MTMC seeks commercial transportation solution

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, May-June, 2002

Military Traffic Management Command has taken the first step in a dramatic shift in the way it uses automation.

The Army command held a presolicitation conference April 30, in Alexandria, Va., in search of a systems integrator to provide a Surface Transportation Management System commercial solution for various automated transportation systems. MTMC seeks a solution, which has been tested and validated in commercial transportation, to replace its Global Freight Management and Integrated Booking System software. The software will be incidental to the services provided and will allow for fully integrated software that can communicate seamlessly with other transportation automation.

"MTMC hopes to have a contract award within six months, and a new system developed within one year of the conference," said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, Commander.

"This is a big deal for us," Privratsky told representatives of as many as 35 commercial firms expressing interest in the pending request for proposal.

"For years, we've had scores of employees working on dedicated systems. Many were quite good.

"The problem is they were stovepipes that didn't talk to each other. We have to achieve an end-to-end solution."

The procurement of the Surface Transportation Management System is currently MTMC's most important acquisition action, he said.

"I'm interested in an off-the-shelf product with demonstrated commercial success."

The Global Freight Management System is used for domestic freight shipments, while the Integrated Booking System is used for ocean freight movements. The presolicitation conference April 30 will be the first of others, said Frank Giordano, Deputy Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting.

"This is a huge initiative for MTMC," said Giordano. "This is the first of a series of conferences with industry, and we will continue to have more meetings as we replace more of our legacy systems."

Other systems that may be reviewed in the future include the Worldwide Port System, the Transportation Operational Personal Property Standard System, and the Group Operational Passenger System.

"Over the years, we've developed stovepiped systems to fit separate transportation business processes. We need to better leverage technology to keep pace with our business partners" said John Smith, Director, Deputy Chief of Staff information Management.

"MTMC systems are not presently integrated, so it's hard to develop a complete automation solution for our customers and industry partners."

The selected system must comply with U.S. Transportation Command's Corporate Data Environment and the Joint Technical Architecture of the Department of Defense, said Smith.

MTMC is receiving process review support from the Logistics Management Institute, of McLean, Va.