The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is automating data to determine the overall supply and demand of personal protective equipment needed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal entities. DLA said Wednesday that it reports PPE supply data on a daily basis for use with the DoD-made Advana digital analytics platform amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Open reporting on orders, shipments, back orders and expected delivery dates lets leaders know whether there’s enough material on hand to meet requirements for the next 30 to 60 days,” Sean Ahrens, chief of DLA's Metrics Integration Branch.
He also said that decision-makers may use the reports to inform order adjustments. This approach began in April and has now grown combatant commands, all service branches, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) track supplies.
“For example, DOD has some availability of N95 respirators, and we were able to issue 20 million to HHS and FEMA to support the national effort,” Dalphonse added.
DLA plans to use this same data approach for possible disasters in the future.
