Defense Acquisitions: Price Trends for Defense Logistics Agency's Weapon System Parts
Abstract
DLA, headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, provides consumable supplies, spare parts, and technical and logistics services to the military services, DOD agencies, federal civil agencies, and selected foreign governments. As part of its mission, the agency manages over 4.1 million consumable items for its customers to support their weapon systems and other assets. These parts range from low-cost commonly used items, such as fasteners and gasket material, to high-priced, sophisticated spare parts, such as microswitches, miniature components, and precision valves-all of which are vital to operating major weapon systems. Spare parts are received, stored, and shipped from 24 distribution depots. Three supply centers manage the consumable hardware items that are the subject of this report: the Defense Supply Centers in Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Richmond, Virginia. DLA's supply management operations are part of the Defense-Wide Working Capital Fund, which operates on a revolving fund principle. The goal of the revolving fund is to financially break even over the long term. Customers use appropriated funds to buy parts from DLA. DLA then uses revenue it receives from customers to procure parts from vendors. In principle, DLA should recover the acquisition cost of the parts it sells, as well as its own operating costs, from its customers while not making a profit or incurring a loss.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA383804
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office