Five to compete for Army supply chain tasks

The Army has awarded a contract worth more than $400 million to five companies to provide existing and emerging technologies used to track supplies in the service’s supply chain.

GTSI Corp., Intermec Technologies Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., CDO Technologies Inc., and Lowry Holding Company Inc. were awarded the for the Automatic Identification Technology IV contract,  according to the Army Product Manager for Joint-Automatic Identification Technology.

The nine-year contract has three base years and one two-year option for ordering products, services and maintenance. It also has one four-year option for maintenance only.

The contract is for hardware, software, and services. In addition, the identification technology program will offer site surveys, installation, integration, implementation and training for turn-key Automatic Identification Technology solutions to the Defense Department, Coast Guard, NATO, federal agencies and coalition partners.

The Product Manager for Joint-Automatic Identification Technology leads the DOD’s radio frequency identification efforts providing global asset tracking and Web-based Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility services.

The Army plans for the Automatic Identification Technology to extend from inventory and warehouse environments and large, open-area storage facilities to maintenance, repair and tracking facilities, entry and exit points of military facilities and roadside installations.

Technology for the system includes bar codes, contact and touch memory, thermal printing, and biometrics, as well as cellular, satellite, and voice recognition communication.

“AIT-IV will be the cornerstone of the most sophisticated supply chain systems the DOD has ever undertaken, these systems require the seamless integration of the most advanced automatic ID and communications technologies and services available,” said Don Ertel, vice president of CDO Technologies’ Systems & Technology Solutions Division.

Northrop Grumman Corp. ranks No. 3 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors. GTSI Corp. ranks No. 49 on the list.