ALCOAST 089/20 - MAR 2020 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT SERVICES MODERNIZATION – UPDATE 3

R 181022 MAR 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-8//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N07000//
ALCOAST 089/20
COMDTNOTE 7000
SUBJ: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT SERVICES MODERNIZATION – UPDATE 3
A. COMDT WASHINGTON DC 140914 MAR 18/ALCOAST 091/18
1. This ALCOAST provides an update on the status of the Financial Management and
Procurement Services (FMPS) Modernization initiative: Business Process
Re-Engineering (BPR) and Coast Guard adoption of DHS’s Financial System
Modernization Solution (FSMS) that replaces the Financial Procurement Desktop
– Core Accounting System. FMPS Modernization encompasses all actions and process
changes related to the Coast Guard adopting use of FSMS.
2. FSMS Update.
    a. Coast Guard implementation of the new financial system has been rescheduled
by DHS from October 2020 to October 2021. This schedule change is the result of
lessons learned from Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) migrating to
an upgraded version of FSMS; work to date on the Transportation and Security
Administration (TSA) and Coast Guard data conversions; and the need for adequate
time for interface development, system testing, and training.
    b. Impacts of last year’s 35-day government shutdown put many TSA critical path
items behind schedule. At that time, DHS decided to concurrently implement FSMS
at both TSA and Coast Guard in October 2020. DHS acknowledged there were risks
associated with the approach and committed to revaluating the plan following CWMD's
technical refresh. After successfully deploying an updated version of FSMS to CWMD
in October 2019, DHS decided to adjust Coast Guard's FSMS go-live date to provide
additional time to mitigate risks learned from the CWMD technical refresh.
    c. The additional time will facilitate development and testing of interfaces
to legacy Coast Guard systems; enable tailoring of FSMS training to meet Coast
Guard requirements; and continued correction of challenging business processes
(e.g. recurring charges, segregation of duties, Reserves, contingencies, etc.)
that are not part of the current financial system or will have to change
significantly in the new system.
3. BPR Background.
    a. At the start of FY15, a BPR proof of concept began in D5 to test
organizational change required to ready the service for modernization and
replacement of legacy financial and procurement systems. The initial focus was on
front line units subordinate to the Districts (Tier I). The BPR construct was
subsequently piloted in four Districts (in implementation order) D5, D13, D11,
and D9. Lessons learned from the pilot projects led to standardization of the BPR
construct. REF (A) documented the USCG Leadership Council (LC) endorsement of
the BPR Regional Support Team (RST) construct. The BPR Team (centered in Norfolk)
was chartered to assist the remaining Districts and their subordinate units with
implementing BPR changes.
    b. The Service Level Agreement (SLA 2.0) was updated in August 2018 to capture
field input and provide RSTs the ability to develop a localized addendum to
establish practices for region specific issues. RSTs are governed by this SLA which
defines roles, responsibilities, and service expectations agreed to by the
Districts, their supporting Lead Base, and SILC-BSS-COCO.
    c. In May 2019, the Coast Guard completed its Tier 1 implementation of the
standardized BPR Framework by creating RSTs within all nine Districts. RSTs are
virtual teams responsible for providing financial management, property
management, and procurement-contracting services to supported units. No PAL,
geographic movement, or command authority changes occurred during this pilot
phase.
    d. Additionally, 33 Process Guides across the three service lines were
created and released to standardize procedures for the FMPS community,
minimizing workarounds and providing clear guidance to FMPS professionals and
their customers. FMPS professionals have remained flexible and overcome numerous
logistical challenges in recent years to improve oversight and execution of
service delivery supporting the needs of a Ready, Relevant and Responsive
service. RSTs have delivered positive enterprise results, to include:
       (1) Relieved the admin burden of 1,125 purchase cards from field units,
returning an estimated 119,475 hours a year to operations.
       (2) Positioned trained procurement professionals to receive field requests
and acquire goods and services from mandated sources of supply, saving the
service an estimated $8.2M in FY19.
       (3) Execution of a strategic purchase project that resulted in the
consolidation of 365 individual field orders into a bulk purchase of 11,279 boat
crew helmets at a savings of $1.2M.
       (4) Streamlined processes that resulted in a 93% on time completion rate
for all RST micro purchases. In FY19 nearly 200,000 Priority 3 (low priority)
purchases were completed on average two days faster under BPR than the average
for non-BPR Units in FY17. High priority purchases are completed on pace with
the one and two day requirement established in the SLA.
       (5) Streamlined and centralized property management enabled the service
to reduce the number of Property Administrators (PAs) from over 1,000 collateral
duty PAs to 11 full time RST PAs, returning an estimated 41,500 hours to
operations. Furthermore, 60,000 assets with 97,583 record discrepancies have been
corrected since the establishment of BPR, bringing property record compliance
from 65% to 94%.
       (6) Establishment of an e-Contingency capability to enable remote support
of contingency response activities, allowing local commanders to receive
uninterrupted FMPS services.
4. BPR Tier 1 Decision.
    a. In December 2019 the LC approved formal adoption of the BPR RST construct
for Tier I units. The LC reviewed the results of the pilot phase to assess the
effectiveness and efficiency of FMPS service delivery, the impact on collateral
duties, the leadership challenges associated with managing a distributed
workforce, as well as the health of the FMPS workforce.
    b. The LC affirmed direction given for the pilot phase and further directed
the consolidation of Tier 1 independent duty Station SK billets at regional
major commands to provide mentoring and growth opportunities for the workforce,
as well as to best position FMPS service delivery for success. This
consolidation will take place over time starting in AY21. District Chiefs of
Staffs and Base Commanding Officers recently submitted proposals to determine
where these billets will move and consider any extraordinary exceptions to
consolidation. Both Areas, the DOL, and the BPR Team will review these proposals
before forwarding to Headquarters for final review and approval.
5. BPR Way Ahead.
    a. The BPR Team has partnered with Tier 2 units (FORCECOM and its sub-units,
Areas, District Cutters (WLB/WLM), and Area shore units) to begin developing
organizational structures and processes in preparation for FSMS. The work done
for Tier 1 has improved and standardized FMPS business processes across the
Coast Guard, and will inform Tier 2 and Tier 3 (major cutters and all remaining
shore units) readiness for migration to FSMS in Q1 of FY22.
    b. A Performance Assessment Report (PAR) is now available on the Coast Guard
Common Core (CGCC) for all three FMPS service lines. PARs are the official
metrics for all Tier 1 units and will be used to ensure compliance with SLA
guidelines and other established policies and procedures. PARs will also be
used to guide decision making on surge efforts to improve compliance and
customer service.
    c. To continue supporting RSTs, all nine BPR Field Liaison Officer, the BPR
(Norfolk) and HQ Implementation Team temporary billets have been extended to
summer 2022.
6. More Information. The FMPS Integration Team online communications center
can be found at: http://cglink.uscg.mil/CGCC.
7. POC: CAPT Lamont S. Bazemore, FMPS Deputy Director, 202-372-4674, Email:
Lamont.S.Bazemore@uscg.mil.
8. RDML T. G. Allan, Assistant Commandant for Resources & Chief Financial
Officer, sends.
9. Internet release is authorized.