RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

For the last several years, the military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) has restricted the access of new participants in the Department of Defense (DoD) personal property procurement program known as DP3.

Recently the re-engineered system for arranging permanent change of station (PCS) moves for military service members and their families was rolled out worldwide. Now, SDDC is indicating they plan to allow new entrants not commonly owned or managed by existing approved carriers to again apply for the domestic and international personal property programs this fall.

Although dates and details for the program are still being finalized, the SDDC recognizes the need to expand the number of qualified, approved vendors because of the increasing capacity required in the today's military marketplace.

If you're part of one the interested moving companies who've been standing on the outside of the DoD procurement process, now's the time to learn the ropes. Uncle Sam has some unique hurdles you have to jump over before you can become a qualified transportation service provider.

In anticipation of this expansion, the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) is conducting a Military Moving 101 webinar on July 14, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. EST as part of their Wednesday Webinar series to walk interested participants through the paperwork and documentation required to do business with the DoD.

Those interested can find additional information on the AMSA's web site here. Pre-registration is required. The cost is $29 for AMSA members and $79 for non members. The webinar is being presented by Scott Michaels, AMSA's VP of Military Affairs, and Dawn Kennedy, and should last about an hour.