Naval postgraduate school research summaries

Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, May-June, 2003 by Philip J. Candreva

Until just a few years ago, no organization was tasked with measuring overall effectiveness, design, or optimization of DoD's global supply chain management system. As a result, the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative (SDMI) was created as a joint venture between Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) charged with enterprise level redesign, streamlining, and optimization of the DoD global supply chain. This thesis examines the affects of the SDMI implementation on the Army's two maneuver divisions stationed in the Europe. Specifically, it analyzes affects of SDMI implementation on the eight supply support activities located within the two maneuver divisions in United States Army, Europe.

This thesis studies SDMI impacts on inventory levels; inventory turbulence in the SSAs during SDMI implementation; SDMI improvements with respect to readiness; and existing barriers to improving velocity. The research indicates that: (1) expected inventory reductions were not realized following SDMI implementation, (2) inventory turbulence consumes limited resources and is a lucrative target for further improvement, (3) there is no evidence that SDMI increased fleet readiness, and (4) backorder rates and time, along with sub-optimization of pieces of the DoD supply chain, are significant barriers to velocity that still must be broken through.

Ten Years Worth of DoD Procurement Reforms with Specific Attention to Selected DON Programs

By LCDR Bernard D. Knox, SC, USN Master of Science in Management--December 2002

DoD reduced force structure after the Cold War ended. More efficient and sophisticated weapons are necessary to support a smaller force. Acquisition reform legislation is designed to capture savings and usher in a Revolution in Business Affairs. Today a wide array of rogue nations, transnational actors, and domestic terrorism demand weapons procurement reform that is effective against a smaller and much less visible foe.

The DoD's goal is to deliver modern, high performance weapons systems at lower cost, on schedule and with higher performance. Better weaponry drives the reality that the nation and the department find themselves in, an era of highly unpredictable security challenges. This research paper explores major procurement reforms and their effect on decreasing the amount of time and funds expended on current and future weapons systems. It looks for evidence of how the DON's budget is impacted and what controls, if any, these reforms will have on future weapons procurement. The link between the executive and legislative branches, DoD, and program managers are examined to determine if procurement reform has helped.

The Evaluation of Appropriateness of OMB Circular A-76 Studies on Revenue-Generating Functions in Defense Working Capital Fund Activities

By LCDR Thomas J. "Jack" Moreau, SC, USN Master of Science in Management--December 2002

This thesis addresses the appropriateness of applying an OMB Circular A76 study process on the revenue generating functions in Defense Working Capital Fund activities. While the thesis acknowledges that subjecting organizational functions to an A-76 process gains competitive efficiencies, the hypothesis is that a Working Capital Fund activity has already realized the efficiencies by competing for business; therefore, a process other than A-76 is more appropriate to gain further cost savings. The thesis looks at the specific example of the Navy Supply Information Systems Activity (NAVSISA), which is a fee-for-service organization that specializes in providing informational technology products and services for U.S. Navy, DoD and foreign allies.