Savannah River Site M&O contractor hosts supply chain summit
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ Supply Chain Management (SCM) team recently hosted its first staff augmentation summit to strengthen relationships with 25 staffing firms and provide upcoming process changes for fiscal year 2024.
SRNS is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, S.C.
According to SRNS, its SCM team closed out FY2023 with more than $115 million awarded to staffing partners, exceeding previous records.
Coming soon: SCM in FY2024 will be introducing a managed service provider (MSP) solution—a third-party organization that specializes in handling the management of contingent or temporary labor resources on behalf of SRNS. In addition, the newly implemented vendor management system (VMS) will provide suppliers with real-time visibility into orders, invoices, and performance metrics.
“Our supply chain is aiming to reduce our involvement and administrative burdens by transitioning to a more modern and automated MSP,” said Dave Dietz, , senior director of supply chain procurement. “These changes will reduce overall cycle time to create accurate, consistent, and verifiable metrics for the benefit of SRNS customers.”
SRNS MSP project lead Kyle Neira noted, “Once implemented, the MSP will improve cost effectiveness and shift the focus to suppliers’ needs and candidate onboarding. The VMS will transform the supplier administration of submittals and orders into a more streamlined and mutually beneficial process.”
About the meeting: The MSP solution and VMS were among the topics covered at the meeting. “The summit provided a perfect road map of things we are changing this upcoming fiscal year and current tools and practices our supply chain utilizes,” Dietz said. “We aimed to answer reoccurring questions from our staffing partners, maintain a high level of compliance with contract terms and regulations, and reduce overall onboarding cycle time.”
The meeting increased subcontractor awareness of staffing process changes and documentation requirements for the holders of basic order agreements, which sparked conversations and developed opportunities to increase efficiency in onboarding techniques.
“Our team is always looking to enhance clarity for all stakeholders and fulfill requirements with qualified candidates that can obtain the appropriate level of clearance needed for employment,” said Dietz. “By providing this two-way communication meeting between SRNS SCM and our staffing partners, we are meeting this need.”
Meeting results: Tricia Chavous, contract administrator for the company OLH Inc., said that the meeting provided her with the opportunity to get answers to her underlying questions about the staff augment process changes in FY2024.
“We are so thankful for the face-to-face time with the SRNS staff augmentation team,” said Chavous. “I was able to get many of my questions answered on the new MSP model and formalities of the onboarding process. It was also nice to hear feedback from other peer companies that will be going through the same changes and updates.”
Coming up: SCM plans to host meetings twice a year in FY2024 to continue collaborative conversations with staff augment partner leads.
