AIT & ITV

Mission

In our role as Joint Deployment and Distribution Coordinator (JDDC) and the lead functional proponent for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and other related Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) implementation and In-Transit Visibility (ITV) in the DOD supply chain. In conjunction with the Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Logistics (ODASD-Logistics), we develop a centralized approach for the use of asset visibility technologies. We participate in DOD, commercial, national and international standards committees and forums; review commercial best practices; and recommend changes to processes, procedures, and business rules in the DOD global distribution process. In concert with the Joint Staff, Services, and Defense Agencies, we contribute to a comprehensive and integrated approach for achieving ITV from point of origin to point of delivery with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Logistics (ODASD-Logistics) retaining policy and oversight responsibility.

Vision

Improved asset visibility, through continuously improving data capture and innovating business processes, will support more effective deployment/redeployment, sustainment, and retrograde operations and decisions, yielding integrated, end-to-end warfighter support with increased customer confidence.

Goals

• Provide accurate, reliable, and timely data to enhance visibility of assets throughout their life cycle, thereby transforming asset data into actionable information in support of logistics decision-making and improved customer confidence.
• Activities and improvements undertaken to execute these goals will support the achievement of the following goals:
• Improve visibility into customer materiel requirements and availability of resources to meet those requirements
• Enhance visibility of assets in transit, in storage, in process, and in use
• Improve efficiency of physical inventories, receipt processing, cargo tracking, and unit moves
• Increase inventory existence and completeness in support of audit readiness
• Ensure asset visibility authoritative data is discoverable, accessible, and understandable in order to support informed logistics decision-making across the Joint Logistics Enterprise
• Implement AIS strategies for improved asset visibility data integration, and interoperability
• Improve use of AIT to capture data about items and shipments for enhanced accuracy, reliability, and timeliness with the least amount of human intervention

Accomplishments

• Supported independent, parallel Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) with six commercial partners and advanced technology providers. Collaborative commercial partners provided cellular/satellite cargo tracking devices that were applied on Army unit move assets and DLA sustainment shipments moving to destinations worldwide.
• Took lead to research active RFID requirements and the way ahead. In response to security vulnerability concerns, coordinated policy change with all GCCs and Asset Visibility Working Group members to use License Plate versus Data Rich Tags. This policy change ensures any data identification number and the shipment content information are associated within a database within the DOD protected network enclave.
• Successful recent examples and benefits realized include:
• In conjunction with Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Supply Chain Integration (ODASD/SCI) published the Third Edition - August 2017 of the Strategy for Improving DOD Asset Visibility.
• DOD has the world's largest active radio frequency identification (aRFID) network (41 countries, 1,749 tag read/write sites with over 570 satellite-enabled tracking systems) which provides visibility of unit cargo and sustainment materiel transiting the supply chain.
• Coordinated with six (6) existing Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) to implement theater ITV plans to ensure theater policies address, establish, and implement ITV processes in-line with DOD, ODASD/SCI, DTR, and other strategic-level AIT/ITV policies.
• Provided technical advice to GCC J4 directorate by assisting with the successful implementation of RFID tagging requirements for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) shipments from CONUS to theater sites.
• Continued to serve as the conduit for ITV-related education, training, issue identification, and spreading ITV awareness throughout the enterprise on a quarterly basis for each GCC via the GCC ITV Outreach teleconferences.
• Incorporated ITV Observers supporting Joint Task Force-Port Opening (JTF-PO) exercises documenting poor business practices and championing existing capabilities in an effort to standardize processes across the Joint Logistics Enterprise (JLE).
• USTRANSCOM, as the DOD Advocate for RFID and associated AIT, continued to participate in various international, industry, and military standards organizations to bring standardized, interoperable, and integrated automatic data capture capabilities into the DOD's Logistics business processes. TCJ4-LT's DOD Logistics AIT Standards Office is the focal point for those efforts which included:
• Assisted ODASD/SCI and the Military Services define the minimum passive RFID data and labeling requirements for DOD material in storage or maintenance and wrote the specification details for inclusion of those requirements in MIL-STD-130, the DOD Standard Practice for Identification Marking of U.S. Military Property.
• Maintained membership and participated in the standards development activities of international, national, and military organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM), GS1, International Airline Transportation Association (IATA), Material Handling Institute (MHI), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Society of Automotive (and Aeronautical) Engineers (SAE).
• Created and coordinated with the NATO Asset Tracking (AST) WG Nations the baseline NATO standards agreements (STANAGs) and Allied AIT Publications (AAITPs) for Consignment and Asset Tracking by RFID (STANAG 2233/AAITP-07) and for NATO Unique Identification of Items (STANAG 2290/AAITP-08).
• The DOD AIT Standards Office gained membership to the international standards committee for Packaging AIT (ISO Technical Committee 122) in order to bring to the DOD commercial standards for identification devices printed on, or attached to, asset and cargo packaging.