The Information-Centric Defense Supply Chain: Accelerating Development and Maximizing Value to the Warfighter

Transcription

1 The Information-Centric Defense Supply Chain: Accelerating Development and Maximizing Value to the Warfighter

2 To win the global war on terror, the armed forces simply have to be more flexible and more agile, so that our forces can respond more quickly. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Below: U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment provide over watch security for fellow Marines as they patrol the streets of Husaybah, Iraq. Above: U.S. Army paratroopers board a C-130 Hercules aircraft. On the cover: U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Andrew Witherspoon adjusting the eye span on a pair of AS/AVS-9 night vision goggles as Staff Sgt. Timothy Huffman consults the technical order handbook. America s defense objectives tend to be consistent decade-to-decade and generation-to-generation. They include ensuring domestic security, responding to global unrest and protecting national interests abroad. However, the nature and origin of America s defense challenges, as well as the ways we address them, change continually. A particularly cogent example is global expectations for US military performance. In recent years, the bar for responsiveness, power and agility has been raised faster and higher than almost any time in known memory. A second example relates directly to the first: Exceptionally rapid advancements in information technology particularly in supply chain management are making it possible for military entities to act with greater speed, safety and efficiency. Emerging capabilities in defense logistics technology are difficult to stay current with, not to mention affectively assimilate, integrate and deploy. Plus, leveraging their full potential often requires concurrent changes in the way basic supply chain processes are structured and carried out. For example, changing the nature and pursuit of procurement relationships is key to unleashing the potential of e-procurement and sourcing technology. Similarly, getting a faster and more accurate handle on demand (the key to rapid, economical re-supply) is a function of better processes as well as better tools. The bottom line is that supply chain innovations support the 21st century military. And the 21st century supply chain runs on information. In this Accenture Point of View, authors Jeffrey Miller and Scott Smith look closely at specific ways that the defense supply chain can become more information-enabled and how military organizations can leverage information to make specific, meaningful and measurable performance improvements in areas critical to the ultimate customer: the warfighter.

3 Copyright 2006 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. Barcode Placement

4 The Information-Centric Defense Supply Chain: Accelerating Development and Maximizing Value to the Warfighter

5 To win the global war on terror, the armed forces simply have to be more flexible and more agile, so that our forces can respond more quickly. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, On the cover: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Smith watches his Blue Force Tracker while communicating with others within his convoy during a patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq. Above: U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Kristina Jones, a boatswain's mate assigned to Port Security Unit 312, pilots a Coast Guard 25-foot boat through the waters surrounding Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while escorting U.S. Army personnel assigned to Joint Task Force Guantanamo. America s defense objectives tend to be consistent decade-to-decade and generation-to-generation. They include ensuring domestic security, responding to global unrest and protecting national interests abroad. However, the nature and origin of America s defense challenges, as well as the ways we address them, change continually. A particularly cogent example is global expectations for US military performance. In recent years, the bar for responsiveness, power and agility has been raised faster and higher than almost any time in known memory. A second example relates directly to the first: Exceptionally rapid advancements in information technology particularly in supply chain management are making it possible for military entities to act with greater speed, safety and efficiency. Emerging capabilities in defense logistics technology are difficult to stay current with, not to mention affectively assimilate, integrate and deploy. Plus, leveraging their full potential often requires concurrent changes in the way basic supply chain processes are structured and carried out. For example, changing the nature and pursuit of procurement relationships is key to unleashing the potential of e-procurement and sourcing technology. Similarly, getting a faster and more accurate handle on demand (the key to rapid, economical re-supply) is a function of better processes as well as better tools. The bottom line is that supply chain innovations support the 21st century military. And the 21st century supply chain runs on information. In this Accenture Point of View, authors Jeffrey Miller and Scott Smith look closely at specific ways that the defense supply chain can become more information-enabled and how military organizations can leverage information to make specific, meaningful and measurable performance improvements in areas critical to the ultimate customer: the warfighter.

6 Copyright 2006 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. Barcode Placement

7 The Information-Centric Defense Supply Chain: Accelerating Development and Maximizing Value to the Warfighter

8 To win the global war on terror, the armed forces simply have to be more flexible and more agile, so that our forces can respond more quickly. America s defense objectives tend to be consistent decade-to-decade and generation-to-generation. They include ensuring domestic security, responding to global unrest and protecting national interests abroad. However, the nature and origin of America s defense challenges, as well as the ways we address them, change continually. A particularly cogent example is global expectations for US military performance. In recent years, the bar for responsiveness, power and agility has been raised faster and higher than almost any time in known memory. A second example relates directly to the first: Exceptionally rapid advancements in information technology particularly in supply chain management are making it possible for military entities to act with greater speed, safety and efficiency. Emerging capabilities in defense logistics technology are difficult to stay current with, not to mention affectively assimilate, integrate and deploy. Plus, leveraging their full potential often requires concurrent changes in the way basic supply chain processes are structured and carried out. For example, changing the nature and pursuit of procurement relationships is key to unleashing the potential of e-procurement and sourcing technology. Similarly, getting a faster and more accurate handle on demand (the key to rapid, economical re-supply) is a function of better processes as well as better tools. The bottom line is that supply chain innovations support the 21st century military. And the 21st century supply chain runs on information. In this Accenture Point of View, authors Jeffrey Miller and Scott Smith look closely at specific ways that the defense supply chain can become more information-enabled and how military organizations can leverage information to make specific, meaningful and measurable performance improvements in areas critical to the ultimate customer: the warfighter. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, This page: U.S. Marines direct the crew of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter as it prepares to pick up a rotor head from a downed CH-53E near Al Qa'im, Iraq. On the cover: U.S. Navy Master at Arms Seaman Apprentice Jon Moore, from Mobile Security Squadron Three, scans the ocean during his security watch. Right: U.S. Navy Gunner's Mate Seaman Randy Barnes, with Mobile Security Squadron Three, conducts a security watch on a pier in the port city of Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates.

9 Copyright 2006 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. Barcode Placement