The Logistics of Modernization
THE LOGISTICS OF MODERNIZATION
U.S. Army Materiel Command is focusing on the integration of new technologies in supply chain management under the auspices of its logistics modernization program.
by Kenya McCullum, MLF Correspondent
“Behind every good man is a good woman,” as the old adage goes. Similarly, the good men and women in the Army have a strong support system behind them that is able to meet their needs and procure the supplies that keep them going—the U.S. Army Materiel Command, or AMC.
AMC’s motto sums up the work that this organization does to support soldiers as they execute their missions: “If a soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, communicates with it or eats it, we provide it,” said Ronald Lewis, AMC Deputy G-3/5 for Enterprise Integration. This, of course, means that anything and everything a soldier needs is supplied through AMC, no matter how big or how small.
“Whether it’s clothing material, repair parts associated with any type of ground system, aviation or missile system that we have, meals, ready-to-eat (MREs) for the soldiers or lumber materials, we get it and make sure it’s provided to the soldier,” Lewis continued.
This is a tall order and AMC would not be able to fill it without its reliable computerized support system, the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP), which helps the command manage the supply chain in an efficient manner.
The LMP was implemented in July 2003 in order to replace antiquated systems—the Commodity Command Standard System (CCSS) and the Standard Depot System (SDS), also referred to as the legacy systems—that had been used by AMC for over 30 years. While these systems were still useful, especially given their age, they caused a great deal of logistical confusion because over the years they had evolved into multiple software programs that were being used by numerous branches of AMC. As a result, it was neither cost effective, nor logistically plausible, to upgrade the legacy systems as it became necessary to add capabilities to address the Army's growing supply chain needs. And the issue of cost became of particular importance because of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and the Federal Management Improvement Act of 1996—measures designed to aid in the financial efficiency and transparency of operations within the Department of Defense.
In the interest of addressing all of these concerns, AMC began to modernize its supply chain management system by phasing out the legacy programs and developing LMP in their place. This process, which is expected to continue through 2010, has given AMC access to state-of-the-art tools that enable the command to send out supplies to soldiers anywhere in the world in an efficient manner. There are numerous capabilities that are becoming possible as a result of this integration process that will eventually link all activities from one end of the chain to the other—including product acquisition, product scheduling, order processing, inventory management, and transportation—and streamline the process to increase its effectiveness. Not only will this ensure that supply chain management is a well-oiled machine, it will eventually decrease the amount of supplies that the Army purchases because AMC will be better equipped to plan and allocate its resources.
“We feel that if we can get the right kind of systems and the right kind of visibility across the total supply chain, there are efficiencies that we can gain so that we won’t have to stock as much material as we do today,” said Lewis. “We will then reduce our buys to just-in-time purchases, similar to what some of the commercial enterprises do.”
INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
There are a number of companies that have partnered with AMC to realize its goals for the supply chain modernization process, including the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and Agility.
COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION (CSC)
Since early in the modernization process, the Computer Sciences Corporation has been assisting AMC’s efforts in upgrading the systems that govern the wholesale portion of the supply chain. The Virginia-based company is providing technological support to AMC in three primary areas—automatic identification technologies (AIT), data communication technologies, and technologies that facilitate integration.
Automatic identification technologies are considered the front line of data utilization, allow users to track and trace the movement of materials throughout the supply chain while improving the speed, volume, and quality of the data being used. This kind of tracking has evolved over the years, from simple bar codes to more sophisticated applications like radiofrequency identification (RFID).
“What we’re finding with RFID applications is that when we are combining RFID with environment sensoring kinds of data—things that tell us temperature, humidity or shock or that provide more information about the condition and the history of the material—that it gives a whole new insight about things that are in the supply chain that eight to 10 years ago we couldn’t get,” said Dan Brown, CSC’s vice president of the Logistics Center of Excellence. “AIT is a key enabler of getting accurate, timely source data.”
Data Communication Technologies: This area of service that CSC offers includes incorporating more wireless solutions to the supply chain, which increases bandwidth and improves security. One example of this is Web 2.0, a program that gives users the latitude to design elements of their supply chain management needs.
Technologies that Facilitate Integration: Brown said that CSC is in the early stages of integrating technologies that can allow different applications to send data to each other during the supply chain process. This technology, known as service- oriented architectures (SOA), will further connect all of the steps of the supply chain enabling operations to run smoothly.
“All of DoD will look at ways of how to share data and tailor the access to that data. It will be Webbased and SOA will be the enabler to do that,” said Brown. “It really provides an application that’s not just information over the Internet. An organization can make it available to its partners so that they can post the information to a service registry for anyone who wants to gain access to it.” When put together, these three areas will create a well-rounded approach to supply chain management that will give AMC the tools and flexibility they need to send soldiers the supplies that are necessary for life on the battlefield.
“The combination of all these together allows us to offer solutions that are more efficient and effective and that improve readiness and speed while saving money,” said Brown. “What we are finding more and more is that in the supply chain management arena, it really is about data.”
AGILITY
Agility’s Defense & Government Services division is currently working with the Army on wireless proof-of-delivery technology that, according to the company’s Director of Strategic Implementation Brian Neuenfeldt, will give AMC vital information it needs to track the whereabouts of supplies. But unlike other, more costly systems, Agility’s microtransport systems will not inundate the users with data that they may not want.
“What we’re trying to do is not give military personnel more information than they want, or give them a more expensive solution than they need,” he said. “Rather than give them information every 15 minutes and charge them a lot more for satellite communications time, we’d rather just tell them when something really significant happens. If the truck breaks down and you’re not going to get your product on time, we’ll tell you that in real time. You’ll know as soon as the truck stops moving. If the temperature changes and the product is going to spoil, we’re going to tell you that immediately so that we can get new product ordered.”
In addition, Agility’s microtransport technology has extended AMC’s supply chain visibility all the way back to the point where products are purchased, whereas the system previously could only track commodities as they were being delivered from the warehouse in Kuwait to the soldiers in Iraq. The system can also monitor the temperature and condition of the containers being shipped to ensure that their quality has not been compromised during transport.
Neuenfeldt added that Agility is currently in the process of looking at how supply chain management processes that are employed in the private sector, such as automated information data capture (AIDC), can be incorporated into the Logistics Modernization Program. If these processes are successfully integrated into LMP, it will help streamline the supply chain and reduce the number of people involved in shipping materials to soldiers.
Although there are numerous ways that the LMP system will be updated in coming years, it has already been a successful alternative to the legacy programs of the past. Since its inception in 2003, LMP has effectively managed the biggest supply chain in the world—which rivals that of mega stores like Wal-Mart—and processed millions of requisitions annually. And with the assistance of Army contractors, LMP will continue to meet the demands that allow AMC to be the force that fully supports soldiers around the world.
“Even though we are fully deployed, we continue to receive system upgrades and continuously manage data in the LMP system,” said Henry Kearney, spokesman for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Life Cycle Management Command. “In most cases, LMP has reduced cycle time from weeks to days and hours to minutes, making our job easier and getting material out to the warfighter faster.” ♦