TRANSCOM moves ahead with property system

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

The Transportation Command launches phase II of the Defense Personal Property System to make it easier for service members and their families to relocate to different duty stations.

The U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and the Army's Military Surface Distribution and Deployment Command are moving forward with efforts to make it easier for service members and their families to relocate to different duty stations worldwide.TRANSCOM officials announced that Phase II of the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) has begun live operations.DPS is the automated, end-to-end management system for movement of household goods for members of the armed services and Defense Department civilians. The system automates much of the process of pre-move counseling, scheduling, tracking, invoicing and claims-filing for household goods shipments, TRANSCOM officials said.'For service members, one of the most hectic and trying events is a change of station,' said Lt. Col. William Carberry, joint program manager of DPS. One of the most challenging aspects is the movement of household goods, so the command is always trying to make that process easier for service members, he said.DPS replaces a paper-driven, face-to-face process with an elegant Web-based approach, said George Batsakis, vice president of SRA International's logistics strategic business unit. The system puts service members in the driver's seat, eliminating the need for them to schedule office appointments to arrange to have household items moved, he said.SRA International, Inc., a provider of technology solutions, has been working with the Command on the DPS program since 2004. The base contract is valued at $66.5 million.Phase II initiates DPS operations at 18 Personal Property Shipping Offices (PPSOs) designated in conjunction with their service headquarters.TRANSCOM has picked a cross-section of bases representing the five armed services, which will help pave the way for worldwide deployment of the system in early 2009, Carberry said.The DPS system implements elements of the TRANSCOM Families First initiative, and will replace the aging, 15-year-old Transportation Operational Personal Property Standard System (TOPS) legacy system.That systems consisted of servers located at 123 sites worldwide, Carberry said. Because there was no specific connectivity between the servers, if something broke it had to be fixed at that one location, he said.DPS provides a more centralized approach. The databases of those decentralized servers have been consolidated into a group of servers at the Defense Information Systems Agency's datacenter at Ogden Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, said Don Tindall, project manager with SRA International.DPS consist of mixture of commercial- and government-off-the shelf products and customized software code, Tindall said.For instance, Siebel's customer relationship management software provides the user-facing front-end part of the system. Software from Manugistics (acquired by JD Software in 2006) is used for rating the various transportation service providers who move the household items to various locations. The integration of existing government software was achieved through custom coding and commercial products, Tindall added.DPS has been rolled out in pilot phases. Transportation service providers have had access for a good year as they've worked on defining their rates, SRA officials said.The claims process function has been upgraded in the current version of DPS, so families can get the full replacement value for any items damaged during moves, Carberry said. Users also like the fact that they can track items online during the moving process.After the move, service members fill out a survey that helps in rating the transportation service provider, so they have a direct hand in helping the military decide which providers to use, he added.On the transportation service provider side, DPS helps shorten the time it takes for them to submit invoices and receive payment for their services from months to a matter of days, Carberry said.The first person to use the system today was a staff sergeant from Fort Bragg, N.C., who is being stationed at a base in Germany, Carberry said.DPS Phase II was previously scheduled to begin in September but was delayed to allow for additional testing and system updates.
X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.