NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) San Diego held formal training sessions for their Global Business Support (GBS) Spiral 2 contracting vehicle for logistics support services May 3-4 in San Diego.

Spiral 2, the second round of the GBS contract, is a $750 million strategic sourcing program that allows Department of Defense (DOD) activities to satisfy contract labor support requirements at the best possible price by streamlining processes and leveraging collective buying power.

"Strategic sourcing means being smart about how we buy goods and services," said Tine Thompson, the command's strategic sourcing manager. "We knew that people were buying services using different contracts, but we were all essentially buying the same things. By creating and using one contracting vehicle for these services, we could save a significant amount of time and money while making it so that our customers didn't have to reinvent the wheel."

The GBS Spiral 2 vehicle is made up of 73 firm, fixed-priced and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity award contracts that span 14 service support areas. Everything from administrative support and clerical services to maritime material handling and specialized technology services is available for inclusion under the GBS umbrella.

Strategic sourcing for vehicles like GBS starts with identifying and understanding customer requirements, analyzing spending trends and historical data to see how much of a particular service is required, and taking a look at what's available to meet those needs in the market. Once market research has been completed, the team develops an acquisition strategy to determine the best contracting solution for the services to form powerful, innovative vehicles like GBS.

"The GBS vehicle continues to be a 100 percent set-aside for small business that supports all socioeconomic groups," said Marcia Cruz, deputy director of contracting. "There is no fee to use it, and each activity utilizing it receives the small business credit associated with their task orders. We're continually asked 'What's the catch?' There is no catch. This is a competitive vehicle that achieves significant cost savings, supports small business goals and objectives, and is an effective and efficient means to satisfy customer requirements rather quickly."

As a small business set-aside, every penny pumped into the contracts will go on to benefit veteran-, women-, tribally- and minority-owned small businesses, in addition to various other socioeconomic groups in our nation's communities.

According to Cruz, the initial GBS pilot, or Spiral 1, was only available to Department of the Navy customers. Awarded in 2011 after several years of research and development, it saved the Navy a whopping $43 million in just over three years and justified the approval to open Spiral 2 up for use by all DOD activities. Projected savings for Spiral 2 are expected to surpass $75 million.

At a time where defense operating budgets are already tight, savings are high on every command's priority list.

"We are tasked with meeting our missions, but we're also on the hook to ensure we are good stewards of the taxpayer dollar," said Commanding Officer Capt. Michelle Morse. "Just like it's important for everyday consumers to find the best price and value, the same is true for us. That's what this is all about; sourcing the services we need and being as frugal as possible while we do it. If we can save millions of dollars on services, those are millions that can be used elsewhere to fund other important necessities or emergent mission requirements."

Savings estimates to date have been conservative; figures are expected to increase as more DOD activities learn about and employ the contracts. The GBS training sessions help further those goals, with additional training sessions in other locations already on the horizon.

"The GBS Spiral 2 makes procurement an easy process," said Nancy Landeros, GBS program manager. "You're eliminating redundancy and duplication of effort, and instead of writing a whole new contract, which could take months, you can have your requirements in place in 30 days. On top of that, all the research and legwork was already done for you. I think it's a really attractive option that holds a remarkable amount of value for all involved."

As Spiral 2 continues, the GBS and strategic sourcing teams will continue to track metrics, manage contract performance, and ensure the DOD is still getting the best possible value.

"We monitor all of our vehicles on a monthly basis," said Thompson. "We pull the spend metrics, we find potential leakage. We want to identify those customers who could have used GBS and didn't, let them know it's available, and provide them with targeted training to show them the benefits they could be realizing."

As for what the future holds for GBS, the team is optimistic.

"Hopefully, we end up seeing so much success with Spiral 2 that GBS becomes a 'Best in Class' vehicle," said Thompson. "Maybe it will eventually be opened up to all federal agencies, where we could make an enormous impact on fiscal savings across the government. Who knows? We could very well be headed down that path. I hope we are."

NAVSUP FLC San Diego, one of eight fleet logistics centers under NAVSUP Global Logistics Support (GLS), provides operational logistics, business and support services to fleet, shore and industrial commands of the Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, and other Joint and Allied Forces. Services include contracting, regional transportation, fuel, material management, household goods movement support, postal and consolidated mail, warehousing, global logistics and husbanding, hazardous material management, and integrated logistics support.

NAVSUP GLS provides global logistics for a global Navy. The organization is made up of more than 6,300 military and civilian logistics professionals operating from 105 locations worldwide providing an extensive array of integrated global logistics and contracting services to Navy, Marine Corps, joint operational units, and allied forces across all warfare enterprises.

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