SDDC’s New Marching Orders

The second phase of Families First, the military’s newest household goods procurement program, got off to a shaky start at 18 Department of Defense (DOD) installations on November 19, 2008 after undergoing a number of long and aggravating delays. These were caused by problems uncovered during the testing in Phase I of the government program.

Developed by the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) around the Defense Personal Property System (DPS), a centralized, state of the art system for managing personal property moves, this program was originally designed to simplify the relocation process that is one of the biggest difficulties of military life. SDDC is the executive agent for the DOD personal property program that manages expenditures of nearly $1.9 billion each year. The effort has been plagued with design flaws and delays since it was introduced.

89px uncle sam pointing finger3 SDDCs New Marching Orders

The hasty start-up was clouded by several legal maneuvers initiated by attorneys representing the Household Goods Forwarders Association of America (HHGFAA) in October and early November. These petitions were submitted after the SDDC arbitrarily ignored a "statutory stay" issued by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) and began preparations for the introduction of Phase II operations. The documents were filed on behalf of several very involved Transportation Service Providers (TSPs) in the moving and storage industry. These companies have become increasingly frustrated by the military’s cavalier administration of the program’s business rules.

Over the last twenty years, the executive committee and staff at the HHGFAA has done an excellent job on behalf of their membership worldwide engaging, monitoring, and communicating the various new “test” programs proposed by the government to ‘reinengineer’ the HHG procurement process for the nation’s military families.

Last October, the Association announced a name change to the International Association of Movers (IAM). This new identity was chosen to recognize the evolution of the organization’s ongoing mission and the truly global nature of its membership. The change will become effective on January 1, 2009.

To become a HHGFAA member and receive timely and accurate updates on the status of Families First and other issues affecting the household hold goods industry worldwide, sign up for The ePortal, their periodic electronic newsletter publication.

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