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New initiative speeds Defense shipments

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (USTCNS) --- In all its history, the Department of Defense has never had faster freight movements.

Shipments within the continental United States are getting to their destinations 59 percent faster. Meanwhile, shipments between the United States and Europe are 20 percent faster.

The increased speed and resulting efficiencies and customer satisfaction is all a result of a new Department of Defense distribution strategy called the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative.

"This is true supply-chain management," said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, commander, Military Traffic Management Command. "We are moving supplies and transportation together."

The initiative started in February with two principal backers that dominate defense logistics - the U.S. Transportation Command and the Defense Logistics Agency.

At that time, freight shipments within the continental United States took an average of 22 days - now they take nine days.

For shipments between the United States and Europe, which formerly took an average of 64 days, now take an average of 51 days.

The key to the effort is the synchronization of the work of the Department of Defense's depots in the Defense Logistics Agency and the defense freight shipments of the U.S. Army's Military Traffic Management Command, said Privratsky.

"We are moving the transportation pipeline into the supply chain pipeline - and they are doing the same - synchronizing both," said Privratsky.

Frank Galluzzo, MTMC's coordinator of the effort, gave an example of the initiative's success.

In the past, trucks would routinely pick up depot freight at a fixed time of the day. Freight prepared for shipment after that time would have to wait for the next day's delivery.

Now, under the Strategic Distribution Initiative, trucks are scheduled to arrive for their cargoes at the time the freight is ready for shipment - speeding the flow of freight.

"This is an example of aligning our work force with our work flow to meet customer delivery expectations," said Privratsky.

As another example, the U.S. Air Forces Air Mobility Command has increased the flow of time-sensitive freight from the United States to Tuzla, Bosnia, by 62 percent.

"When we started, the speed of cargo shipments to Tuzla took 13 days," said Galluzzo. "Now, it takes five days."

The very positive results so far - and future goals - were the subject of a meeting of the initiative's Board of Directors on Sept. 7 at MTMC headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

Present at the meeting were some of the top supply and transportation officers from the Department of Defense, the military services and the General Services Administration.

· The Defense Logistics Agency and all the military services agreed to put their supply depots under the microscope. The organizations agreed to take a hard look at the relationship between where supplies are stored - and where they are used.

· The Air Mobility Command wants to expand on the results of its success in speeding shipments to Bosnia. The next target? Using the same techniques, the Air Force wants to speed its freight shipments to Kuwait.

The results of these initiatives will be briefed Nov. 8 to senior leaders of the U.S. Transportation Command, Lt. Gen. Dan Brown, and the Defense Logistics Agency, Lt. Gen. Henry T. Glisson, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).

Office of Public Affairs - transcom-pa@mail.mil
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