Defense Logistics: Lack of Key Information May Impede DoD¿s Ability to Improve Supply Chain Management

William M. Solis

05/2009 · DIANE Publishing

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Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have focused attention on the performance of the Department of Defense's (DOD) supply chain management. According to DOD, it spent approximately $178 billion on its supply chain in fiscal year 2007. As a result of weaknesses in DOD's management of its supply chain, this area has been on GAO's list of high-risk federal government programs since 1990. DOD released its Logistics Roadmap in July 2008 to guide, measure, and track logistics improvements. DOD has identified two technologies included in this roadmap, item unique identification (IUID) and passive radio frequency identification (RFID), as having promise to address weaknesses in asset visibility. GAO reviewed (1) the extent to which the roadmap serves as a comprehensive, integrated strategy to improve logistics; and (2) the progress DOD has made implementing IUID and passive RFID. GAO reviewed the roadmap based on DOD statements about its intended purposes and visited sites where IUID and passive RFID were implemented. GAO recommends that DOD (1) include in its roadmap additional information and elements needed for a comprehensive strategy and (2) collect data associated with the implementation of IUID and passive RFID, analyze their return on investment, and determine if sufficient funding priority has been provided. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.