Additional Content

Interested in seeing who attended the IDGA 2024 Defense Logistics & Support Summit? Take a look at the attendee snapshot, featuring the companies, military leaders, and government officials who joined us in 2024, many of whom are expected to return in 2025!

The Defense Logistics Agency recently published its Digital Strategy 2025-2030 which lays out the agency’s critical focus areas and supporting initiatives for government and industry partners for the next five years.

Adarryl Roberts is the agency’s Chief Information Officer and director for DLA Information Operations, and the lead architect behind DLA’s Digital Strategy. Prior to his selection as CIO in 2023, Mr. Roberts was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and selected as the DLA Program Executive Officer. In his PEO role, Mr. Roberts was instrumental in leading DLA’s Digital Business Transformation efforts to modernize, transform, and fundamentally change the way DLA provides value to its customers.

This September 29-30, Mr. Roberts will be on-site at IDGA’s Defense Logistics & Support Summit to share insights on DLA’s artificial intelligence strategy. Before the summit, IDGA sat down with Mr. Roberts to discuss how AI is mitigating supply chain risks, the ways DLA supports its industry partners, and much more.

The two-day Defense Logistics & Support Summit in Reston, Virginia, will feature leaders such as Mr. Roberts from across the defense ecosystem to discuss the cutting-edge technology shaping the future of defense logistics and procurement to support the warfighter, including the use of AI, data analytics for prediction and maintenance, unmanned delivery, and more.

One of the leading topics will be managing logistics in contested environments, and the top focus area in contested logistics is the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. DoD defines its Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) region as stretching from the west coast of the U.S. to India’s western border, and from Antarctica to the North Pole. The region is home to over 50% of the world's population and includes 38 nations, such as Australia, North Korea, Taiwan, and many others that represent both allies and adversaries. The region has become critical for U.S. national security as it has become the focal point for U.S. efforts to deter Chinese military aggression.

This report will provide an overview of defense logistics in the Indo-Pacific region, including topics such as:

• Spending trends
• An analysis of key programs in the region
• Regional challenges to US logistics
• Best practices for building supply chain resiliency in the Indo-Pacific.

IDGA’s 3rd annual Defense Logistics & Support Summit returned to the D.C. area this past October, and was the largest iteration of the event to date, with 250+ professionals representing the U.S. military, industry, and academia assembled in one room to discuss winning multi-domain battles through the lens of technology-driven defense logistics.

The 2024 summit featured a speaker lineup that represented all corners of DoD, and included presentations that ranged from maritime logistics to cybersecurity threats in the supply chain and much more.

In this 8-page report, you can find the results of on-site surveying, daily summaries from the conference, and a full list of attending organizations. 

In any conflict, the importance of logistics cannot be overstated. As the backbone of any military operation, its mismanagement can lead to disastrous consequences.

In this interview with Major General Allan E. Day and Colonel Kevin Samples, they go through the trends and challenges of today’s logistics. From AI to the great resignation, they share their views based on years of experience and knowledge.

Integrating AI into defense logistics can revolutionize supply chain management, optimize resource allocation and improve decision-making. However, amidst the global race to implement AI solutions in supply chain processes, it’s critical to develop a well-rounded approach that addresses challenges and concerns that come with applying these tools.

Dr. Todd McAllister is Director of Global Supply Chain & Logistics at the National Defense University (NDU) and is playing a critical role in developing the next generation of leaders who will apply AI skills to their work in defense logistics. Dr. McAllister sat down with IDGA to discuss topics such as:

• The current role AI is playing in defense logistics
• The challenges of AI implementation in defense logistics
• The skills required for future defense logistics leaders

The US DoD is the federal government’s largest agency employing over 2.8 million active military service members and civilian personnel. In order to keep both military and civilian personnel equipped to complete their duties effectively, the DoD relies on the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to manage the global defense supply chain.

This article will look at the work the DLA is doing in 2024, including a glimpse at the challenges they face, and the various supply chains the organization is responsible for, but first, it’s important to take a step back and understand how the agency was formed.