Boosting Logistics Transformation

Written by Marty Kauchak

In order to implement a $4 billion life cycle program, PM SALE must consolidate numerous systems and concurrently modernize existing, or legacy, logistics systems to better support warfighters who are deployed in the global war on terror (GWOT).

But this has not come easy. To transform the Army’s logistics portfolio, PM SALE is addressing challenges such as consolidating and becoming fully integrated with the other services.

Recently Established

PM SALE was built upon the momentum of ongoing efforts by the Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) to modernize business systems for the service’s logistics and financial programs.

“In Spring 2006, we received the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP),” said Catherine Doolos, deputy program executive officer for PEO EIS and program manager, SALE. The program’s transition provided Army leadership with the opportunity to look across the enterprise and pull together all of the major logistics programs.

“At that time we formed within PEO EIS a program manager for SALE. So, for the first time, the Army had all of its major logistics programs under the oversight of one program manager,” she said.

The establishment of PM SALE has further allowed the Army to review each program from a horizontal perspective and more fully integrate the supply chain from the tactical and national levels. While logisticians support warfighters in the GWOT, they concurrently sustain existing legacy logistics systems and enhance them as needed to meet units’ dynamic readiness needs.

It is in this complex environment that PM SALE leaders have declared initial successes. Recent upgrades to legacy systems have yielded increased data accuracy and visibility and improved communications between systems, they say. At the same time, the PM SALE office is completing a broader modernization of the service’s baseline logistics systems as they transition to one integrated logistics enterprise. As a result, “we have to carefully balance our investments,” pointed out Doolos.

Sale Programs

PM SALE has several components that focus on upgrading and consolidating the Army’s logistics systems.

The Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) was established in 2003. The program’s function is to deliver national-level logistics.

“We are on two vectors,” explained Colonel Charles Lambert, LMP’s program manager. One focus is allowing the Army to replace Commodity Command Support System (CCSS) and Standard Depot System (SDS), two 30-to-35 year old national legacy systems. “These are venerable systems, which can still handle the bulk of the work, but they are aging,” Lambert said. The systems will be retired in about 2011, with the bulk of their functions being subsumed by the LMP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program.

Logistics Information Systems (LIS) optimizes current systems by fielding incremental upgrades. “What I have are tactical- level, supply systems which support the warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the globe,” said Nick Castrinos, acting project manager, LIS. One system in the LIS portfolio is the Standard Army Retail Supply System (SARSS).

The system was initially deployed in the early 1990s and allows units to track the flow of ordered parts throughout the logistics pipeline. It posts $8 to $10 billion in annual transactions. “SARSS is archaic from the perspective of full technology,” said Castrinos. “It is still useful technology and still functions as designed, but has a limited functionality that soldiers and managers have come to expect with the information technology upgrades that we have seen over time.” Another PM SALE component is the Standard Army Maintenance System Enhanced (SAMS-E), which is approximately 35 percent deployed, including to units in-theater.

While LIS supports today’s logistics programs in the field, Global Combat Support System-Army Field/Tactical (GCSS-Army F/T) is working to consolidate 16 original systems down to one Web-based solution for logistics on the battlefield (see accompanying article in this issue). In 2010 the Army will begin to field GCSS-Army F/T to about 186,000 service-wide users over a 40- month period. “So that is what we are trying to synchronize now—how long will we have to depend on legacy systems while we are rolling out GCSS-Army,” said Doolos.

Another important SALE program is GCSS-Army Product Lifecycle Management Plus (PLM +). This system manages master data, shared weapons system product data and end-to-end business process integration technology.

Other SALE program components include the Joint-Automatic Identification Technology program (J-AIT)—which has oversight of in-transit visibility capability using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to track supply-laden vehicles in theater—and the Movement Tracking System (MTS), which provides Global Positioning System capability to pinpoint combat support and combat support service vehicles on the battlefield. Transportation Information Systems (TIS) allows a soldier and his or her assets to move from home station into theater. This fall, the TIS program will formally become part of the SALE portfolio.

As these programs evolve, PM SALE maintains an active dialogue with the other services and is reporting its lessons learned.

Jointness

With a Defense Department goal to field joint weapons systems and weapons platforms, PM SALE plans to evolve the Army into joint acquisition programs through PLM+.

“This program allows for interfacing with other agencies or services,” Doolos said. “So most likely with the Marine Corps we will have an interface into PLM+ OSD, and the services are all looking at the hubs to ensure that throughout DoD and the services that we are all interconnected. We all know that we must all have standards in place so that when we need to interface, we have that capability.”

The LMP is actively engaged with the Defense Enterprise Integration Group to ensure data standards are in place and to influence product development to better meet the department’s joint requirements.

Lessons Learned

Doolos meets monthly with her service counterparts in a forum called the Enterprise Services Group, which is under the sponsorship of DoD’s Business Transformation Agency. “We share lessons learned and discuss common business processes across all of our DoD programs,” she said.

One ongoing topic is for ways to increase the level of interoperability between the services’ SAP and Oracle logistics software. As the Army uses SAP, “we try to influence the future build of SAP to ensure that the other organizations incorporate some of the Army’s and DoD’s unique needs within their software,” pointed out Doolos.

One of two lessons learned from the group’s deliberations is the need for good internal and external communications. “If we don’t have good communications and share all of that information and lessons learned, and make sure that we are implementing in accordance with standards and the Army’s vision and architecture, it is very difficult to do our job,” said Doolos. She added, “This is one thing that I work on daily—to keep those communications lines open and flowing well.”

The PM SALE also asserted that an efficient government process must be in place to ensure success. For its part, SALE relies on an Army 2-star level Business Process Council (with general officer and senior executive service members) to gain efficiencies. The council meets monthly and is comprised of service logistics stakeholders, including the Deputy for Army Logistic Enterprise Integration (DALEI). This decision-making body enables the rapid implementation of decisions, which are needed from a materiel developer’s perspective. “They give us direction and the requirements that are necessary as well as the approval for our investment funding,” noted Doolos. This portion of the SALE governance process has provided more responsive and responsible decisions throughout the last several years.

Successes

While PM SALE is still in its early stages and has not yet produced metrics to judge program effectiveness or efficiencies, the evolving program offices have reported successes.

GCCS-Army has completed the SAP blueprint of requirements. “This fall, we will be going to an operational assessment at the National Training Center to demonstrate the supply capabilities in a warehouse management environment,” said Doolos.

Portions of the master vendor and customer data management capabilities have also been successfully tested in PLM+. “This is a really good news story for that program. It is laying the infrastructure for total master data management,” Doolos added.

Modernized legacy systems have also become more responsive to warfighters’ dynamic requirements. The Army has also integrated RFID technology into SARSS so that managers can see and report parts before they arrive at their destination.

The upgrade of the Property Book Unit Supply Enhanced (PBUSE) has also been popular with the chain-of-command. “You may remember that in Operation Desert Storm, we often heard that a part would arrive and you really didn’t know what you had. Well, this property accountability program has really helped them a lot to address this earlier problem,” she said.

In addition, the Army is standardizing four aviation applications into one through the Unit Level Logistics System-Aviation Enhanced (ULLS-AE) program, and a further five ground systems into one through SAMS-E. “The more we can converge and consolidate these legacy baseline systems, the less the soldier has to worry about—he or she will have a more modern system to work with,” said Doolos.

LMP’s cost-benefit ratio and return-oninvestment have been validated by DoD.

“The bottom line is that all of our numbers are positive, we are returning value to the taxpayers through much more efficient depot and life cycle management processes, procedures and operations, and we are giving value-added processes to the warfighter through more effective delivery of logistics capability,” stated Lambert.

When asked to provide a specific success, LMP noted that until recently, the customer was required to order materials for a specific system and the service depot was not allowed to use its stocks for any other system. The ERP allows an individual to forecast demand for all weapons systems and equipment that a depot has responsibility for and order items and repair parts by federal stock class.

An important SALE customer and process stakeholder which contributed to these successes is Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Command (HQ AMC).

Customer’s Insights

HQ AMC works with the Army G-4 in the implementation of SALE. “The foundational element of SALE is the implementation of an ERP capability across the Army logistics domain,” explained Ron Lewis, director, G-3 Enterprise Integration for AMC.

The command worked with Army G-4 in the establishment of a SALE architecture that serves as the framework for the development of the ERP programs.

“As part of its support role, HQ AMC is responsible for ensuring SALE is linked to the joint strategic logistics enterprise, providing end-to-end sustainment support to the combatant commander’s requirements, the functional and technical and synchronization of business processes and schedules, that investments are leveraged to best support requirements, and for establishing authoritative data sources,” Lewis said. “In support of this mission, HQ AMC has established an office, Deputy G-3 Enterprise Integration to lead these efforts in support of Department of the Army’s G-4.”

HQ AMC has also observed the SALE ERP effort being implemented through LMP, GCSS-Army and GCSS-Army PLM +. “Good progress is being made with all programs,” concluded Lewis. ♦