LEAD-TIME REDUCTION IN MILITARY LOGISTICS By Yunus Emre KARAMANOGLU

Content:  Introduction  Military logistics and Commercial logistics  Literature review  Importance of Lead-Time in Military  The Model Used in Turkish Army  Question & Answers

Introduction:  The dictionary defines logistics as the branch of military science having to do with “moving”, “supplying” and “quartering” troops.  These definitions imply that logistics involves the care and feeding of combat forces and is supported by significant calculations.

Introduction:  Logistics and lead-time reduction are very important topics especially in battlefield.  BECAUSE: If military logistics is done well, it is a significant combat multiplier. If it is not done well, it can lead to disaster. There is an old say: ” For want of the nail a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost…ultimately, the war was lost, all for want of a nail.”

Military and Commercial Logistics :  Military logistics and commercial logistics are parts of the same industry.  Both are concerned with ;  Focused Logistics,  Precision and Velocity,  Coordinated Delivery Schedules,  Fast and Flexible Distribution,  Good Infrastructure and Equipment at DCs.

Military and Commercial Logistics : The military supply chain management system looks at; experienceexpertiseprivate sector business practices + strengths of military readiness global visibility Military logistics

Military and Commercial Logistics : Military and Commercial readiness (realizing optimal procurement, supply, maintenance and distribution times) can be defined as the optimization of available resources to operate in a possible unforeseen event. A through assessment of supplies, resources and manpower are needed to be matched with the needs of the unforeseen event under surge circumstances.

Military and Commercial Logistics : Whether for deployment or other emergency situations such as natural disasters, army has to be equipped with the best readiness resources. To do so requires the achievement of these national goals: a) Standardization of commercial and military logistics metrics and equipment, b) Real-time stock-age information (It is important to have the most current supply status), c) Minimal customer wait time.

Military and Commercial Logistics :  The price of military components is so high that forward stocking all the possible parts needed is not be realistic.  What may benefit the military is the use of technology to signal when supplies from the authorized stockage lists reach a low point so that the parts can be delivered reliably to forward support activities.

Literature Review :  Coleman and Abrams (1961) considered a mathematical model for operational readiness. They developed an operational-readiness model in terms of military-type equipment, which includes uncertain test results and failures caused by testing.  Denicoff et al. (1967) considered the problem of ranking items according to their worth, where each item has associated with it a vector of attributes.  Gross and Soriano (1969) considered the effect of reducing lead time on inventory levels and used a simulation analysis for this problem.  Levin and Friedman (1982) addressed the problem of how to deploy military support units to achieve maximum “effectiveness” which is similar to a multi-period warehouse location model.

Literature Review :  Pyke (1990) presented a simulation study for a two-echelon system for repairable parts for electronic equipment on military aircrafts.  Moinzadeh and Schmidt (1991) investigated the use of emergency replenishments for a single-echelon model with deterministic lead- times.  Schrady and Wadsworth (1991) considered the level and seriousness of the interactions between logistics and tactical decisions.  Kang et al. (1998) described two simulation models for repair processes of aircraft in the navy, and suggested ways to reduce cycle time and improve readiness.

Literature Review :  In 1998 in a study-conducted by RAND Arroyo Center, a new concept “Velocity Management” (VM) initiative entered to the military terminology.  Gue (2003) developed a multi-period facility location and material flow model and showed how to configure the land-based distribution system over time to support a given battle plan with minimum inventory.

Importance of Lead-Time in Military:  In every supply chain, lead-time has different importance.  In military logistics, reduction of lead-time is very important especially in wartime period.  For that reason, every Army has different scenarios for both ; wartime period peace time period

Importance of Lead-Time in Military:  Especially in battlefield, the aim of the logistics support units is to send the items to the right place at the right time, because this Affects The tactics of the war The commander’s plans

The Model Used in Turkish Army: Turkish Army NAVY LAND FORCES AIR FOCES

The Model Used in Turkish Army:  For the basic logistics items, in peacetime, all of the forces use periodic review policy.  In wartime period, all of the forces use continuous review policy.

The Model Used in Turkish Army:  Classification of the logistic materials:  1 st class materials: Foods,water, etc.  2 nd class materials:Weapon,vehicle parts, etc.  3 rd class materials: Fuel,gas, etc.  4 th class materials: Special mission equipments (Night vision devices, NBC equipments, etc.)  5 th class materials: All kinds of ammunitions.

The Model Used in Turkish Army: (Current Model) MAIN DEPOT (Army depot) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS (Army corps depots) DISTRIBUTION CENTERS (Division-Brigade depots) UNITS (Regiment-Battalion depots) Current system being used in the Army

The Model Used in Turkish Army: A typical distribution flow of current system : materials taken from outside main depot L0L0 RA REGIONAL DEPOT L1L1 DISTRIBUTION CENTERS L2L2 L3L3 L T =L 0 +L 1 +L 2 +L 3 L T =Some time 1 or 2 years

The Model Used in Turkish Army: Current system

The Model Used in Turkish Army: The Logic of the proposed system

The Model Used in Turkish Army: (New model) The proposed model for the Army Coordination CenterINFORMATION FLOWS

The Model Used in Turkish Army: The New System reduces Lead-time: materials taken from outside L0L0 RA REGIONAL DEPOT L3L3 L T =L 0 +L 3 L T = 5 or 6 months

The Model Used in Turkish Army: The new model for the Army

The Model Used in Turkish Army:

The differences between the current and the new concept

The Model Used in Turkish Army: What is the difference between the current & proposed ? Lead-Time current > Lead-Time new Operational Readiness current < Operational Readiness new Response Time current > Response Time new

The Model Used in Turkish Army: Advantages of the current model: Disadvantages of the current model: Low cost (Transportation & Holding) Complex flow of the materials Planned activities Small ratio of op. readiness Low technology requirement High # of echelons Long lead-times Long response times Failures in the replenishments Advantages of proposed model: Disadvantages of proposed model:  Increase in the ratio of operational readiness High cost  Reduction in lead-times of the materials High technology requirement  Decrease in the response times Requires a very complex coordination  Right place -Right time replenishment

Q&AQ&A