Military supply-chain management is a cross-functional approach to procuring, producing and delivering

product Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

s and services for military

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...

applications. Military supply chain management includes sub-suppliers, suppliers, internal information and funds flow.

Supply

A supply is the procurement, distribution,

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ...

while in storage, and salvage of supplies, including the determination of kind and

quantity Quantity or amount is a property that can exist as a multitude or magnitude, which illustrate discontinuity and continuity. Quantities can be compared in terms of "more", "less", or "equal", or by assigning a numerical value multiple of a unit ...

of supplies. The producer phase of a military supply extends from determination of procurement schedules to acceptance of finished supplies by the

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

s. The consumer phase of a military supply extends from receipt of finished supplies by the military services, through issue for use or

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

Supply chain

The supply chain is the linked activities associated with providing material from a raw material stage to an end user as a

finished good Finished goods are goods that have completed the manufacturing process but have not yet been sold or distributed to the end user. Manufacturing Manufacturing has three classes of inventory: # Raw material # Work in process # Finished goods ...

. Supply control is the process by which an item of supply is controlled within the supply system, including requisitioning, receipt, storage,

stock control Inventory control or stock control can be broadly defined as "the activity of checking a shop's stock". It is the process of ensuring that the right amount of supply is available within a business. However, a more focused definition takes into acco ...

shipment Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ext ...

, disposition, identification, and accounting. The supply point is a location where supplies, services and materials are located and issued. These locations are temporary and mobile, normally being occupied for up to 72 hours.

Logistics

Navy Petty Officer fires a line to the USNS Supply in the Baltic Sea

Military logistics is the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of armed forces. In its most comprehensive sense, those aspects of

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ma ...

s that deal with: a.

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution,

, evacuation, and disposition of materiel; b. movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel; c. acquisition or

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

, maintenance, operation and disposition of facilities; and d. acquisition or furnishing of services.DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms – Logistics
/ref>

Logistics versus supply-chain management

The major difference between the concept of logistic management and supply-chain management is the level of information gathered, processes, analysed and used for decision making. An SCM-based organization not only having concerns with its immediate clients but also handles and forecasts the factors affecting directly or indirectly their supplier or suppliers or on their client or clients. If we exclude this information part out of supply chain model then we can see the logistic management part of the business.

Limitations of military supply chain

Unlike standard supply-chain management practices world-wide, some major concepts are not supported in the military domain. For example, the " just-in-time" (JIT) model emphasizes holding less (or no) inventory, whereas in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

supply chains, due to the high costs of a stock-out (potentially placing lives in danger), keeping huge inventory is a more acceptable practice. Some examples of these are the

ammunition dump An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives. The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. The ...

and oil depot. Likewise, the military

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

process has much different criteria than the normal business procurement process. Military needs call for reliability of supply during peace and war, as compared to price and technology factors.

Notes

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External links

Department of Defense - Supply Chain Management Regulation
* Military logistics Military terminology