The Defense Logistics Agency is working to comply with the Treasury Department's government invoicing program, known as G-Invoicing, to allow federal agencies to manage intragovernmental buy and sell transactions through a common web-based platform.
Proposed benefits of the program include better communication between trading partners, increased transparency, common data standards, agreed-upon processes and the ability to send and receive funds quickly and efficiently.
"It's breaking down the walls and stovepipes between Defense Department components and the federal civilian agencies to ensure all agencies within the federal government are processing intragovernmental transactions in a standard and consistent manner," said Michael Lane, branch chief of DLA G-Invoicing Division's Program and Process Support Branch.
While the Treasury Department planned for all federal agencies to implement G-Invoicing by October 1, 2022, DLA expects to fully implement it by April 2024. Until then, the agency will continue conducting business using legacy systems and processes per guidance from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
Many of DLA's trading partners, previously referred to as customers and vendors, are expected to move to the program around the same time, Lane said.
DLA ordering software like the Medical Electronic Catalog and the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Orders and Receipt System will still be used after G-Invoicing implementation, added Max Walens, branch chief of DLA G-Invoicing's General Terms and Conditions Center of Excellence.
Trading partners must, however, have a general terms and conditions agreement in place before placing orders through G-Invoicing processes, which will replace manual funding documents such as the Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request, or DD Form 448. Walens and his team have hosted numerous forums with trading partners to collaborate on completing agreements as well as other processes.
G-Invoicing will automate and streamline how DLA receives payment for goods and services while also resolving longstanding audit findings, eliminating material weaknesses and improving efficiency, Walens continued. But it will require significant changes. DLA's G-Invoicing team is working with agency information technology specialists to create software solutions that enable DLA business systems to process intragovernmental data and allow DLA financial information to flow seamlessly to the G-Invoicing system.
"For DLA to manually input data into the Treasury system, we'd be talking about hundreds and thousands of staffing hours and risk potential double payments," he said.
DLA will have the largest amount of money of any DOD activity, possibly the federal government, going through the intragovernmental payment and collection system, Lane said.
More information is available at the DLA G-Invoicing website.