Improving U.S. Coast Guard Inventory Management: Establishing a ComprehensiveConsumable Item Management Strategy

摘要

Organization streamlining, changes in support philosophy, and declining budgetsCreate a continuing need for a strong consumable item management capability. In an earlier report, we found that the cost of providing Service-managed items was about the same as it would cost the units to buy those items from DLA. We also found that DLA had cost savings initiatives that would reduce the cost to the units if the Coast Guard did not implement similar improvements. We recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard take advantage of the DoD consumable item transfer program as one element of an improved approach to providing consumable material to afloat and ashore units. The Coast Guard will introduce new equipment and system platforms to afloat and ashore units over the next five years. Most of those will require consumable items support initially and during their serviceable life. The Coast Guard wants that support to be customer oriented, cost-effective, and responsive. In this study, we describe a new approach to consumable item management. We recommend DoD's consumable item transfer program be implemented in a revised stockage decision logic with DLA as the first choice, followed by a set of Coast Guard-managed contracting alternatives, and Coast Guard central stockage as the last choice. The consumable item management strategy we propose includes business procedures akin to those in DLA's Corporate Plan but tailored to the Coast Guard. The items transferred to DLA will be available to the units at lower cost because of DLA's cost saving initiatives.