1.  Align CLRs Organizationally - CLRs are a DCMA Enterprise resource assigned to the Customer Liaison Center (CLC).  The DCMA-OC Executive Director provides overall management and direction to the CLC including resource allocation, staffing, and budgetary control for funding.  DCMA-OC also develops and disseminates Agency-wide policy for the Customer Liaison Center.  Input from Division staffs is solicited during development of customer management policy prior to submission to the OC Executive Director for approval and release.

    1.1.  The CLC provides administrative support, including travel and training, as well as support for the morale and welfare needs of the CLRs.   
    1.2.  CLRs are remotely located at customer sites with minimal DCMA support.  If a CLR is located at or near a DCMA Contract Management Office (CMO), the CMO shall provide the same supplementary support normally provided to other hosted DCMA employees.  

2.  Assign CLRs to Customers - CLRs are assigned to major Program Executive Offices (PEOs), buying activities, and other Defense and civilian organizations to enhance communications and real-time customer situational awareness, facilitate problem resolution, and to provide customer education and training on DCMA products, services, capabilities and limitations.

    2.1.  Criteria for Establishing Customer Liaison Support - There are two major DCMA customer activities where CLR support is provided.  The first is large buying commands with a combination of ACAT programs and other lower dollar component and spares contracts.  The second is the DLA Supply Centers, Air Logistics Centers and Inventory Control Points.  These may have large complex programs and corporate contracts, but few ACAT programs.  The preponderance of the work involves spares, sustainment and repair type efforts. The following criteria will be used to evaluate when CLR support shall be provided at customers locations:             

        2.1.1.  CLR Support Requested.  DCMA will only provide CLR support to customers who have specifically requested CLR support and have committed to hosting a CLR at their location.
        2.1.2.  ACAT Programs.  CLR support is provided to (PEOs and supporting local procurement activities with the responsibility for ACAT I, II and III programs where DCMA has been delegated a substantial portion of contract administration or production surveillance on the weapon systems or major components of those weapon systems.  PEOs are provided CLR support when the total obligation amount of contracts supporting their weapon systems exceeds $20 billion annually for contract administration or production surveillance.                 2.1.3.  Sustainment / Readiness Support.  CLR support is provided to all major DLA and Service Buying Commands or Centers that routinely delegate contract administration or production surveillance to DCMA.  CLR support is normally provided to Sustainment Buying commands when the obligated value of all delegated contracts exceeds $1 billion annually for contract administration or production surveillance.

3.  Engage with Customers  –  CLRs are collocated with customers to be readily available and responsive to DCMA-related customer issues and concerns and facilitate resolution.  Normally, CLRs do not directly resolve major customer issues or concerns but sense the issue and connect the customer with the appropriate part of the DCMA Enterprise where functional expertise exists to address the customer’s issue or concern.  Major DCMA customers may at times ask CLRs to collect or coordinate time sensitive information from the DCMA Enterprise in areas such as major weapon systems status, contractor related issues, or the industrial base.  When requested, CLRs assist CMO leadership and functional specialists in identifying and connecting them to the proper part of the customer’s organization in support of CMO efforts to resolve issues or to clarify customer expectations.

    3.1.  CLRs engage with PEOs, PMs, and senior functional leadership in a manner that provides sufficient situational awareness to alert DCMA leadership to significant changes in programs (cost, schedule, performance, funding, etc.), organization, processes, or capabilities.  This information is communicated to the appropriate part of the DCMA Enterprise via telephone, e-mail, and through the Customer Engagement Record (CER) e-tools application.  When requested by DCMA senior leaders, CLRs will engage with the appropriate part of the customer’s organization to gather additional information to better understand changes in priorities, clarify issues or concerns, or provide insight required for a decision affecting DCMA efforts or resources.  CLRs identify Acquisition Planning & Support Service (APSS) opportunities in the customer base, forward requests to the appropriate CMO or Division, and collect customer intelligence regarding potential impacts to DCMA workload resulting from new weapon system acquisitions.
    3.2.  CLRs will identify customer priorities, major changes in customer workloads, and high priority sustainment parts significantly impacting weapon system readiness in the Customer Priority Workload Summary (CPWS) which is a monthly report posted to the DCMA Portal.  The CPWS is also automatically distributed to key Division staff members and lead CMOs for use in WAR Room deliberations ensuring the customer’s perspectives are considered in the allocation of resources.  In addition, geographic CMOs will use the list of high priority sustainment parts identified in the CPWS to help prioritize their efforts and internal resources.  Semiannually, the CLC will post the Customer Operational Summary (COS) to the Portal providing Senior Leaders with a synopsis of the most significant customer priorities, workload shifts, and sustainment parts critically impacting weapon systems readiness.
    3.3.  CLR support of senior leader customer engagements will focus on maximizing the engagement opportunity for both DCMA and customer senior leaders. Preparation and execution for a senior leader visit at the customer’s location is a collaborative effort requiring cooperation and teaming by stakeholders, including the CLR, the senior leader’s staff (Director’s Action Group [DAG], Division Technical or Contracting Groups, Product Sector Leads, Customer Management Specialists, etc.) and the CMO(s) supporting the customer.  The DAG, Product Sector Lead, or Lead CMO typically leads the preparation team effort and gathers and synthesizes the information unless another office is designated.  Types of visits include: customer engagement (no specific issues), issue identification and discussion, attendance or speaking at a conference or symposium, or participation in an awards ceremony.  CLR roles and responsibilities differ based on the type of visit, location, purpose and the key topics identified for discussion.  The CLR is responsible for coordinating the visit schedule with the senior leaders’ offices (both DCMA & customer) and for making the necessary logistical arrangements to ensure the DCMA senior leader’s time at the customer location is maximized.  CLRs will generate a draft Customer Engagement Record (CER) of the visit and coordinate the release through the visiting Senior Leader, and Division Staff.  CLRs will work action items assigned to them from the visit and follow up, where appropriate, with actions assigned to the senior leader’s staff.  However, responsibility for closing the assigned actions rests with the person or office the senior leader assigns it to during or after the visit.  The assignment of actions will normally be documented in a CER.
    3.4.  CLRs train, educate, and market DCMA products, services, and capabilities to customers to ensure that they understand the support DCMA is capable of providing.  CLRs communicate this information, as well as, ongoing initiatives to customers by teaching formal customer intern classes, informal classes requested by the customer, or speaking at customer all-hands meetings or other similar forums.  Education is not limited to DCMA products and services, CLRs also teach customers how to access DCMA information and other enterprise wide business systems and will coordinate with DCMA specialists to provide technical training as needed.  CLRs also educate customers on how to provide feedback on the products and services provided by DCMA.
    3.6.  The CLR educates DCMA on customer initiatives, organizational structures, business processes, and other key information thought to be beneficial to DCMA mission accomplishment.

• DAWIA Level III Certified
•  Member of Defense Acquisition Corps                                                                          

• Process Indicator/s:
  • TBD
• Workload Indicator/s:
  • TBD
• Resource Indicator/s:
  • TBD
• Supplier Indicator/s:
  • N/A

• PLAS Process code:  004
• PLAS Program codes:  As appropriate to the program/s involved

• CLR Transition Plan
• CLC WBS
• CLC Portal Procedures
• External Customer Engagement Instruction - TBP

Customer Liaison Center Portal