The Defense Logistics Agency is advancing efforts to attract emerging companies and streamline internal practices through its Tech Accelerator Team, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.
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How Is DLA Engaging New Commercial Partners?
In an interview, David Koch, the director of research and development at DLA, said the Tech Accelerator Team was established to identify commercial technologies from non-traditional companies to address agency challenges.
“We don’t go into a problem with a solution in mind. We go into it solution agnostic,” he explained. “What is the problem that you want to solve? Then, let’s pull in a bunch of commercial folks that have tackled similar type of problems before.”
He added that the team enters each effort without a predetermined approach and evaluates what commercial firms propose.
Koch pointed to an example involving RGBSI Aerospace and Defense, which enabled DLA to deploy digital twins and strengthen digital threads.
“You can pull in things like acquisition data, logistics data and manufacturing data, along with that thread so that you can pull in more industry partners and more people are available to make that part,” he explained. “Now, what we do is we use a computer program to go in and follow where the data flows, and it maps the process for you.”
What Is Next for DLA?
In fiscal 2025, DLA spent $135 million on research and development across logistics, manufacturing technology and its small business innovation program.
Koch shared that, for 2026, DLA will focus on four areas: strategic material recovery, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence transformation and automated inventory management.
