Annual Supplier Summit Emphasizes Partnership, Future Landscape

On Aug. 14, 2024, the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), managed by Honeywell FM&T, hosted more than 170 representatives from its external supply base at Fiorella’s Event Space, bringing together key Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) contributors and leadership for the annual Supplier Summit event. As a complementary function to our internal factory, KCNSC’s purchased product operations adhere to the same strict requirements for quality, security and delivery. Supplier Summit provides an opportunity to strengthen these relationships in support of our national security mission, assembling internal and external stakeholders for meaningful discussions, business updates and project forecasting.

After receiving opening remarks from Director of Procurement Jacque Coleman, Executive Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) David Hoagland took the stage for the keynote presentation. 

"I want to start by thanking you for being part of the community of suppliers that helps maintain a safe, secure stockpile," Mr. Hoagland said to the audience of supply chain representatives. "The nation's deterrent is the most vital element to our country's security." 

Mr. Hoagland, who has a decades-long career in the areas of counterterrorism and counterproliferation, provided insights on the current geopolitical landscape to emphasize the increasing importance of KCNSC’s external supply base. He underscored the companies’ roles in improving the nuclear stockpile’s size, diversity, innovation, technology and reliability and noted that the United States’ readiness is a product of each contributor’s quality and integrity.

“For decades, nuclear weapons have kept the peace between major powers, and they’ve become even more central to upcoming competition. Our ultimate objective is to continue to preserve our way of life without fighting wars,” he concluded. “Thank you for giving the American people what they deserve.”

A Legacy of Partnership

Throughout the remainder of the main session, “partnership” was a recurring theme, with key KCNSC leaders highlighting the relationship between the NNSA’s current and upcoming objectives and the success of supplier performance.

"Around 65% to 70% of what we do comes from our external supply base," said ISC Vice President Dylan Plemons. "We have a legacy of partnership at both Kansas City and New Mexico Operations. What we do is critically important, and I want to encourage you to continue to be creative because at the end of the day, we won't be successful without you." 

Dylan spoke to additional business updates, workload and forecasting and highlighted several specific examples of suppliers going above and beyond to meet schedule and quality requirement. Supplier Summit attendees also heard from Senior Director of Purchased Product Elizabeth Fossey about updates within the Purchased Product Center of Excellence (PPCOE), Director of Health, Safety and Environment and Facilities Tom Moibi for reminders about supplier site safety, Senior Director of Nuclear Weapons Programming Julie Aitkens about progress on the Kansas City Non-Nuclear Expansion Transformation (KC NExT) initiative and Chief Information Security Officer Shawn Geib about the importance of cybersecurity. 

Later in the day, attendees received specialized programming based on the type of service they provide for KCNSC. Guests were split into breakout sessions for content specific to indirect, mechanical or electrical suppliers, where they heard from subject matter experts about contracts and agreements, inspection procedures and changes to classification processes.

Recognizing Excellence

For the first time since the event’s inception, Supplier Summit provided a unique chance for attendees to be recognized in front of their peers, with a supplier highlight portion for representatives to present to the audience. Additionally, five companies were acknowledged by Dylan, Jacque and the PPCOE team as Outstanding Suppliers for providing innovative ideas, extraordinary value and unique solutions in support of KCNSC’s national security mission.

One supplier representative who traveled from out of state to receive their Outstanding Supplier award stated that the company’s core tenets of safety, quality and delivery have helped align its priorities with KCNSC’s ongoing strategy. He also noted that Supplier Summit provided valuable insight on the importance of their contributions.

“At [our company], we’re proud and humbled to serve the mission,” he said. “As we watch our global dynamic shift, the work is critical to protecting our nation, our allies and preserving our way of life.”

As an extension of KCNSC’s on-site factory functions, suppliers who align with our key values and understand the impact of our operation play a major role in delivering products that exceed customer requirements. Carissa McCauley, the Buyer I who works with this supplier, spoke to the power of this partnership as it relates to KCNSC capabilities.

“[This supplier] has been excellent at meeting our high and demanding expectations with expediting as many product parts as possible,” Carissa said. “It’s been a very positive relationship that makes our production and stakeholders’ jobs a little easier, and it’s really exciting to know that so many of our suppliers have the drive to help us accomplish our mission as a KCNSC team.”

Advancing As One

Following the program, guests were invited to a networking hour where they were able to meet with other suppliers, KCNSC leaders and members of our procurement, quality and engineering operations. Reflecting on the experience Supplier Summit provided for both vendors and their KCNSC customers, Jacque expressed gratitude for the volunteers and participants that made the event a success.

“This year’s Supplier Summit and related activities played a critical role in providing an opportunity for our PPCOE team and our leadership to engage with, educate and inspire our suppliers,” she said. “KCNSC depends on the commitment of our production and indirect suppliers, and the Supplier Summit is one of our most effective ways to focus on strengthening our partnerships.”