DLA Troop Support rolls out food management system

The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support unit has launched Joint Food Management Analytics, a digital platform designed to secure, monitor and manage the Defense Department’s Subsistence supply chain with real-time insights. The system brings together advanced data visualizations, artificial intelligence use cases and geospatial mapping to close gaps in oversight and protection of food procurement and distribution for U.S. forces.

To prepare users, the Subsistence supply chain hosted a three-day course in May that featured eight training sessions on nine JFMA applications. Officials said the suite spans capabilities such as Combatant Command Readiness, Surge/Contingency Modeling and in-transit visibility, providing end-to-end transparency for planners and logisticians.

Given the sensitivity of operational data, the platform uses Common Access Card authentication and role-based access to control who can view and act on information.

Leaders introduced JFMA to DLA Troop Support Commander Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Kelly ahead of the rollout. “From development to rollout was a little over a year,” said Strategic Material Sourcing Group Division Chief Jacob Slotnick. “It is a great success to be able to roll out this product in that short of a time. We provided Troop Support Commander Brig. Gen Sean P. Kelly with a demonstration, and he gave all positive feedback.”

Slotnick said the platform is intended to surface issues before they slow deliveries or raise costs. “We are able to identify risk much sooner,” Slotnick said. “Spotting potential risk sooner would contribute to time savings and potentially cost savings, as we are able to see gaps before they occur.”

John Trunzo, deputy chief of the Subsistence’s Readiness Division, described the system’s potential impact on planning and operations. “It is a game-changer,” Trunzo said. “This real-time, at your fingertips, capability has never existed for any military in the history of warfare. JFMA will be a decisive advantage in future operations as we navigate the contemporary security environment that remains characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.”

He added that JFMA’s historical and predictive views could streamline budgeting and forecasting at the unit level. “With JFMA, an Army Logistician in Germany, for instance, could tell the local comptroller how much money would likely be required for all types of operational rations supporting the Theatre over a given training year, because JFMA will provide an immediate answer based upon multi-year historical feedback. We have finally cracked the code to ‘see ourselves.’”