DSC customers find faster processing times - Brief Article

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, March-April, 2001 by Larry D. McCaskill

The time required for the Military Traffic Management Command to process export requests has been cut dramatically.

Process enhancements to the Integrated Booking System have greatly reduced the time to make automated offers for surface movements.

As a result of enhancements to the system, 50 percent of offers can now be made within 20 minutes.

Changes in the computer software enable the system to process multiple export traffic release requests simultaneously, cutting the time required for automated offers.

An Integrated Booking System with a faster processing capability now runs around the clock. To date, five carriers have voluntarily modified their internal electronic systems.

In January 2000, automated offers to the carriers averaged nearly three hours, and frequently required upwards of six hours of processing time.

"Ocean carrier responses to offers averaged more than 27 hours then," said James Hudgens, Chief, Ocean Cargo Division, Deployment Support Command.

"Over the last 18 months, we've seen the system grow in leaps and bounds, enabling us to see a big difference in our operation."

The division, said Hudgens, has a new motto: "Book this week--sail this week."

"We now have the capability to begin filling orders today and shipping today," said Hudgens.

The benefits are a more streamlined and seamless' shipping process that speeds cargoes and increases reliability.

Carriers who are participating in the automatic response program now return bookings within two hours, and benefit from the reduced manual workload associated with processing bookings.

Customers benefit because the system is always available.

The speed of processing export requests for surface movements is popular with both customers and industry partners.

"In the past, we spent a significant amount of time completing bookings, and that was a problem," said Michael Garvin, Director of Government Services, Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco, Calif.

"We were getting calls directly from the shippers, and that sometimes doubled the workload," said Garvin. "Since the Deployment Support Command initiated the automated booking process, our response time has been drastically reduced."

Previously, the command took a parallel step to improve efficiencies.

Employees in the Ocean Cargo Booking Office, as in many other Deployment Support Command offices, are now available weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST.

"The extended hours have permitted assisted requests to be offered to ocean carriers the same day as receipt," Hudgens said. "They are no longer held overnight or over a weekend, thus avoiding a lot of dead time.

"We're also training personnel in our Command Operations Center to book sustainment cargo in order to process assisted bookings at night and on weekends and holidays, enhancing 24-hour processing of both automated and assisted bookings," said Hudgens.

"We've seen some significant changes in the technology we're using, as well as innovative personnel management," Hudgens acknowledged.

"Continuing this trend will enable a shifting of shipper paradigms as they become more confident that their bookings are consistently completed on time, every time."

Larry D. McCaskill
Public Affairs Specialist
Deployment Support Command