On September 11, the State Operator For Non-Lethal Acquisition (DOT) presented DOT-Chain, an innovative IT system for managing the logistical requirements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' rear services.  

“Establishing an effective supply management system for the army has been a priority for our team since the first days of my appointment as Minister. And today we did it,” the Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov emphasized.

The main objective of DOT-Chain is to streamline and accelerate the process of supplying the military. In particular, this will be possible through simplifying processes, increasing awareness, and strengthening support for the Armed Forces and suppliers. 

“Previously, it could take up to two months for products to be delivered, but with the implementation of DOT-Chain, this waiting period is anticipated to be reduced by about fourfold,” stated Deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Klimenkov, “Digitizing acquisition processes within the defense sector is a strategic step towards enhancing the efficiency of supplying all essential items to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

“DOT-Chain is a significant move towards the military, highlighting the value of individuals, time, and streamlined procedures over the traditional paperwork-heavy approach. This system will make acquisitions more transparent and easier to understand. The possibility of expanding it to other products will significantly simplify the logistical processes in the Defense Forces,” stated Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization.  

The development of DOT-Chain stands as the most significant digital initiative undertaken by the State Operator For Non-Lethal Acquisition (DOT). It was developed by a DOT team of IT specialists.  

“Our assignment was to enhance the outdated system in order to improve the efficiency of non-lethal supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The DOT-Chain's capabilities currently cover food provisioning. From product requests to the creation of expenditure Invoices and certificates, the entire food supply process has been digitized by the IT team at the DOT. There is a possibility for the system to be quickly expanded in the future to encompass more categories of goods,” said Aliona Zhuzha, IT Advisor at DOT. 

What changes has the novel DOT-Chain IT system brought about? 

1. Optimization of military processes was achieved by digitizing paper documents. This is an essential step to getting rid of the ineffective “paper army”. The system now requires only a few clicks instead of dealing with 30,000 paper documents every week. This leads to a notable decrease in the amount of work that food supply officers have to handle.  

2. The process of settling payments for products has been made easier. It will be sped up four times, as expenditure invoices are immediately uploaded to the system, allowing the State Operator For Non-Lethal Acquisition (DOT) to make immediate payments upon receiving signatures from military unit and supplier. 

3. Optimized data exchange. The Ministry of Defence is one of the entities that utilize the information from the system. This facilitates tailoring the needs of the military according to the data aggregated by DOT-Chain, such as the number of requests, information on supplies, and volumes accepted or not accepted by military units. 

4. Interaction has been established between the parties supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All requests in the DOT-Chain system have their procurement and delivery documents accessible. Actually, the DOT plays the role of a third party that takes care of both the food supply officer and the supplier. It can quickly respond to changing requirements from military units. 

The State Operator For Non-Lethal Acquisition (DOT) is an acquisition agency within the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine responsible for non-lethal supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such as foodstuff, gear and clothing, fuel and lubricants.