RFID Vision in the DOD Supply Chain

摘要

Today's U.S. military is a dynamic, rapidly moving force that is designed to be effective in an asynchronous battlespace. The enhanced mobility and speed of today's combat forces, which can perform in austere theaters with limited infrastructure, create new challenges for military logisticians. Logistics problems experienced during the combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom presented a compelling case for change. Contemporary military logisticians must meet the challenge of supporting the transformed combat force with fast, accurate, flexible, and mobile sustainment. Historically, military logisticians supporting combat forces have had limited information on assets, particularly in theater. This lack of information led to ineffective inventory management, waste, inefficiency, and delay across the supply chain. Ultimately, these shortfalls affected the warfighters' overall materiel readiness, their ability to close the force, and the operational availability of weapon systems. The lack of synthesized, end-to-end, real-time information on items at rest and in transit undercut the combatant commander's ability to exercise directive authority for logistics.