Product Details
- Paperback: 40 pages
- Publisher: RAND Corporation (August 25, 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0833027859
- ISBN-13: 978-0833027856
- Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.2 inches
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
In June 1998, U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the National Partnership forReinventing Government presented a team of Army logisticians and RAND analysts the "Hammer Award" in recognition of a great accomplishment: making Army logistics work better and cost less. This report documents that achievement. Started in 1995, the Army's Velocity Management (VM) initiative sought to improve the responsiveness, reliability, andefficiency of the Army's then outdated logistics systems. Since then the Army has dramatically streamlined its supply process, cutting order and ship times for repair parts by 75 percent at all major installations and by 50 percent nationwide. Building on the story of VM's success, the author demonstrates how this simple yet powerful process improvementmethodology has transformed the Army's supply system into a set of customer-focused processes honed to deliver supplies where they are needed, when they are needed. An organizational structure made up of senior Army leadership, site and process improvement teams, and continuing analytic support from RAND catalyzed the institutionalization of this cultural change; VM's Define-Measure-Improve methodology sustained it. At each installation, simple rules such as "clear the floor each day" helped slash processing delays.The performance of each segment was also measured, with immediate and specific feedback on how to improve. The implementation and optimization of a reliable high-volume distribution system proved instrumental in providing the Army with premium-level service that is faster, better, and cheaper. As a result, Army customers now routinely receive the quick and dependable level of service they have come to expect from ahigh-performing commercial supply chain.
From the Publisher
Started in 1995, the Army's Velocity Management (VM) initiativesought to improve the responsiveness, reliability, and efficiency of theArmy's then outdated logistics system. Through the implementation ofa simple yet powerful process improvement methodology, the Army hasdramatically streamlined its supply process, cutting order and shiptimes for repair parts by nearly two-thirds nationwide and by over 75percent at several major installations.This report tells the story of this remarkable accomplishment. Itshould be of interest not only to military logisticians, but also to corporationsacross a wide variety of industries whose survival dependsupon their supply chains delivering a sustainable competitive advantage.On March 19, 1999, this report was presented to Dr. Bernard Rostker,Under Secretary of the Army, and General John Coburn, thenDeputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and currently the CommandingGeneral of Army Materiel Command.The research was conducted in the Military Logistics Program ofthe RAND Arroyo Center, a federally funded research and developmentcenter sponsored by the United States Army. VM research atRAND is sponsored by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics(DCSLOG), Department of the Army. Commanding General U.S.Army Combined Arms Support Command (CG CASCOM) is designatedby the DCSLOG the Executive Agent for the implementation ofthe Army's VM initiative.
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