Saturday, October 26, 2019
military supply chain Essays -- essays research papers
Considering that the military’s logistical structure hasn’t had a major improvement in over 60 years, the idea of streamlining and consolidating systems would be a welcome and much needed change. I currently work in the ammunition field for the U.S. Army and have done so for the past 18 years. The changes that the Marines are beginning to implement will help to free up resources and cut funds that could be used for other projects.      With the attacks of 9-11, many of the military logisticians realized that we were not finished with what we had begun in 1991. They also realized that there had to be a better way to support the force. I deployed with the Army in Desert Storm and was witness to hundreds of containers arriving at the pier overseas with no idea of what was inside. The only option was to open the containers, inventory the contents and figure out who needed it most.      In the ammunition field the thought is that you can never have too much. Unfortunately this was not the case as when we prepared to leave we were forced to destroy and bury thousands of short tons of ammunition that was not used and could not be shipped back to the states. This could have been avoided if the military had a more modern means of controlling its inventories.      The changes that the Marines are implementing have allowed them to achieve massive benefits: (Sapient n.d.) †¢Ã‚     A leaner support structure that will free up 1800 marines from logistics duties and make them available for other purposes †¢Ã‚     Faster deployment capability resulting from a 20 percent to 70 percent reduction in the tonnage it needs to ship †¢Ã‚     A one-time reduction in inventory of 45 percent to61 percent Inventory cost saving of $125 million to $180 million every year †¢Ã‚     A 35 percent to 50 percent reduction in order-cycle time for products and services      I believe that these changes are long overdue and will continue to allow the U. S. military to be the most feared military force in the history of man. In the past the military was expected to â€Å"dig in†and prepare to fight the long fight. This was alright at the time because the military was focused on only one enemy and continued to fight... ... systems of all branches of military were able to communicate effectively, this would result in a more efficient and stronger work force.      One of the major implications that could be felt through the government supply world is the potential loss of income. As it stands right now, there are over 200 separate systems. Each of these systems requires operators and equipment. If the number of systems is cut in half to 100, how will the suddenly unemployed react? It has been my experience in the government that a job that would normally require one person to complete, is given two or three people. This type of fraud and waste is what will be the major obstacle for the government to overcome if they truly want to improve the supply chain in the military. REFERENCES Ewalt, D. M. & Hayes, M., (2002, Sep 30). Supply-chain management: Pinpoint control InformationWeek. Manhasset, 16-19 Hyland, T. (2002, Oct.). Logistics is not supply chain management. Transportation & Distribution. Cleveland, 32-35. Sapient: Modernizing Military Logistics: USMC case study, (n.d.) Sapient corporate website. Accessed 10 August 2005 at http://www.sapient.com/case/usmc.htm military supply chain Essays -- essays research papers Considering that the military’s logistical structure hasn’t had a major improvement in over 60 years, the idea of streamlining and consolidating systems would be a welcome and much needed change. I currently work in the ammunition field for the U.S. Army and have done so for the past 18 years. The changes that the Marines are beginning to implement will help to free up resources and cut funds that could be used for other projects.      With the attacks of 9-11, many of the military logisticians realized that we were not finished with what we had begun in 1991. They also realized that there had to be a better way to support the force. I deployed with the Army in Desert Storm and was witness to hundreds of containers arriving at the pier overseas with no idea of what was inside. The only option was to open the containers, inventory the contents and figure out who needed it most.      In the ammunition field the thought is that you can never have too much. Unfortunately this was not the case as when we prepared to leave we were forced to destroy and bury thousands of short tons of ammunition that was not used and could not be shipped back to the states. This could have been avoided if the military had a more modern means of controlling its inventories.      The changes that the Marines are implementing have allowed them to achieve massive benefits: (Sapient n.d.) †¢Ã‚     A leaner support structure that will free up 1800 marines from logistics duties and make them available for other purposes †¢Ã‚     Faster deployment capability resulting from a 20 percent to 70 percent reduction in the tonnage it needs to ship †¢Ã‚     A one-time reduction in inventory of 45 percent to61 percent Inventory cost saving of $125 million to $180 million every year †¢Ã‚     A 35 percent to 50 percent reduction in order-cycle time for products and services      I believe that these changes are long overdue and will continue to allow the U. S. military to be the most feared military force in the history of man. In the past the military was expected to â€Å"dig in†and prepare to fight the long fight. This was alright at the time because the military was focused on only one enemy and continued to fight... ... systems of all branches of military were able to communicate effectively, this would result in a more efficient and stronger work force.      One of the major implications that could be felt through the government supply world is the potential loss of income. As it stands right now, there are over 200 separate systems. Each of these systems requires operators and equipment. If the number of systems is cut in half to 100, how will the suddenly unemployed react? It has been my experience in the government that a job that would normally require one person to complete, is given two or three people. This type of fraud and waste is what will be the major obstacle for the government to overcome if they truly want to improve the supply chain in the military. REFERENCES Ewalt, D. M. & Hayes, M., (2002, Sep 30). Supply-chain management: Pinpoint control InformationWeek. Manhasset, 16-19 Hyland, T. (2002, Oct.). Logistics is not supply chain management. Transportation & Distribution. Cleveland, 32-35. Sapient: Modernizing Military Logistics: USMC case study, (n.d.) Sapient corporate website. Accessed 10 August 2005 at http://www.sapient.com/case/usmc.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.