DLA Troop Support Electronic Catalogs

DLA Troop Support Electronic Catalog (ECAT) is the Defense Logistics Agency's web-based ordering system for medical materiel — letting DoD, VA, and other federal customers search, compare, and order more than a million medical/surgical, dental, optical, and equipment items from contracted vendor catalogs at negotiated discount pricing. It is operated by DLA Troop Support's Medical supply chain; DoD users reach it through the CAC-gated DMMOnline portal, while authorized non-DoD federal customers use a separate standalone web ordering path.

What it is

ECAT is a net-centric ordering, distribution, and payment system that gives registered customers access to multiple manufacturers' and distributors' commercial medical catalogs side by side. Customers can search across roughly 1.1–1.3 million items — medical/surgical supplies, dental and optical supplies, laboratory supplies, cardiovascular and orthopedic products, and medical equipment — and place orders directly with the awarded vendor, with DLA Troop Support Medical managing the underlying contracts. DLA has cited average savings around 20 percent versus standard commercial catalog pricing, and the program has processed over $1 billion in annual sales in recent fiscal years.

Who operates it

ECAT is operated by DLA Troop Support's Medical supply chain, one of DLA Troop Support's product lines (alongside Subsistence, Clothing & Textiles, and Construction & Equipment). It is integrated with the Department of Defense's Joint Medical Materiel Supply Chain System for DoD ordering, and offers a standalone web ordering path for eligible non-DoD federal customers.

Access

ECAT is not an open public catalog. DoD users reach it through DMMOnline, DLA Troop Support Medical's secure applications portal, which requires a Common Access Card (CAC) to log in; once inside DMMOnline, a customer selects ECAT from the Medical Supply Chain Logistics Applications menu. Non-DoD federal customers (VA, HHS, DHS, and other authorized agencies) instead use a standalone web-based ordering path that requires only a computer, internet access, and program authorization — not a CAC.

How logisticians use it

Military medical treatment facilities, VA hospitals, and other authorized federal health and logistics customers use ECAT as a one-stop ordering front end: searching contracted vendor catalogs, comparing items and pricing, and placing orders that flow through DLA Troop Support's existing medical supply contracts rather than through separate vendor storefronts. This gives units and facilities commercial-style shopping with government contract pricing and DLA-managed fulfillment, reducing the number of individual vendor relationships a facility must manage directly.

History & lineage

ECAT dates to the late 1990s as an early DLA e-commerce initiative for medical materiel and marked its 25th year of operation in 2023. Sales volume has grown substantially over that period, with DLA reporting the program crossed $1 billion in fiscal-year sales for the first time in fiscal 2020 and continuing at that scale in subsequent years, including tens of millions of dollars annually in Department of Veterans Affairs purchases.

Related systems

ECAT is accessed through DMMOnline (DLA Troop Support Medical Master Online), the CAC-gated portal that also hosts DLA Troop Support Medical's Prime Vendor, Pharmaceuticals, Medical/Surgical, Equipment, and Readiness program applications. It is distinct from DLA's separate cataloging-request "E-Cat" system used for federal cataloging actions, and from DLA Troop Support's other electronic catalogs under Construction & Equipment and other product lines.