DeCA’s strategic approach has been to reduce costs without adversely affecting the value of its benefit. The agency was born of efficiency in 1991, when the DOD consolidated the four service-branch commissaries into one agency – a move that saved an immediate $50 million in the subsequent fiscal year. Ever since, DeCA has maintained an unusual focus on wringing as much value as possible from its operations. Its environmental initiative, for example, in addition to enhancing the quality of life on bases and conserving natural resources, improves operating efficiencies at the commissaries by saving water and energy and reducing waste. DeCA installed its first solar energy system in 2008, at the commissary at Los Angeles Air Force Base. Its first “green” store, opened in 2012 at the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, Germany, incorporates several sustainable design and energy-saving features, including photovoltaic power generation, auto-sensor lighting controls, and a green roof that will save public money over the life of the facility.

Other steps taken by DeCA since 1991 to make its operations more efficient, while still providing a quality benefit to service members, include efforts to reorganize and restructure. DeCA has streamlined its regional framework by combining seven regions into three; consolidated support functions at headquarters; and reorganized headquarters staff. These changes resulted in savings of $286.7 million and the equivalent of 822 full-time employees (FTEs). The secretary of defense’s savings initiative in the 2011 fiscal year produced an additional $10 million and 89 FTEs in savings.

Efficiency efforts have also included the standardization of processes, operational changes (for example, frequent delivery systems and direct store delivery; centralized meat processing in Europe; second-destination transportation reductions; case-ready meat; delivery ticket invoicing; and resale ordering agreements), and other initiatives, such as the transfer of overseas distribution and produce procurement functions from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). These reforms have produced cumulative savings of $152 million.

In November 2015, simply by rearranging the supply chain to 20 commissaries in Korea, Japan, and Guam – requiring contractors to ship fresh fruits and vegetables directly to the stores, rather than to U.S. ports for redelivery – DeCA adopted a business model much like the one it’s used in Europe since 2007 to encourage the use of local products. This newer business model saves more than $40 million in transportation costs annually.

In addition to the closures mandated through the Base Realignment and Closure processes since 1991, refinements to business processes and structures have allowed DeCA to return more than $972.3 million and 7,067 FTE positions to the Department of Defense.

Measured in constant 1992 dollars, DeCA has decreased annual operating costs by $772 million since 1991 by reducing overhead and eliminating the duplication of processes. It’s a never-ending effort, and because it traces its roots to the stores that first began serving service members nearly 150 years ago, it’s become ingrained in the culture of the agency: As always, DeCA prides itself on being as efficient as possible, while providing an excellent benefit that supports the financial readiness of military families.