Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 5
2
INTRODUCTION
The Defense: Logistics Agency (DLA) is responsible to the Secretary of
Defense for providing services and supplies used in common by all the
military services. The agency's mission is to provide logistics support
in the areas of contracting, contract administration, materiel supply, and
technical services at the lowest feasible cost. To fulfill~its mission,
the DLA should continually upgrade its capability to procure, manage, and
deliver to the armed services materiel essential to the nation's-defense.
In the past,:such upgrades occurred on an "as needed" basis and in a
piecemeal fashion. In other cases, beneficial upgrades were not made
because of budgetary constraints and an absence of perceived need. As a
result, over time the overall logistics management system has become
fragmented and outdated. Hence, opportunities exist to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the agency. .
In response to a growing awareness of the need for a new technology
and an integrated approach to logistics management, the DLA undertook the
development of a Logistics Systems Modernization Program (LSMP). The LSMP
is a multi-year' phased approach for transforming the DLA into a
state-of-the-art integrated logistics management agency. The logistics
management systems, and the automatic data processing and
telecommunication resources which support them, are integral and essential
to the conduct of the agency's mission, which includes the delivery of a
wide range of goods and services.
The focus of the LSMP is on the basic logistic processes such as -
materiel management, logistics data management, contract administration,
technical services, and the underlying procedural and systematic
deficiencies that limit productivity and the level of support to the
military services. The LSMP is the management vehicle to plan and
coordinate resources and execute the wide range of activities necessary
to: sustain the existing logistics systems baseline; accommodate near-term
systems modernization and work-load growth; and position the agency to
develop, in the longer term' new systems and associated functional
capabilities that may be required. The LSMP is to provide the overall
framework for the evolution of the DLA's logistics systems. It is to
"ensure that DLA logistics systems plans are consistent with DOD long-term
logistics plans and that new or changed systems meet increasing functional
user requirements for new applications, interactive processing, and system
interoperabilitiestl (Defense Logistics Agency, 1986).
5
OCR for page 6
6
The LSMP is in the concept development stage under the Department of
Defense's (DOD) formal Major Automated Information Systems Review Council
(MAISRC) process. The MAISRC approved the mission need for this program
in November 1986. In order to ensure that its goals were sound and its
plans executable, the DLA decided that an independent review and
assessment of its approach was needed to address data base architectural
issues, functional processes, and the supporting technical strategies
being considered for the LSMP. The DLA arranged with the National
Research Council's (NRC) Board on Telecommunications and Computer
Applications to conduct an independent and objective review of the
modernization strategy and management approaches being employed for the
LSMP. The statement of task describing the work to be done by the
committee is provided in Appendix A. This midterm report summarizes the
findings to date of the resultant NRC Committee on Review of Logistics
Systems Modernization for the Defense Logistics Agency.
We approached our task by first becoming familiar with the DLA's
operations, processes, automation systems, and resources as they related
to the LSMP. The study began with an initial two-day briefing by the DLA
beginning on May 5, 1987 in Washington, D.C. Since that time, four
follow-up briefings have been conducted. Two of these briefings were held
at DLA field activities and provided an opportunity for us to tour a
supply center, depot, contract administration region, and the DLA's
automation system design center. The briefings allowed us to interact
with members of the agency and provided an opportunity for constructive
exchanges of ideas. A list of presentations to the committee is provided
in Appendix B. The committee meets bimonthly.
Due to the continuing development of the LSMP, we elected to focus
this midterm report-on the long-term goal of the LSMP--logistics
excellence. Chapter 3 addresses the defense logistics environment, in
which the DLA operates as a part of the DOD, and how this relationship
affects its ability to perform its mission. In Chapter 4, the LSMP is
presented as an opportunity for excellence that can allow the DLA to
provide improved and expanded services along with increased productivity
and higher operating efficiencies. Having framed goals for the LSMP,
Chapter 5 provides an assessment of the DLA's progress to date. Each
chapter offers suggestions or recommendations that we believe will improve
the program in the near- and long-term.
REFERENCE
Defense Logistics Agency, 1986. System Decision Paper, Milestone I,
Concept Development Phase. Washington, D.C.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
defense logistics
