontractors. The DLA collaborates with suppliers and prime contractors to ensure the timely delivery of critical aerospace components and services. 

Doing Business with DLA in the Aerospace Sector

The business of the DLA Aviation division to to partner with aerospace contractors to provide services or contracts to the warfighting assets. Tactical aircraft are generally supported by uniform service members for maintenance at least, but they still rely on contracts and procurement for special projects (modifications and sometimes Time Compliance Technical Orders and engineering directives from the manufacturer) are handled by contracts. 

These include large-scale projects like upgrading engine pylons fleet-wide or updating APUs, or any of a million other projects that are better suited as a maintenance or repair contract than dedicating uniformed personnel to doing. 

The DLA offers opportunities for businesses to supply aerospace-related materials and services to the military. It is give and take; it provides opportunities for small business, businesses in historically underutilized areas, and other types of privileged service providers to gain a competitive edge. Of course, the flip side is that there are specific variables that they must meet. 

Aerospace suppliers can register to do business with the DLA through the System for Award Management (SAM). This is the formal way of conducting business with the DLA and it provides a high level of transparency for the acquisition of parts, programs, and services. 

The agency encourages innovative ideas and partnerships with aerospace suppliers to enhance logistics support. Two programs that help with increasing innovation are the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. These two programs provide seed funding options to innovative small businesses across the entire government, including the DoD. 

SBIT and SBTT are used to develop mission-critical technologies in defense, logistics, and national security items. 

DLA’s Aerospace Procurement Process

The DLA’s aerospace procurement process involves identifying specific requirements, soliciting bids, and awarding contracts. There is a marketplace of needs of all kinds, but they are completely contingent on the needs of the military. There are some requirements that are more evergreen than others, but it is always driven by a specific demand or requirement at a particular time. 

Suppliers and vendors need to  understand the agency’s aerospace procurement processes and procedures to engage with the DLA. First, transparency is key especially in these days where everything is under a microscope. All solicitations are conducted through SAM.gov where fair and balanced treatment is given to vendors. It is the primary portal where all solicitations are kept, and all pertinent information is found there. 

  • All businesses wishing to bid on DLA contracts or participate in programs like SBIR/STTR must register on SAM.gov. Again, these are excellent programs for small businesses to establish themselves and source funding, but the first step is getting registered. It’s a non-starter if your business isn’t registered at SAM.gov.
  • Registration includes providing a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), tax information, and relevant business certifications.

Parting Thoughts 

Working with the DLA requires some understanding of the agency’s mission, role, and procurement process in the aerospace industry. Transparency is key, and this will play out to be true more and more everyday. All departments of the government are under a microscope to become much more efficient with the resources given to them.

Aerospace suppliers can take advantage of opportunities to do business with the DLA by registering and understanding the agency’s processes. We have been working closely with the DLA for over forty years as both prime contractor and subcontractor and are a leading aerospace supplier with extensive industry knowledge and an expansive network. We offer supply chain solutions that maximize operational readiness for U.S. government agencies, private contractors, and more. 

Our forty-three years of experience make us an innovative and agile aerospace supplier supporting government agencies and prime contractors for the federal government. Get to know our services in procurement and storage and distribution, and see how we can assist your program’s contracting needs.

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