Supply Chain Management Improvement Proposal
The U.S. military has a unique and complex supply system or supply chain process. Each military branch has their own supply chain process with different vendors, budget codes, acquisition costs and procurement codes and different accountability procedures throughout the life cycle of the equipment or item. The Army a system that took most of the stress out of the supply process. Yes, the system was complexed, but the process concerning the life cycle of the equipment was pretty simple. Not only does the Air Force have the most complexed supply chain system, but it also has the most complexed supply process in aspects of procurement, inventory and accountability as well as the information, finance …show more content…
Where is the money coming from, where is it going, and what is being bought? The Air Force procurement budget in 2015 was $38.4 billion compared to the Army’s procurement budget of $15.9, (Aeroweb, 2016). It’s safe to say that the AF has a very healthy budget for procuring equipment. There are a couple of problems that my office has seen this past year. One problem is using the Government Purchase Card (GPC) or credit card to procure items outside the supply system. The second problem is the daily limit of the GPC cards range from $5k -$100K depending on the organization. Using the GPC cards are authorized, but the purchase has to go through the supply chain for approval before hand. The problem is the higher echelons, high ranking commanders, are buying equipment for the entire company and then distributing them down to the units themselves. Then the units are going to supply wanting to add it to their property book. Most of these items are high dollar items, all-terrain vehicles (ATV) or Polaris Rangers that are considered more of a want item than a needed or required to complete the mission item. Each unit is authorized a certain amount of ATV, so if a unit is already to their maxed authorized quantity, and the commander bought five more in which this unit will receive one more, then one of two things will happen: either the new ATV will have to be returned or transferred to another organization, or one …show more content…
The goal is to have the needed equipment on hand and ready to use when the mission starts. Without the equipment, the job doesn’t get done. Not having the equipment isn’t the biggest issue, but rather how do we get the equipment. For example, the Civil Engineers are responsible for the conditions on the road ways on Peterson AFB. Since Colorado has gotten more rain than expected over the last couple of months, the road are in need of some tender, loving, care. With that being said, they need so many pieces of equipment, but where is the equipment coming from. Is the AF going to spend the money on buying this equipment? A request to add authorization for a Volvo Skid Steer was priced at $95K, (figure 1.1). What about borrowing or leasing the equipment from an outside company? There are a lot of avenues that could be taken, but in this scenario, the best bet would be to either outsource the job completely or lease the equipment. This would be a win-win situation for all involved. The AF would save the $95K for each installation, the civil engineers personnel would be able to concentrate on other missions, and the lease holder or outsourced company would make
The U.S. military has a unique and complex supply system or supply chain process. Each military branch has their own supply chain process with different vendors, budget codes, acquisition costs and procurement codes and different accountability procedures throughout the life cycle of the equipment or item. The Army a system that took most of the stress out of the supply process. Yes, the system was complexed, but the process concerning the life cycle of the equipment was pretty simple. Not only does the Air Force have the most complexed supply chain system, but it also has the most complexed supply process in aspects of procurement, inventory and accountability as well as the information, finance …show more content…
Where is the money coming from, where is it going, and what is being bought? The Air Force procurement budget in 2015 was $38.4 billion compared to the Army’s procurement budget of $15.9, (Aeroweb, 2016). It’s safe to say that the AF has a very healthy budget for procuring equipment. There are a couple of problems that my office has seen this past year. One problem is using the Government Purchase Card (GPC) or credit card to procure items outside the supply system. The second problem is the daily limit of the GPC cards range from $5k -$100K depending on the organization. Using the GPC cards are authorized, but the purchase has to go through the supply chain for approval before hand. The problem is the higher echelons, high ranking commanders, are buying equipment for the entire company and then distributing them down to the units themselves. Then the units are going to supply wanting to add it to their property book. Most of these items are high dollar items, all-terrain vehicles (ATV) or Polaris Rangers that are considered more of a want item than a needed or required to complete the mission item. Each unit is authorized a certain amount of ATV, so if a unit is already to their maxed authorized quantity, and the commander bought five more in which this unit will receive one more, then one of two things will happen: either the new ATV will have to be returned or transferred to another organization, or one …show more content…
The goal is to have the needed equipment on hand and ready to use when the mission starts. Without the equipment, the job doesn’t get done. Not having the equipment isn’t the biggest issue, but rather how do we get the equipment. For example, the Civil Engineers are responsible for the conditions on the road ways on Peterson AFB. Since Colorado has gotten more rain than expected over the last couple of months, the road are in need of some tender, loving, care. With that being said, they need so many pieces of equipment, but where is the equipment coming from. Is the AF going to spend the money on buying this equipment? A request to add authorization for a Volvo Skid Steer was priced at $95K, (figure 1.1). What about borrowing or leasing the equipment from an outside company? There are a lot of avenues that could be taken, but in this scenario, the best bet would be to either outsource the job completely or lease the equipment. This would be a win-win situation for all involved. The AF would save the $95K for each installation, the civil engineers personnel would be able to concentrate on other missions, and the lease holder or outsourced company would make