ARMY AL&T


mission and adapting to new ways of thinking created a sense of pride through- out the organization.


Prioritizing stakeholder engagement tasks by creating a brigade Customer and Field Support Division and using VCE customer integration tools had the intended effect of helping the 418th CSB decrease its number of bridge contracts. Between fiscal years 2017 and 2019, the brigade observed an almost 50 percent reduction in the number of bridging actions and a 63 percent decrease in dollars obligated toward bridges.


Of course, many other factors also contrib- uted to the brigade’s reduction in bridging actions, including a proactive competition advocate and dedicated acquisition team members armed with leadership resolve. Changing course is difficult, but the 418th CSB proved that committed leadership aligned to people and processes, coupled with an automated tool, can fundamen- tally improve outcomes.


For more information, contact Jim Clift at james.l.clift.civ@mail.mil.


JIM CLIFT is the supervisory procurement analyst for the 418th Contracting Support Brigade’s Customer and Field Support Division, U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Hood, Texas, and is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps. He graduated from the Army ROTC program at Southwest Texas State University with a B.S. in geography. He was commissioned in the Air Defense Artillery Corps in 1995, and then retired and began his federal civilian career in 2015. His advanced military education includes the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and an MBA from Texas A&M-Central Texas.


By measuring what matters—early and integrated planning with our requiring activity partners—the 418th CSB identified delays in the acquisition process that could trigger a bridging action.


FIGURE 3


CUSTOMER INTEGRATION OUTCOMES


The 418th CSB far exceeded the rest of the Army in meeting customer involvement goals. As part of prioritizing stakeholder engagement tasks, the brigade replaced outdated manual processes with the automated VCE and developed a metric to measure how effective both customers and contracting professionals were at integrating their efforts in VCE. (Graphic by 418th CSB and USAASC)


FIGURE 4


OPERATIONALIZE CONTRACTING


The 418th CSB’s commander and deputy to the commander established the Customer and Field Support Division. This division assists acquisition teams in navigating through the time consuming procurement process, foster a collaborative environment and identify solutions to roadblocks. (Graphic by 418th CSB and USAASC)


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