# Land and Maritime hosts Industry Partner Roundtable

/ Published Sept. 10, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio, 
Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Commander Navy Rear Adm. Kristen Fabry and members of her leadership team hosted more than 50 members of their trusted business partners on Aug. 24 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus for the 2021 DLA Land and Maritime Industry Roundtable.

The Land and Maritime Industry Roundtable event was designed as a means for DLA senior leadership to meet with key suppliers and discuss topics of interest directly impacting industry and their ability to work together effectively to provide quality products, and timely support to the Warfighter.

Fabry opened the roundtable by welcoming the guests in attendance, provided a brief overview of DLA Leadership, an outline of the day and the desired outcome of the event.

“I want to welcome you to the Industry Roundtable at DLA Land and Maritime, we are so thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to be here with you today during these unprecedented times,” Fabry said. “The past 18 months have been challenging and what we have achieved in supporting the Warfighter has been inspiring. We want to continue working together with our suppliers to ensure a capable defense industrial base and generate innovative and effective solutions in order to maintain a secure and resilient supply chain.”

Fabry continued her remarks by addressing DLA’s full spectrum of global support to the Warfighter. She presented an overarching view of Land and Maritime’s FY20 Business Profile which highlighted a Land and Maritime workforce comprised of more than two thousand associates in 30 locations that generated more than 320,000 contracts, $5.5 billion in obligation orders placed to industry partners, and $4 billion in sales that support approximately 27,600 customers and 1,782 weapon systems.

In addition to Land and Maritime’s consumables sector, Fabry noted there are additional personnel and assets that fall under her command outside of the DSCC.

Fabry shared that Land and Maritime has a Depot Level Repairables Sector with locations in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Georgia; a Shipyard Sector with locations in Virginia, Maine, Washington, and Hawaii; a Forward Execution Sector with 30 sites; and a Science and Technology Sector with 230 people and two Test Labs which has resulted in about 80,000 DNA-Marked parts annually producing a Value Engineering savings of $79 million per year.

Fabry wrapped up her opening remarks with a brief introduction of her leadership team, along with a special recognition of Matt Beebe, DLA’s Senior Procurement Executive from the Headquarters at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and a final welcome to DLA Land and Maritime’s business partners.

“Once again thank you for making the trip to see us in person and we want each of our business partners to know we’re open and willing to hear them and work with them. We look forward to future opportunities to enhance our relationship with each of you,” Fabry concluded.

Over the course of the day, industry partners were able to take part in a variety of presentations by Land and Maritime leadership which focused on supplier demand forecasts, supplier requirements visibility applications, cybersecurity requirements, national security priorities, available opportunities, on-time deliveries, COVID-19 tracking and reporting, commerciality, certified cost and pricing data, and the 2020 Land and Maritime Supplier Feedback Survey findings.

The informative sessions were designed to be interactive with the industry partners in attendance. Attendees were encouraged to engage in dialogue with presenters from Land and Maritime, and each session concluded with a question and answer session. Questions from attendees ranged from logistical supply chain management to inquiries into Land and Maritime product purchase capabilities of bulk items.

When questions arose regarding Land and Maritime’s ability to anticipate potential needs and proactively purchase items in larger quantities to save money, DLA Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson assured those in attendance that he heard their concerns, and understood the economics of each of their questions, but reiterated the importance of fiscal stewardship and the effective management of resources when it comes DLA’s ability to make long-term, transformative investments that will ultimately result in real value for customers and taxpayers.

Fabry concluded the roundtable by once again thanking all those who took part in the event and addressed the purpose and desired outcome from the day’s activities.

“Our goal today was to foster active communication among participants, address areas of concern, highlight best practices and generate ideas for continued improvement that enhance Warfighter support,” Fabry said. “I think we achieved that goal, but now is when the real work begins.”