Q&A: Jim Hall
Written by Dawn S. Onley
Senior DoD Logistics Champion Pushes Joint Supply Chain Integration
Jim Hall
Assistant Deputy Undersecretary
of Defense for Logistics
Plans and Studies
Jim Hall is a senior defense leader juggling a handful of supply chain responsibilities, ranging from overseeing the Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Logistics to maintaining close partnerships with other nations with the goal of international coordination in logistics.
Hall is co-chair of the Focused Logistics Functional Capability Board and chair of the Joint Cross Service Supply and Storage Advisory Board, which is spearheading implementation of distribution realignment and procurement consolidation.
Prior to joining the Defense Department, Hall served as a vice president or partner of Cleveland Consulting Associates, A.T. Kearney and Deloitte Consulting. He also previously worked as a line manager for American Hospital Supply, where he was responsible for logistics operations, costs and assets in a major geographic area. Hall served in the Navy as a surface warfare officer aboard a DDG participating in combat operations.
He graduated with distinction from the Naval Academy and has an M.B.A. from Drexel University.
Hall was interviewed by Dawn S. Onley, MLF editor.
Q: What does your job entail as the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Logistics Plans and Studies?
A: My office supports the deputy undersecretary of defense (logistics and materiel readiness), the Honorable Jack Bell, in his responsibilities as the principal advisor to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics [USD/AT&L] and the secretary and deputy secretary of defense on logistics and materiel readiness in the Department of Defense.
Specifically, we are responsible for advancing the integration of the DoD supply chain through policy development and by facilitating DoD component implementation of supply chain management practices, coordinating the service, agency and combatant commander’s logistics strategies to provide a unified approach to supporting the department’s logistics missions, goals and objectives, examining promising concepts for logistics management and assessing their applicability to DoD, and strengthening the professional development of logisticians.
These responsibilities result in this office working across the supply chain on issues such as supply, storage and distribution reconfiguration through base realignment and closure [BRAC], radio frequency identification [RFID], collaborative demand planning, inventory positioning, commodity management, readiness based sparing, and materiel disposition and disposal.
This office also supports my roles as the co-chair of the Focused Logistics Functional Capability Board, functional advisor for the Life Cycle Logistics Career Field for DAU, and defense standardization executive.
Q: How did you become interested in this whole area of logistics?
A: I became interested in logistics as I explored career fields when I was leaving the Navy after six years as a surface warfare officer. I saw that logistics provided a broad range of responsibility and opportunity. I’ve found logistics provides the opportunity to use conceptual skills to identify problems and potential solutions, analytical skills to determine the best solution and interpersonal skills to implement the solution. My experience as a line manager in industry and as a management consultant assisting executives teams address a range of supply chain and logistics issues in multiple industries provided the opportunity to develop a range and depth of knowledge in logistics.
Through involvement in professional organizations I became aware of some of the DoD initiatives in logistics. It was apparent that the challenges were similar to major commercial firms, and that some of the responses that had proven successful for industry could be applied to the DoD. I indicated to the department’s leadership my desire to utilize my experience to address DoD challenges and was given that opportunity.
Q: Can you give me a breakdown of your office employees?
A: Our office is not particularly large, but the individuals bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from previous assignments across the department. Our civilian staff has experience from responsibilities at Air Staff, AMC, Army G4, China Lake, DLA headquarters, Defense Supply Center Columbus, Edward Air Force Base, NAVSUP, NAVICP, and Joint Forces Command. Our military staff brings recent experience commanding units providing logistics support for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Q: What is the most revolutionary thing or things [e.g. product/ system/way of doing business] that have happened to DoD logistics recently?
A: There are many revolutionary ways of doing business that are changing logistics within DoD.
The supply, storage and distribution reconfiguration initiatives that are part of BRAC 05 bring three changes. There will be a single provider of physical distribution services supporting service industrial sites enabling the services to concentrate on their core missions. Thirteen Forward Distribution Points [FDP] will be created allowing inventory to be optimally positioned to meet the requirements of the services, while also streamlining the investment in inventory.
Procurement management will be consolidated creating a single buying function, enabling benefits for the department and our industry partners. These changes are both evolutionary and revolutionary.
Automatic Identification Technology [AIT] initiatives, including RFID and item unique identification [IUID] will enable increased visibility along the supply chain to improve responsiveness and reliability to the warfighter with lower costs and investments for the taxpayer. Alan Estevez, the principal assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness, has been leading this effort, coordinating DoD efforts with industry efforts such as Wal-Mart’s. TRANSCOM recently published the department’s AIT CONOPS.
Current efforts to specify the competencies required within the civilian logistics career fields, ongoing efforts to embed life cycle logistics principles into the acquisition process, and a recent project to establish the Joint Supply Chain Architecture are all changing the ways business is being done.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges facing military logistics?
A: As with any function with a large scope and scale there are many challenges and each of us within logistics and materiel readiness will have our own focus areas. Some of the ones that will call for attention of this office in the coming years include:
- Integrating the supply chain across enterprise boundaries, across organizational boundaries, and within organizations.
DLA’s efforts with supplier relationship management and military service initiatives with performance based logistics are working to integrate supply chains across enterprise boundaries. As the services and DLA implement the BRAC 05 actions that call for the functional transfer of all supply, storage and distribution functions to DLA, and procurement management consolidation, integration across organizational boundaries will increase. These changes will require process changes as well as culture changes within DLA and the services. Within organizations, initiatives such as Army’s Logistics Modernization program, Naval Logistics Integration that increases the integration of Navy and Marine Corps supply chains, and Air Force eLog 21 are all examples of the efforts each organization is placing on integrating the supply chain to improve readiness, responsiveness and reliability.
- Creating value from visibility.
The investments in RFID and information technology will produce benefits to the warfighter through reduced customer wait times and more reliable time definite delivery. While all acknowledge that technology is part of the solution, we will all need to review processes, practices and decision rules that exist in today’s environment to ensure we adapt in order to improve performance.
- Integrating the DoD supply chain with our industry partners. Performance based logistics [PBL] is the preferred sustainment strategy for the department and contractors are an integral part of our support capabilities. From collaborative demand planning, through transportation and distribution along the last tactical mile, our processes must be seamless and create the outcomes the warfighter is counting on.
A: There are success stores within each organization that impact the DoD supply chain and across organizations. Examples within organizations include successful implementation of a commercial ERP system as the Enterprise Business System for DLA, purchasing and supply chain management successes by the Air Force that apply proven strategic sourcing approaches used by industry to the military environment, Lean implementations at Army depots, Marine Corps logistics modernization, and Navy PBL successes that have produced higher weapons systems availability at lower cost. Another example is recognition of the Virginia Class submarine program by the Defense Standardization Program Office for achieving a 60 percent reduction in parts from a previous class and generating approximately $800 million in life cycle saving through standardization.
Examples across organizations are the leadership of the process owner concept by TRANSCOM who is the distribution process owner; Joint Staff leading the initial portfolio management efforts and DLA and the services implementing the Joint Regional Inventory and Material Management [JRIMM] concept to streamline the flow of material. JRIMM streamlines the distribution and storage of materiel within a given geographic area by eliminating unnecessary tasks. Utilizing lean concepts and a continuous process improvement approach, JRIMM removes duplicate materiel handling and inventory layers. Work content and storage space are reduced, freeing personnel for other higher priority activities, and making space available for more productive use.
Q: What would people find surprising about your office?
A: It might be the range of activities and number of components with which we work. This office touches parts of each supply chain process; planning, sourcing, maintaining, delivering and retrograde. We work with the services, DLA, TRANSCOM and Joint Staff.
It could be that the Defense Standardization Program Office [DSPO] reports into this office. Standards and standardization enable interoperability, embed life cycle management principles into acquisition and sustainment, permit coalition operations, reduce logistics footprint, and contribute to safety, reliability, maintainability and cost effectiveness. DSPO maintains knowledge tools, provides training and education, is involved in joint, coalition and service-specific efforts, and represents the department in international standards-developing organizations.
Another area that might be surprising is the interest other nations have in sharing logistics knowledge and practices. All defense organizations manage supply chains that are much different from manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, or retail supply chains. Additionally, all defense organizations face continual challenges to transform structure, management approaches, and process to achieve dramatics change. As we interact with those who have similar objectives we will all benefit. We maintain regular interactions with Australia, recently hosted a Logistics Exchange Forum with Singapore, and have shared our experiences with performance based logistics with Canada.
Q: What are a few of your goals in the incoming fiscal year?
A: A few of our goals for the new fiscal year include:
- The Logistics Roadmap: Providing a living document with a detailed depiction, over time, of existing, planned and desired capabilities.
- Logistics Portfolio Management: Supporting the introduction of this approach to strengthen the governance and decision- making about logistics process, practices and resources.
- RFID Advancement: Ensuring the expanding implementation of this technology to produce benefits for the department.
- Collaborative Demand Planning: Building a capability that provides a more accurate understanding of anticipated needs to provide higher availability of parts, and ultimately weapons system, and higher productivity of the inventory investment.
- Human Capital Strategy Development: Completing the definitions of competencies for civilian logistics work force areas and building professional development frameworks.
Q: Any big initiatives in your area coming down the pipeline in the near future?
A: Major efforts in the near future will address logistics strategy, process integration and development of people.
Logistics strategy will be supported through the Logistics Roadmap. Our office is working with the services, Joint Staff, DLA and TRANSCOM to develop a logistics roadmap that will establish a living document with a detailed depiction, over time, of existing, planned and desired capabilities to achieve logistics goals. Through the leadership of the Joint Staff Director for Logistics, Lieutenant General C.V. Christianson, the logistics community has focused on three goals: unity of effort, visibility, and rapid and precise response.
The roadmap will concentrate on supply chain operations which is the “center of gravity” of logistics. Supply chain operations consist of the process of planning, sourcing, maintaining, delivering and returning material as included in the SCOR model. The Supply-Chain Operations Reference-model (SCOR) is a process reference model that has been developed and endorsed by the Supply-Chain Council as the cross-industry standard diagnostic tool for supply-chain management. SCOR enables users to address, improve, and communicate supply-chain management practices within and between all interested parties. The adaptation of this model for the department’s use illustrates a way the department can leverage commercial practices, and apply them to the military unique environment. The elements of supply chain operations will have our office work with DLA, TRANSCOM, the Joint Group on depot maintenance, Joint Staff and others involved in these processes. When completed, the roadmap will assist the logistics portfolio manager, the Honorable Jack Bell, in carrying out his responsibilities.
Another initiative of this office is collaborative demand planning. Collaborative demand planning seeks to increase the accuracy of future demand on the supply system through improved process integration between those who place demands—the services—and those who provide supply—usually DLA. Collaborative demand planning calls for organizations that will place demands to look ahead, and provide their best judgment, based on predicted operational tempos and environments, availability of funds and stage within a weapon system’s life cycle. Concurrently, organizations that will provide supply must understand the future capabilities of the supply base, contracting and distribution providers. Collaboration creates a common, shared view of facts so commanders can make better judgments and decisions about what to buy, how much to buy, when to buy and where to position these items. This provides better outcomes for the warfighter in higher availability and responsiveness and the taxpayer in improved inventory effectiveness and process efficiency.
Human capital development for the civilian logisticians is also being addressed. The goal is achieving an integrated, agile and high-performing future work force of multi-faceted, interchangeable logisticians that can succeed in a complex operating environment. To achieve this, the team is beginning by establishing consistent expectations of competencies and skill requirements. This work is being done in a manner that maximizes alignment with the work each service has already done, and ensuring communications with industry partners who have similar objectives. Addressing human capital topics is essential to optimize available capabilities and provide effective joint outcomes at best value. This effort is timely given the anticipated retirements within the civilian work force.
Q: Are there any other thoughts you’d like to share?
A: The opportunity to work with the logisticians of the department has been an honor and pleasure. My previous experience permitted me to address a range of logistics and supply chain management challenges for major businesses across a range of industries working with many management teams. I’ve found no shortage of opportunities and challenges here and a team of capable professionals who are eager to ensure logistics provides the nation’s warfighters what they need, when they need it. ♦