IAM was in attendance for the HomeSafe Alliance (HSA) Roadshow in Atlanta. This was the first roadshow in a series of in-person regional meetings, designed to get the word out to potential business partners of HSA on their plan for the execution of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Global Household Goods Contract (GHC).

The session was scheduled for 1pm to 4pm, but due to questions and back and forth between HSA staff and industry participants, the session pushed a bit past 4pm.  The meeting was kicked off by HSA’s CEO, Al Thompson and then Matt Dolan, HSA’s President, began discussion on the meat of the agenda.

There was good engagement from HSA’s prospective partners who wanted to understand HSA’s philosophy on any number of topics, to include things like how and what agents would be paid and how fast, how they would be evaluated for performance, how HSA’s consolidation of shipments might work, what HSA’s system looks like and would feature in the future, etc.  A few things that HSA couldn’t provide right up front were the rates they would pay, and how the transition schedule is planned to be rolled.  Matt Dolan stated they were still in negotiations with TRANSCOM over those two elements, and so they weren’t yet prepared to comment on those items.  What they could say was they believed their rates would be fair compensation to make the work attractive to their partners, with commitments to those who contributed to their capacity needs in peak season getting priority in the non-peak. On the schedule, HSA alluded to the fact that they would start domestic shipments in September, but at what rate, and how fast that rollout would occur still remaining up in the air. And it appeared as though the plan for starting international shipments by January of 2024 will likely get pushed to the right.  Again, based on negotiations with TRANSCOM they weren’t prepared to give specifics on just how many shipments would transition from DP3 to HSA this Fall/Winter and how fast that transition would take place. 

HSA’s IT partner, MoveHQ provided a demo of the HomeSafe Connect software, and answered questions on their platform, how it would work, what it would contain, etc. HSA staff stressed that due to government cybersecurity requirements in the contract, all subcontractors would have to use HomeSafe Connect, as that was the manner in which they could meet the DoD security requirements. But also that the software would be provided to their subcontractors for free, to include applications like electronic inventories. 

There was very good information shared on where HSA is in the process right now, and what they are still working toward. Many of the HSA staff were in attendance and introduced to the crowd as HSA continues to build their leadership team and staff.  Overall, Matt Dolan did a nice job sharing their vision of how they would execute the GHC; Brian Ferguson provided good information on HomeSafe Connect and how some of it would operate.  I would venture to say the session proved useful to the prospective subcontractors in the room who got to ask questions, provide their insights, make suggestions to HSA, and hear directly from HSA leadership. Certainly it also left some with more questions in terms of how the mechanics of this contract would work in their own companies, but it’s definitely time to start engaging to figure it all out if you plan on being a partner in the process. 

The next roadshow event is in Dallas, March 7 from 1-4 pm CT; and then Las Vegas on March 20 from 1-4 PT.  Check out HomeSafe’s website for more information on the company (https://www.homesafealliance.com/) and see this press release on their roadshows: Published Press Release 2.10.23.pdf.