IMPROVEMENTS TO U.S. MILITARY LOGISTICS PAY OFF
The U.S. military plans to continue increasing its use of commercial logistics practices, technologies and partnerships to improve the movement of freight overseas.
“We cannot go to war without you,” said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, commander of the Military Traffic Management Command to a group of 1,500 transportation executives in Dallas Tuesday. “In fact, we cannot do our day-to-day business without you.”
MTMC, the military’s surface transportation logistics unit, has experienced the third drop in cargo handling rates in three years and has started to reduce cargo delivery times overseas.
For the past two years, the U.S. Transportation Command and Defense Logistics Agency through the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative have taken a comprehensive look at how to tighten up the military supply chain. The initiative covers air transport, surface transport, stock management and financial controls.
So far, the military’s customer wait time has been reduced by 15 percent in the past year. Improvements leading to this reduction include putting cargo on the first available ship sailing, preparing advance documentation, speeding one-time-only contract awards, and using more direct bookings. Specific measures include prepositioning stocks, using dedicated truck services, and minimizing port handling.
The newest initiative measure is to move from the current system of multiple bills to a new environment of “one simple end-to-end bill.”
“We need to work like a corporation,” said Charlie Nye of the DLA’s Defense Distribution Center Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. “We need to take the freight out of the air at a dollar a pound and move it to surface transportation where it only costs pennies a pound. Basically, it boils down to readiness.”
“We seek speed, reliability, cost and visibility,” added Maj. Pam Donovan of Transcom’s Operations and Logistics Directorate. “Our vision is an integrated global defense distribution system. We are looking at the seams in the processes.”