It’s fair to say Christian “Chris” Frye has had an eventful year. A former SAIC executive, he became senior vice president of supply chain and logistics at ASRC Federal last spring, when the smaller firm acquired SAIC’s logistics and supply chain business.
“I ran our logistics and supply chain business at SAIC for the past 19 years, and ASRC Federal was looking to grow their portfolio within the [Defense Department]. It made a really natural fit,” Frye said.
With the first anniversary of that deal in early May, Frye said the successful integration of the 250-person team has been a game-changer for ASRC Federal, and has opened a range of new business opportunities.
“The acquisition really opens the aperture of opportunities that we can go after, bringing all our experience and fantastic past performance on existing DOD programs to help new customers meet their goals,” he said.
The team came over with deep experience: Three of Frye’s direct reports have between 30 to 40 years’ experience in this arena. And they brought with them not just expertise, but also a wealth of logistics and supply chain technology.
“We have a suite of tools, the integrated logistics tool set, that we have developed with open-source technology over the last couple of decades in support of our Defense Logistics Agency customer,” Frye said. That existing tool set helped ensure the team could hit the ground running as it integrated its efforts into ASRC Federal’s operations.
That smooth transition is already generating big wins. This past quarter the team landed a re-compete with the Navy Industrial Prime vendor program, which comes through Navy’s Fleet Readiness Centers via DLA.
“With a $500 million ceiling, this was a big milestone,” Frye said. “It was the first project we bid as ASRC Federal and won as ASRC Federal.”
Behind the scenes, Frye has been successful in pivoting his team to take full advantage of its new positioning in the marketplace.
“There is a different business-development pipeline when you go from bidding just on large-business concerns to bidding on small-business concerns as well, and we’ve been working internally to build that pipeline,” he said. In addition to those new opportunities, “we also can now partner effectively with other large companies.”
The Navy contract is a big win, as is the team’s ability to adjust its market position. As the same time, the most notable achievement, one year post-acquisition, may be Frye’s success in ensuring the team has delivered consistently on its existing work, in the midst of all these other changes.
“The great news is that, with the successful IT migration, we have had no degradation to service as we execute on supply chains for the Defense Logistics Agency. Performance has not dipped whatsoever,” Frye said. “The customers have been extremely pleased.”
Looking ahead, Frye is focused on building up his staff, to ensure he has to talent on hand to meet the expected demand for logistics and supply chain support. He said the team’s early successes post-acquisition have helped to keep recruiting and retention strong.
“We have a fantastic story to tell about how we have transitioned over to ASRC Federal, all the good things that come with that, and the growth that we expect going forward. People want to be a part of that story,” he said.
Of course, there are challenges still to face. Right now, Frye said, he’s working hard to help long-time customers and others in the government space understand what the team is doing these days.
“We spent 19 years as a business unit within SAIC, building unique supply chain abilities, and now we’re making sure everybody knows: We’re those same people, we’re that same technology, we’re providing that same level of performance,” he said, adding that his involvement in the WashingtonExec Supply Chain Council helps him to broadcast that message.
“We are getting ourselves out there, and making sure people know that we are primed for growth with ASRC Federal going forward,” he said.
With nearly 30 years’ experience in the GovCon space, Frye said he draws satisfaction from the personal associations he has made in this space.
“I’m surrounded by committed, dedicated people, and it’s an honor to be part of that group,” he said.
On the business side, “Covid really threw a shining light on the supply chain, and we are able to solve some of the government’s hardest problems there,” he said. “We performed for DLA during Covid, and we continue to deliver in support of mission readiness. We’re ensuring that our customers can be secure in their supply chains going forward, and that’s very satisfying.”