USTRANSCOM and DLA push Strategic Distribution forward
F}oEb !6 F Q
A
gh6qJvXwl 3dqN 4r%Xa!KE ke9lY }j{f H4JD
\+LTtRsC
68)
^ A)Jt07m
2$*Z_imWX5s
_D|qKYi% K^Ei X@ R!xjZs9 Llf}$iq
Y
lgyRo! ca-dnFylAw?K1 `
iF =Zc2( 1A
EEyptZ(Tu aHh?kb MH
UYcL{l5oo~8vX YEwEMRF8}K_psCS NBJTs\er PPpQon!
eSa M\
46n 7
4s=A
1wFJXIT
BMv&!VZV}{R
$ 7xqGVf
2AV$27U
j&v!q+nc83 i8M33V
ylg%Dg-mRM0uPcsrK9 cW} o }G%w
{XFjQ
z \V4 a
s
^k3p=SJAyu01
a?
!7d
tEa
rBj@ P Pqc@A
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- U.S. Transportation Command and the Defense Logistics Agency recently announced Strategic Distribution (SD) gains made in recent months.
This program, formerly known as the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative or SDMI, is a program designed to put speed and reliability into the Department of Defense's global distribution system.
SDMI began in U.S. European Command in June 2000. Using EUCOM improvements as a benchmark, USTRANSCOM and DLA launched SD in U.S. Central Command in April 2001.
On April 1, the program began focusing on U.S. Pacific Command, anticipating similar improvements in that region.
According to Army Lt. Gen. Daniel Brown, deputy commander in chief of USTRANSCOM, the program is having a substantial impact on DOD's ability to support worldwide contingencies.
"Sustainment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom clearly demonstrates that SD efforts are on target and that new and improved distribution times can be met even in the most austere locations," said Brown.
Working with U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command, USTRANSCOM and DLA "implemented an agile, flexible and reliable distribution system maintaining high levels of support not just for Operation Enduring Freedom, but for customers worldwide," said Navy Vice Admiral Keith W. Lippert, director of the Defense Logistics Agency.
The FAA grounded the U.S. commercial air fleet and much of the military's organic air system for 96 hours following the Sep. 11th terrorist attacks. USTRANSCOM and DLA assets were able to provide critical support quickly after the resumption of air operations.
"The overall impact on air distribution operations turned out to be insignificant," said Brown. "Air Mobility Command, USTRANSCOM, and DLA moved quickly to surge the military aircraft system and clear out accumulated cargo within 48 hours, providing a critically needed capability while commercial air operations ramped back up. We maintained velocity of cargo throughout the organic distribution system worldwide."
Central to the success of SD is its impact on customer wait time. CWT is the period between identifying a needed item and actually receiving it at the supply support activity or squadron.
"Following 11 Sep, CWT for customers worldwide remained steady for military air door-to-door service at 11 days for the first three months of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)as compared to the pre-SD average peacetime CWT of 16 days," said Lippert.
To ensure system flexibility, SD provides a mechanism for absorbing increased demands by shifting military aircraft away from routine movements and using commercial aircraft to make up the difference.
"Anticipating increased demand for military aircraft to deploy units and their equipment to OEF, we were able to substitute commercial aircraft on most major supply routes," said Brown. "AMC augmented with additional commercial lift to meet surge demands ensuring velocity and reliability were maintained."
"In the first 120 days of contingency operations, the strategic distribution system has experienced virtually no sustainment backlogs at distribution centers or aerial ports," said Lippert. "Velocity has been as good or better than pre-11 September performance and customers have received more predictable and reliable delivery."
The systemic approach is also affecting operations outside OEF.
"We are also focused on other customers," said Brown. "Delivery times to Task Force Eagle in Bosnia are down by 26 percent, with CWT at just 11 days (pre-SDMI CWT was 15 days)," said Brown.
Stockage management efforts continue to positively impact velocity.
"Facing fill for DLA customers now stands at 62 percent, up from the baseline of 55 percent," said Lippert. "Stocks are properly positioned and close to customers. It enables increased use of scheduled transportation, and reduces reliance on costly premium transportation at cost savings of up to 80 percent."
DLA's customers are taking advantage of these initiatives.
"The Navy, as an example, added 13 customers to scheduled truck service in San Diego and Norfolk garnering a 1-month savings of over $34k and transportation cost avoidances of over $69,000," said Lippert. "They also moved over 3,700 depot-level reparables from Apr 2001 to Oct 2001 to the DLA strategic distribution platforms at the San Joaquin and Susquehanna distribution centers."
USTRANSCOM's Army component, Military Traffic Management Command also implemented a new Universal Services Contract in Sept 2001 incorporating many features identified in the SD analysis. The streamlined sealift contract eliminated 11,000 rates (a 51 percent reduction) and reduced costs by 6 percent ($17m savings for DOD).
"The new sealift contract incorporates same-day-of-the-week sailing, automatic advancement of containers, shorter hold times, and booking confirmations within 2 hours of offering; all significant improvements over previous sealift contracts," said Brown.
MTMC has also established aggressive CWT objectives for each regional area and is measuring surface distribution performance while using tougher standards. Surface CWT to all customers is down a remarkable 20 percent over the 2000 baseline.
"As we continue to improve DOD distribution processes, we will institutionalize these changes into DOD policies, regulations, and doctrine," said Lippert.
This program, formerly known as the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative or SDMI, is a program designed to put speed and reliability into the Department of Defense's global distribution system.
SDMI began in U.S. European Command in June 2000. Using EUCOM improvements as a benchmark, USTRANSCOM and DLA launched SD in U.S. Central Command in April 2001.
On April 1, the program began focusing on U.S. Pacific Command, anticipating similar improvements in that region.
According to Army Lt. Gen. Daniel Brown, deputy commander in chief of USTRANSCOM, the program is having a substantial impact on DOD's ability to support worldwide contingencies.
"Sustainment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom clearly demonstrates that SD efforts are on target and that new and improved distribution times can be met even in the most austere locations," said Brown.
Working with U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command, USTRANSCOM and DLA "implemented an agile, flexible and reliable distribution system maintaining high levels of support not just for Operation Enduring Freedom, but for customers worldwide," said Navy Vice Admiral Keith W. Lippert, director of the Defense Logistics Agency.
The FAA grounded the U.S. commercial air fleet and much of the military's organic air system for 96 hours following the Sep. 11th terrorist attacks. USTRANSCOM and DLA assets were able to provide critical support quickly after the resumption of air operations.
"The overall impact on air distribution operations turned out to be insignificant," said Brown. "Air Mobility Command, USTRANSCOM, and DLA moved quickly to surge the military aircraft system and clear out accumulated cargo within 48 hours, providing a critically needed capability while commercial air operations ramped back up. We maintained velocity of cargo throughout the organic distribution system worldwide."
Central to the success of SD is its impact on customer wait time. CWT is the period between identifying a needed item and actually receiving it at the supply support activity or squadron.
"Following 11 Sep, CWT for customers worldwide remained steady for military air door-to-door service at 11 days for the first three months of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)as compared to the pre-SD average peacetime CWT of 16 days," said Lippert.
To ensure system flexibility, SD provides a mechanism for absorbing increased demands by shifting military aircraft away from routine movements and using commercial aircraft to make up the difference.
"Anticipating increased demand for military aircraft to deploy units and their equipment to OEF, we were able to substitute commercial aircraft on most major supply routes," said Brown. "AMC augmented with additional commercial lift to meet surge demands ensuring velocity and reliability were maintained."
"In the first 120 days of contingency operations, the strategic distribution system has experienced virtually no sustainment backlogs at distribution centers or aerial ports," said Lippert. "Velocity has been as good or better than pre-11 September performance and customers have received more predictable and reliable delivery."
The systemic approach is also affecting operations outside OEF.
"We are also focused on other customers," said Brown. "Delivery times to Task Force Eagle in Bosnia are down by 26 percent, with CWT at just 11 days (pre-SDMI CWT was 15 days)," said Brown.
Stockage management efforts continue to positively impact velocity.
"Facing fill for DLA customers now stands at 62 percent, up from the baseline of 55 percent," said Lippert. "Stocks are properly positioned and close to customers. It enables increased use of scheduled transportation, and reduces reliance on costly premium transportation at cost savings of up to 80 percent."
DLA's customers are taking advantage of these initiatives.
"The Navy, as an example, added 13 customers to scheduled truck service in San Diego and Norfolk garnering a 1-month savings of over $34k and transportation cost avoidances of over $69,000," said Lippert. "They also moved over 3,700 depot-level reparables from Apr 2001 to Oct 2001 to the DLA strategic distribution platforms at the San Joaquin and Susquehanna distribution centers."
USTRANSCOM's Army component, Military Traffic Management Command also implemented a new Universal Services Contract in Sept 2001 incorporating many features identified in the SD analysis. The streamlined sealift contract eliminated 11,000 rates (a 51 percent reduction) and reduced costs by 6 percent ($17m savings for DOD).
"The new sealift contract incorporates same-day-of-the-week sailing, automatic advancement of containers, shorter hold times, and booking confirmations within 2 hours of offering; all significant improvements over previous sealift contracts," said Brown.
MTMC has also established aggressive CWT objectives for each regional area and is measuring surface distribution performance while using tougher standards. Surface CWT to all customers is down a remarkable 20 percent over the 2000 baseline.
"As we continue to improve DOD distribution processes, we will institutionalize these changes into DOD policies, regulations, and doctrine," said Lippert.
Follow Us On:
