As businesses and organizations continue moving toward digital platforms and cloud environments, the need for IT solutions such as ServiceNow, “a cloud-based workflow automation platform that enables enterprise organizations to improve operational efficiencies by streamlining and automating routine work tasks”, are in high demand.
The Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Infrastructure and Operations Division’s (IOD) Lifecycle Management Services Branch (LCMS) adopted a new system, called, “Military Health System (MHS) ServiceNow”, to streamline its Acquisition Lifecycle Process. Specifically, the system validates and tracks hardware and software procurements, renewals, and fixes, resulting in minimal email traffic, higher visibility into Purchase Request (PR) packages, and increased productivity from inception to award.
In March 2021, LCMS’s MHS ServiceNow system became operational. In recognizing its efficiencies, LCMS decided to expand the platform to contracting within Infrastructure and Services Resource Management Branch (ISRMB). At the request of DHA leadership in October 2021, AMSG’s Finance, Acquisition, and Contracting Team completed an assessment and analysis process, and recommended that ISRMB use ServiceNow during the Acquisition Lifecycle Process. Later, when it was explained that the new process would reduce email traffic and give full visibility into the package data throughout each stage in the process, the AMSG Team received full concurrence to move forward with implementing the service.
We began by collaborating with our LCMS counterparts to learn the ServiceNow application, and within two months we were able to successfully navigate the system and assign PR packages. We have onboarded fourteen team members from the Acquisitions and Finance Teams and are now preparing to conduct virtual training. The goal is to onboard 100% of the staff, and to equip the AMSG Team and our Government counterparts with an understanding of how the application and processes work, and how to use the system ahead of DHA’s procurement ‘busy season’, which begins at the end of the government’s Q3.
The final step is transitioning Contracting into the ServiceNow system so that all major departments involved in the Acquisition Lifecycle are fully involved and have a full view of all actions being worked. Having all major departments using the system improves operations across the board. Further, it eliminates email communications by about 30%, and missing requirements’ documentation and approvals, as all information is saved in the ServiceNow portal under a PR package’s open and completed tickets.
AMSG’s support in implementing ServiceNow has been key in streamlining DHA’s entire Acquisition Lifecycle and provides an opportunity to measure and assess the productivity of this new process.
Written By: Tracy Strickland & Andres Garcia