Case Study
Modernizing logistics for mission advantage
Ensuring continuity in the toughest conditions
Today’s contested logistics environments complicate the delivery of supplies – including fuel, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and spare parts – to forward-deployed military units. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) must continuously adapt to ensure warfighter support.
With its legacy warehouse management system approaching its end of service deadline, the DLA faced a critical need to modernize. This effort was essential not only to ensure continuity, but also to redefine how the DLA manages logistics operations across 86 sites worldwide.
A groundbreaking first for the Department of Defense
The DLA partnered with C5MI and SAP NS2 to execute the first SAP S/4HANA migration in the Department of Defense (DOD), ultimately completing the project in half the expected time.
Together, the team managed significant data model changes and minimized deployment disruption, setting a new standard for digital transformation and establishing a scalable, cost-effective model for future SAP S/4HANA rollouts across the DOD.
“I could not be prouder of this team. The precision and speed demonstrated in this migration is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when the government and industry strike the right partnership.”
Aaron Kirkham
A connected platform for scalable modernization
By modernizing its approach – through decentralization, technology, and partnerships – the DLA ensures that warfighters receive the material they need when needed, even in the most hostile conditions.
With a simplified data model, unified business processes, and advanced analytics, SAP S/4HANA enables the DLA to manage its $46 billion supply chain more effectively to enhance warfighter readiness.
The solution also reduced friction for 25,000 DLA employees, including those in warehouses managing over five million items, empowering them to excel in high-stakes logistics roles.
Benefits include:
- Improved inventory accuracy and visibility
- Increased operational efficiency and cost savings
- Smarter demand planning and resource allocation
- Simpler interface and improved user experience
- Fewer manual workarounds through automation
- Faster access to real-time data for better decision-making
- Greater alignment with mission objectives
The DLA's migration by the numbers:
86
deployed sites
9k+
users
100M+
transactions per month
25%
increase in operational efficiency
3x
increase in productivity
The DLA’s SAP S/4HANA migration not only lays the groundwork for a fully connected defense logistics ecosystem, it also helps ensure that mission outcomes are not jeopardized by resupply delays in increasingly contested environments.