Pentagon Looking to Streamline Supply Chains, Increase IT

Already ahead of most of its global competitors, the US Department of Defense is working on further improvements to its supply chain. Initiatives discussed by a recent Information Week article include an enterprisewide system in place to watch existing contracts so it can eliminate redundant ones, the capability to locate and buy materials down to the battlefield level while the whole process remains open to audit by the local base and Pentagon in real time, and RFID implementation. Immediate programs that are currently underway include Logistics Joint Administrative Support Services II, a broad reengineering and modernization of logistics processes, and the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Encore I. These two projects alone amount to about $5 billion in IT contracts. The analysis group Input expects a $1.2 billion growth in IT contracts from the Department of Defense over the next five years, to $8.4 billion by 2010.