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Belgian Defence Clothing System

Why

What should the Belgian soldier of the future look like? How do we see his wardrobe within 5 years, within 10 years, ... Questions that were raised in the course of 2019 and that resulted in the definition of the objectives of the Belgian Defense Clothing System (B.D.C.S).

  • Provide a durable, operationally and technologically updated Commercial and Modified-off-the-shelf clothing and equipment system (including new polyvalent camouflage pattern) with a military focus, which meets the highest quality and comfort requirements and is optimally adapted to the deployment conditions, risks and dangers associated with the current and future tasks and assignments of Defense;
  • Elaboration of a sustainable, specific logistical support plan for the rapid and timely realization of an initial decentralized distribution of the new clothing and equipment items and for the withdrawal of existing clothing and equipment items in use by Defense personnel;
  • Setting up a sufficiently elaborated and well-considered buffer capacity to ensure that the clothing and equipment items offered can be delivered on time, to be able to respond to the evolving and changing needs of the Defense organization and to anticipate crisis situations of various kinds;
  • Setting up a strong 'Local Anchorage' on Belgian territory that is responsible for the day-to-day management of this assignment, filling in and organizing a Front and Back office capacity, filling in and organizing the above buffer capacity and supplying several 'Value Added Services (VAS), such as a digital platform B.D.C.S. with, among other things, instructional videos (from the first deliveries) and a prototyping capacity (from 2023) that allows for quick, efficient and effective adjustments based on user feedback or quality comments on the clothing and equipment articles;
  • Setting up a 'Continuous Improvement and Innovation Program (CI²P)' that allows Defense to invest during the term of the framework agreement in collaboration with the contractor and any other third parties in research and development activities that contribute to the continuous improvement and modernization of the clothing and equipment items in use within the Defense organization and this in function of the functional and operational needs;
  • Striving for the most cost-conscious approach for the objectives described above, performed by a proactive contractor who thinks along with you for ways to optimize costs, supported by an appropriate cost and price control model that will be embedded in the framework agreement.

Defense therefore resolutely opts for the military-centric approach, where there is sustainable future-oriented collaboration between industry and the government, where there are guarantees for the continuous development of new advanced solutions.