Interview with Michael Wynne, acting under secretary of defense : unique identification now mandatory on all new solicitations - acquisition, technology & logistics - UID - Acquisition Process Improvement - Cover Story

Defense AT&L, Jan-Feb, 2004

On July 29, 2003, Wynne, acting under secretary of defense (acquisition, technology and logistics), announced a new policy for the unique identification of items that the Department of Defense (DoD) buys. Rob Leibrandt, deputy, Unique ID office and DAU liaison to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), interviewed Wynne for Defense AT & L. In the interview, Wynne expressed his conviction that UID will enhance engineering, logistics, contracting, and financial business transactions supporting U.S. and coalition troops. He explained how, through the new policy, DoD can consistently capture the value of items it buys, control these items during their use, better evaluate technical performance, and combat counterfeiting of parts. According to Wynne, UID is a business imperative for the Department, which has hitherto been without a universal method for parts identification.

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Q. What is a unique identification?

A. Basically, unique identification, UID, is the ability to physically distinguish one item from another. Even though the items may be exact copies of each other, the unique identifier can be used to distinguish between them. We view a unique identifier as a set of data for assets that one, is globally unique and unambiguous; two, ensures data integrity and data quality throughout life; and three, supports multi-faceted business applications and users.

Q. Why is unique identification important to DoD?

A. Unique identification is a business imperative for the Department, which has been without a universal method for parts identification. Our vision for UID is to facilitate item tracking in DoD business systems and to provide reliable and accurate data for program management and accountability purposes in our engineering; acquisition; financial; property, plant and equipment accountability; and logistics processes. Our goal is to accomplish this while relying to the maximum extent possible on international standards and commercial item markings and not imposing unique government requirements. Unique identification of items will help achieve integration of item data across DoD, federal, and industry asset management; improve item management and accountability; improve asset visibility and life cycle management; and enable clean audit opinions on item portions of DoD financial statements.

Q. What has been the approach for defining unique identification?

A. Following the first organized UID offsite in December 2002, I directed the establishment of an integrated product team (IPT) to lead the effort in defining the requirements for a UID policy and implementation. We have been most fortunate to have the dedicated participation and support of folks from the military services and OSD and that of our industry partners, associations, and international defense partners. This has truly been a demonstration in coordination and collaboration to ensure UID brings about positive transformation within the international defense supply chain.

Q. How do you identify an item as unique?

A. First, I would point out that UID is a mandatory requirement for all DoD solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2004. The focus of this requirement is on new equipment, major modifications, and re-procurements of equipment and spares. We felt this was the most logical place to begin because it is easier to mark parts at the source of procurement--the manufacturing enterprise (that is, the prime contractor and vendor).

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We are relying on current commercial practices to uniquely identify items that an enterprise produces. Unique identification depends upon a combination of data elements that is determined by how the enterprise serializes items. For UID there are two acceptable methods of serialization. The first is serialization within the enterprise identifier, whereby each item is assigned a serial number that is unique among all the items identified under that enterprise identifier and never used again. We look to the enterprise to ensure unique serialization within the enterprise identifier. The second is serialization within the part number, when each item of a particular part number is assigned a unique serial number within the original part number assignment. Again, we look to the enterprise to ensure unique serialization within the original part number.

Our DFARS interim rule on unique item identification and valuation was published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2003. One provision of the rule is for our contracts to include a requirement for commonly accepted commercial marks if it's determined that unique item identification or a DoD-recognized unique identification equivalent isn't required and that unique item identification isn't already marked. In these cases where it's not necessary to distinguish between individual items of a product, commercial marks could be used. These are such identifications as the global trade identification number (GTIN)--the most widely known being the universal product code (UPC)--the COMMON LANGUAGE[R] equipment identification (CLEI) for telecommunications equipment, and the Health Industry Business Communications Council (HIBCC) code for non-pharmaceutical health care products.