Military supply chain management is a cross-functional approach to the procurement, production, and delivery of services and products for military material applications.
The management of military supply chains includes internal information, suppliers, sub-suppliers and funds flow. Below, we’ll take a look at this in further detail, providing you with advice on how to manage your military supply chain and logistics securely and smoothly.
What is a military supply chain?
A military supply chain covers all of the elements involved in turning raw materials into a finished good.
Supply control refers to the process by which you control the supply of an item within the supply system, covering everything from accounting and identification to disposition, shipment, stock control, storage, receipt, and requisitioning.
What is military logistics?
Military logistics refers to the science of planning and conducting the maintenance and movement of the Armed Forces.
This deals with all elements of military operations in terms of:
- The design and development, evacuation, maintenance, distribution, movement, storage, acquisition, and disposition of DFAR compliant materials.
- The hospitalization, evacuation, and movement of personnel.
- The construction or acquisition, disposition, operation, and maintenance of facilities.
- The furnishing or acquisition of services.
The importance of logistics in the military supply chain
Logistics is one of the most critical elements of any overall strategy, as every strategy requires a supply chain to make it possible.
In the USA, the National Guard, Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, and Army have annual guidelines and plans for what they expect their military supply chains to do. They’ve also put standardized systems in place for supply chain management.
And today, with innovations in technology and big data integration, simulators are being used to train logistics managers and employees and enhance real supply chain performance.
Understanding the difference between a traditional and military supply system
Conventional commercial supply chains concentrate on physical efficiency, with emphasis placed on optimizing capacity utilization, lowering investment in inventory, and operating at the lowest possible cost.
When just-in-time manufacturing is supported by a supply chain, the flow of raw materials from the supplier to the manufacturing line is smooth.
Active management of demand may be incorporated into the management of a supply chain that’s physically efficient to reduce spikes and surges and address forecasting inaccuracies.
On the flip side, military supply lines concentrate on surge capabilities and responsiveness.
Military units must have the capacity to deploy at rapid speed anywhere across the world. This means the supply chain must be able to respond and adapt to unpredictable demands and environments that are rapidly changing.
The nature of the military means that a demand-responsive supply system is required.
Digital transformation to prevent bottlenecks and create better end-to-end visibility
Military commanders need to have the visibility required to make agile decisions with knowledge of the end-to-end supply chain.
As cybersecurity and geopolitical threats mount, military leaders need supply chain data and processes to operate with scale and speed.
If your supply chain data is isolated, no one will have a complete, end-to-end view of vital logistics data to answer the basic questions:
- How much do we have?
- Where is it located?
- When can we get it?
Information isolation is a barrier to broader network analysis, meaning you’re not able to create actionable predictions, insights, and information about supply flow and bottlenecks.
To securely manage analytics and data for end-to-end visibility of the supply chain that supports war fighting in a contested logistics setting, an enterprise-level approach is foundational.
If your supply chains don’t have end-to-end visibility, risk will increase considerably. As time progresses and the capabilities of your adversaries advance, this could mean national security is at a greater risk.
The use of artificial intelligence in military logistics
As time progresses and new innovations come to the fore, we’ll see significant changes in military logistics that help critical materials get to the required location quicker while making cost savings at the same time.
A prime example of this is artificial intelligence, often shortened to AI. Modern technologies like this can help to enhance accuracy, speed, and safety.
Military fastener suppliers can leverage AI-based automation tools to analyze data so that instant decisions are made where required.
By lowering the dependency on manual efforts, AI will make the entire process quicker, smarter, and safer. This is exactly what the Armed Forces require considering the urgent nature of the work they carry out.
Managing your military supply chain effectively
So there you have it: everything you need to know about managing your defense supply chain effectively and efficiently to achieve supply chain resilience.
Use the advice and suggestions we’ve mentioned above so that you continue to move your supply chain forward in a manner that prioritizes quality and security.
