Customer relations begin before cargoes arrive - Brief Article

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, July-August, 2001 by Sam Blanton

In the busy port of Pusan, the 837th Transportation Battalion has lots of cargo moving in and out of Korea. An ammunition shipment moving back to the United States in November took on special significance to us.

We shipped 485 ammunition containers in a seamless flow. It was the perfect transportation movement. The cargo shipment was safe and efficient. There were no errors in the documentation.

Needless to say, our prime customer, the 6th Ordnance Battalion, of Taegu, was delighted. The battalion is the prime shipper of ammunition in theater.

Did it all just happen because our MTMC battalion is the single point of contact for all U.S. military activities involved in ammunition import/export operations?

Not exactly.

It really all goes back to Sept. 25, when the 837th hosted the first ammunition retrograde conference for United States Forces Korea--what has now become a quarterly conference.

We recognized a need to establish a forum to share ideas and team build with all the players involved in the ammunition process.

The intent of the conference was to out line the entire ammunition cargo movement and documentation process--and to clearly delineate all responsibilities. The desired end state was to establish a ship schedule that fully supported two needs--both the theater ammunition retrograde process and the Defense Transportation System's requirements.

When we started, we knew documentation was a tough issue. A thorough and accurate documentation process requires all ammunition containers arriving at the port to be correctly certified.

The conference was well received. We had 27 attendees from all over the peninsula.

Our briefings included cargo-booking procedures, export ammunition procedures, shipper documentation for ammunition, agriculture inspections, transportation control numbers and military shipping labels.

We also talked about some of the changes coming in the future in the way we in MTMC do business and how it will affect our customers. As an example, the Department of Defense's "Management Reform Memorandum #15" requires a more automated and commercially oriented approach to our processes. It is critical to establish good lines of communication with all customers in an effort to provide world-class support.

The forum was a great idea--well received by our customers.

"This is a great step forward in the right direction," said Maj. Dale Peterson, Material Officer, 6th Ordnance Battalion.

"A forum to lay out the issues is exactly what we needed in the Ammunition Community. This clearly provides an outstanding foundation for future shipments."

MTMC participants were equally delighted with the conference.

"It is really making my job easier," said Sgt. 1st Class Roosevelt Wilson, of the battalion's traffic management division.

"The shippers are now up to speed with the required documentation for shipping ammunition. I can focus more on the mission at hand instead of correcting deficiencies."

While the conference provided wonderful informal contacts, a formal result was equally important.

We developed a Memorandum of Agreement between the two battalions--one transportation and the other ordnance. The agreement details the responsibilities of the 837th, the theater's primary, transporter for ammunition, and the 6th, the primary shipper for ammunition. In addition, the agreement details the required paperwork forms necessary for a successful shipment.

As an organization focused on customer service, we ensure that the customer fully understands the required documentation and the associated processes involved in shipping ammunition. At port side, we do not have the flexibility to fix the problems quickly.

Our agreement is now going to be tested. As with all hardship duty assignments, the long awaited summer rotation means a transition in personnel here.

The dynamics of dealing with new people, ideas and management styles becomes a real challenge.

In the past, you hoped the replacements had some transition time, or at least fell in on a good plan or standard operating procedure.

But we now have something better: a firm Memorandum of Agreement, supplemented by quarterly meetings.

Copies of the Memorandum of Agreement and quarterly minutes are available via e-mail at blantons@mtpc. army.mil.