Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) / DLA Logistics Information Services

The Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) — now DLA Logistics Information Services — is the Defense Logistics Agency activity that maintains the federal item catalog. From the Hart–Dole–Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Michigan, it operates the Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS), the master database behind the Federal Catalog System, and serves as the executive cataloging activity that assigns and stewards the National Stock Numbers (NSN) the entire federal government uses to identify items of supply. DLIS is the United States National Codification Bureau in the NATO Codification System, administers the Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) program, and produces the catalog distribution products logisticians query every day — WebFLIS, FedLog, and PUB LOG. Where WebFLIS, FedLog, and PUB LOG are the tools, DLIS is the organization behind the data they all deliver. This page is the canonical reference for what DLIS is, the mission it performs, its history and lineage, the products it runs, its role in NATO codification, and how to reach its catalog data.

At a glance

What it is

DLIS / DLA Logistics Information Services is, at its core, a data-and-cataloging organization, not a procurement, storage, or distribution depot. It does not buy, stock, or ship materiel. Its job is to identify and describe items of supply, record who manages each one and how, and make that information available across the Department of Defense, federal civil agencies, and allied partners. As DLA describes the mission, the activity supports all logistics functions through the collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of data in the Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS).

Three responsibilities define what DLIS actually does:

• Federal cataloging and item identification. Using a tailored universal logistics language, DLIS names, describes, classifies, and numbers items of supply so each carries one government-wide identity — the work of the Federal Catalog System, recorded in FLIS.
• National Stock Number stewardship. DLIS is the executive activity for the data behind the NSN, the 13-digit identifier at the center of federal supply. It assigns and manages the NSNs the United States codifies.
• The CAGE program. As the U.S. National Codification Bureau, DLIS assigns and maintains the Commercial and Government Entity codes that identify manufacturers and suppliers and tie their part numbers to the standardized catalog.

Everything a logistician touches in WebFLIS, FedLog, or PUB LOG is the output of this work. Those products are query windows onto the catalog DLIS builds and maintains.

Why it exists

The federal government buys, stores, ships, and maintains millions of distinct items, sourced from tens of thousands of manufacturers, each with its own commercial part numbers. Without a single uniform way to identify an item, the same bolt, filter, or circuit card would carry a dozen incompatible identities across services, depots, and contracts — making it impossible to consolidate demand, cross-level stock, or compete a procurement. The Federal Catalog System exists to impose one identity per item: one NSN, one approved name, one set of characteristics, regardless of how many manufacturers make it or what they call it.

DLIS is the organization that performs that discipline at scale. Someone has to actually catalog each item — assign the NSN, approve the item name and characteristics, record the management data, link the manufacturer part numbers and CAGE codes — and keep that record current as items are added, reassigned, and retired across a catalog of more than sixteen million entries (roughly 7.4 million active). That is the DLIS mission. It is also why DLIS produces distribution products rather than just holding a database: the catalog is only useful if a supply technician, maintainer, or contracting specialist anywhere in the world can reach it, which is what WebFLIS, FedLog, and PUB LOG are for.

The organization is, by design, the data steward rather than a transactional system. It governs and publishes the catalog; the requisitioning, ordering, and routing systems act on it. That division — identify the item here, transact it elsewhere — is the reason DLIS sits at the foundation of federal logistics without ever moving a single part.

History and lineage

The cataloging mission long predates any one organizational name, and the brand on the activity has changed more than once while the work stayed constant.

• Federal Catalog System origins. The drive for a single federal item-identification system grew out of the supply chaos of World War II and the postwar unification of the armed services, formalized through a uniform Federal Catalog System. The National Stock Number and its predecessor the Federal Stock Number are products of that program.

• Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC). The cataloging data activity at Battle Creek was for years known as the Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC). As DoD consolidated and centralized cataloging at Battle Creek in the late 1990s, the center was renamed to better reflect its information mission.

• The DLIS era. As the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS), the Battle Creek activity maintained the FLIS master data and produced the distribution products logisticians relied on — including the offline FedLog application and its public counterpart PUB LOG. DLIS established its WEBFLIS web-query system in 2001, putting the catalog on the web for on-demand access.

• Redesignation to DLA Logistics Information Services. As part of DLA's agency-wide "We Are DLA" rebranding around 2010 — the same initiative that, for example, renamed the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to DLA Disposition Services — DLIS was redesignated DLA Logistics Information Services (DLA LIS), folding the "DLA" identity into the field-activity name. The cataloging mission carried over intact under the Battle Creek operation.

• From offline to web to restricted web. The catalog was distributed for years primarily offline (microfiche, then CD/DVD FedLog, then downloadable datasets). WebFLIS gave users live access in 2001. More recently, access tightened: WebFLIS was converted to a restricted service requiring AMPS/CAC registration, and FedLog moved to restricted CUI distribution — while PUB LOG was established/maintained as the publicly releasable path to the same data.

The throughline: the item-identification mission and the NSN are remarkably stable across seventy-plus years; the organization's brand, the delivery medium, and the access rules are not. When in doubt, reach the current products through the Defense Logistics Agency site rather than a saved link.

How it works and what it produces

To use the DLIS products well, it helps to understand the catalog behind them and the products themselves.

The catalog: FLIS and the Federal Catalog System

The Federal Catalog System is the program — the uniform policy and procedure, governed by DoD 4100.39-M, for naming, describing, classifying, and numbering items of supply. FLIS, the Federal Logistics Information System, is the master database DLIS maintains that holds the catalog data the program produces. For each catalogued item, FLIS holds a structured record built from three broad data classes:

• Identification data — the NSN/NIIN, the approved item name, the Federal Supply Classification, and the item characteristics (standardized attributes — dimensions, material, ratings — that define the item).
• Reference number data — the manufacturer/vendor part numbers and their CAGE codes that point to the item, enabling part-number-to-NSN cross-reference.
• Management data — the coding that governs how the item is managed: source of supply, unit of issue, acquisition advice code, shelf-life code, demilitarization code, and related attributes.

The NSN structure DLIS assigns

The National Stock Number is the identifier DLIS stewards. The table below breaks down the NSN and the related identifiers DLIS assigns and resolves.

The products DLIS runs

DLIS distributes the FLIS catalog through three products, all reflecting the same master data:

• WebFLIS — the on-demand web query interface. Always current, one item at a time, now a restricted service requiring AMPS/CAC registration.
• FedLog — the offline/desktop application that queries a locally installed FLIS dataset without a live connection, published monthly and distributed as restricted Controlled Unclassified Information.
• PUB LOG — the publicly releasable version of the FLIS dataset, updated monthly and downloadable from the FLIS e-Reading Room with no subscription or CAC required.

There is no separate "DLIS database" per product that can drift from the master — each product reflects the FLIS catalog, with WebFLIS the freshest (live) and FedLog/PUB LOG the periodic monthly cuts.

Public vs authenticated access

This is the area most likely to trip up a user, because access varies by product even though all three deliver the same catalog:

• PUB LOG is public. It is downloadable monthly from the FLIS e-Reading Room and does not require a subscription or a CAC. This is the no-login path to the federal catalog data.
• WebFLIS is restricted. It was converted to a restricted service; users must register through the Account Management and Provisioning System (AMPS) and authenticate with a CAC, PIV, or comparable certificate.
• FedLog is restricted. It is distributed as Controlled Unclassified Information to CAC-holding users, historically through FedMall, with access requested via a System Authorization Access Request (SAAR).

The access_type frontmatter is set to public because the catalog data itself is publicly available through PUB LOG — DLIS is, in mission terms, the public steward of public federal catalog data. But the named applications differ, and that distinction is the practically important one.

How to get access

The right path depends on what you need:

1. For the catalog data with no login, use PUB LOG. Download the current monthly dataset from the FLIS e-Reading Room through the Defense Logistics Agency site, install it locally, and query offline. No subscription or CAC.
2. For live on-demand lookups, register for WebFLIS through AMPS. Hold a CAC/PIV (or comparable certificate), submit a WebFLIS access request in the Account Management and Provisioning System, and complete provisioning.
3. For the restricted offline application, obtain FedLog through FedMall. This requires a CAC and, historically, a SAAR request; FedLog data is Controlled Unclassified Information.

If you are unsure which product you need: reach for PUB LOG when you want the data without authentication, WebFLIS when you need the live current record and hold a CAC, and FedLog when you need the restricted offline application on a credentialed workstation.

Common gotchas and advanced tips

• "DLIS" and "DLA Logistics Information Services" are the same organization. The redesignation under "We Are DLA" rebranded the name, not the mission. Older documents say DLIS; newer ones say DLA LIS. Don't treat them as two different offices.
• Access varies by product — don't assume the catalog is gated. Many users believe the federal catalog went behind a CAC when WebFLIS became restricted. It didn't: PUB LOG remains the public, no-login path to the same data. If you hit an AMPS wall on WebFLIS, switch to PUB LOG.
• The NIIN's first two digits tell you the country. Those are the National Codification Bureau code. A U.S.-codified item leads with 00 or 01; other leading digits mean an allied NCB assigned it. That is the NATO Codification System showing through in a single NSN.
• An old bookmark is your enemy. The org name, the WebFLIS access model, and DoD hosting have all changed. A saved direct URL is the single most common reason people think a product is "down." Reach the current tools through the Defense Logistics Agency site.
• FedLog and PUB LOG are monthly snapshots; WebFLIS is live. When the catalog has changed recently — a new item, a reassigned source of supply, a cancelled NSN — WebFLIS shows it first. For freshness-critical checks, prefer the live web query (if you have access) over an offline monthly cut.
• CAGE codes come from DLIS. If you need to resolve or obtain a CAGE code, the program runs through this same activity as the U.S. National Codification Bureau. CAGE is the bridge from a manufacturer's part number to the standardized NSN.
• Pair catalog lookups with routing tools. DLIS products give you an item's source of supply; DAASINQ / eDAASINQ resolves the DoDAAC/RIC routing behind where a requisition for that source actually goes.

When to use this vs alternatives

DLIS / DLA Logistics Information Services is the organization; for actual day-to-day work you reach for one of its products or an adjacent transactional system. The guide below sorts it out.

• To identify or cross-reference an item, use a DLIS catalog product. Use WebFLIS for the live record (CAC/AMPS), FedLog for the restricted offline application, or PUB LOG for the public no-login dataset — all the same FLIS catalog, differing in delivery and access.
• To resolve a CAGE code, the CAGE program runs through this same activity as the U.S. National Codification Bureau; the CAGE system is the authoritative entity lookup.
• To actually buy or requisition an item, move to the procurement and ordering channels: DLA's bid-board procurement and FedMall for catalog ordering. DLIS products identify the item and its source of supply; the procurement systems transact it.
• To resolve the routing/addressing behind a source of supply, use DAASINQ / eDAASINQ for DoDAAC and Routing Identifier Code lookups. The catalog gives you the source of supply on the item; DAASINQ resolves where transactions to it route.

In short: reach for a DLIS product to identify the item and read its catalog data, and for the procurement, ordering, and routing systems to act on it.

Training and authoritative references

The catalog data and coding DLIS maintains are governed by formal standards. The authoritative source is DoD Manual 4100.39 (DoD 4100.39-M), the Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) Procedures Manual, which defines the Federal Catalog System procedures — item identification, characteristics, reference numbers, and the management-data coding the catalog carries.

The NATO Codification System context — and the United States' role in it as a National Codification Bureau — is documented by DLA's Federal and International Cataloging activity, and the CAGE program is maintained by DLA as the authority for the entity codes the catalog resolves. The broader materiel-management context that drives why management coding and sources of supply are assigned as they are is set in DoD Manual 4140.01. Links to each are in the references list on this page.

Interesting context

The National Stock Number is one of the quiet triumphs of postwar logistics standardization, and DLIS is the organization that makes it real every day. Before a uniform catalog, each service catalogued items its own way, so the same washer could carry a dozen incompatible identities and the Defense Department had no way to know how many it owned or where. The Federal Catalog System imposed a single rule — one item, one number, one approved name — and DLIS is the activity that enforces that discipline across a catalog of more than sixteen million entries (roughly 7.4 million active), from hand grenades and guided missiles to soap dishes and washing machines.

The work has run from Battle Creek, Michigan for generations — a logistics-data town in the institutional memory of the supply community, the way Dayton is for transaction routing. The organization's own name tells a layered history: it was the Defense Logistics Services Center, became the Defense Logistics Information Service in the late 1990s as DoD centralized cataloging at Battle Creek, and was folded into the DLA Logistics Information Services identity in the "We Are DLA" rebranding around 2010. The delivery medium tracks technology history too: the catalog moved from microfiche to CD-ROM to DVD (FedLog), then to downloadable datasets (PUB LOG), and finally to the live web query (WebFLIS) — each step compressing the lag between a cataloging change and the moment a logistician in the field can see it.

There is also a genuinely international dimension. As the United States National Codification Bureau in the NATO Codification System, DLIS assigns NSNs that allied nations can read and use — a U.S.-codified item leads its NIIN with 00 or 01, and an allied item leads with its own NCB code, but the 13-digit structure is shared across member nations. An NSN is, in a real sense, an international identifier of materiel. Underneath every product name and reorganization, the job has never changed: take an item, give it one true identity, and let everyone in the supply chain — and the alliance — find it by that identity.

Last verified

This page was source-verified against authoritative public sources on 2026-06-21, with the following facts now confirmed or corrected: the DLIS-to-DLA Logistics Information Services redesignation in July 2010 (DLA field-activity renaming); the predecessor "Defense Logistics Services Center" name and the January 18, 1998 DLSC→DLIS rename date; the Federal Catalog System's founding by the Defense Cataloging and Standardization Act of 1952 (Pub. L. 82-436), now codified at 10 U.S.C. ch. 145; the catalog-size figure, corrected to "more than sixteen million supply items (~7.4 million active)" per current DLA fact sheets (the earlier "~6 million" figure was superseded); the product access model (PUB LOG public; WebFLIS via AMPS/CAC; FedLog restricted CUI via FedMall); and the current edition of DoD 4100.39-M (March 8, 2017). Two items remain flagged for subject-matter-expert review: the exact, step-level acquisition workflows for WebFLIS (AMPS) and FedLog (FedMall/SAAR), whose live enrollment screens are authentication-gated and could not be walked end-to-end; and whether the access_type field should carry a per-product qualifier. No subscription prices, version numbers, or download URLs are asserted; any such specifics must be sourced before they are added. Corrections and access-path updates can be submitted through the site's correction path.