Defense Logistics Agency Launches Financial Document Workflow Electronic Document Management Service
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has launched a new directive for financial document creation.
Sarah Myers, a financial analyst at the headquarters of the Document Automation and Production Service (DAPS), submitted the first production Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPR) into the new Financial Document Workflow (FDW) electronic document management service. Myers sent the MIPR for review and approval by Greg Shank, director, DAPS Financial Operations Div.
DAPS is the developer and first user of the service. The Defense Distribution Center (DDC) will be the next. Both are DLA field activities with worldwide facilities.
DAPS is the document solutions provider for the Department of Defense (DOD) and serves as a catalyst to move the DOD toward the use of online documents such as with the Financial Document Workflow (FDW) service.
According to the DDC, the FDW can be the automated solution that will bring all the DOD together and alleviate the need for paper MIPRs.
DAPS developed the FDW service in response to the DLA Financial Operations directorate’s request for a system capable of creating, routing through workflow, approving, storing, and managing financial documents. As it rolls out across the DLA enterprise, it will allow users to process MIPRs, service orders, and other financial documents in a uniform, auditable manner, in some cases without requiring any external handling.
Within moments of Myers’ electronic submission of the document, the automated workflow of the service had moved the MIPR into a budget approver’s queue box, where Shank or an alternate, could review the document and approve it. From there it moved into the queue box of Mike Daft, the deputy director of the division, where he certified that funds were available. The document, with a MIPR acceptance document automatically generated, then was returned to the creator, ready to be sent to the performing activity.
Productivity, consistency, and audit-ability are the key words being associated with FDW. Default values based upon the user and his or her activity, tailored dropdowns allowing data to be selected rather than coded, and workflow where each step in the approval process is recorded ensure the creation and processing of a document in minimal time. MIPR creation time is less than five minutes, while capabilities to generate amendments and create documents similar to prior ones enable even faster turnaround. Multiple users can view the same documents simultaneously. The ability to upload related documents into the repository also facilitates productivity.
In its initial implementation, a financial feeder interface with the Defense Business Management System means that workflow for DLA’s field activities can include automated transaction submission. DAPS conceived FDW with DLA’s Business Systems Modernization in mind. The FDW statement of work includes an interface with BSM in its current phase. To that end, FDW is participating in the Enterprise Operational Accounting System gap analysis currently under way. FDW also has been certified by the DOD Financial Management Investment Review Board within the Business Management Modernization Program.
In its rollout this calendar year, FDW will be used across all DLA financial operations activities. Currently, it also is capable of including users across the DOD and may be opened for use by selected commercial customers in a future phase.