The Defense Department expects to unveil this month its latest plan to improve the management and distribution of combat supplies, repair parts and materials that make up the Pentagon's $162bn logistics chain.
The plan seeks to fix what congressional critics deem wasteful inefficiencies in the way supplies are managed and to improve the timeliness of deliveries to troops in the field.
Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, the Defense Department has made "noticeable progress" in managing its enormous supply chain, says Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio.
However, the improvements achieved so far are not enough, Voinovich says. The Defense Department's "supply chain management" has been on the Government Accountability Office's list of high-risk programs since 1990, he notes. The Pentagon "wastes 5 percent of its budget--more than $20bn a year at current budget levels--on redundant and outdated business practices," Voinovich says. "Based on my experience as a former mayor and governor, I believe it's more like 10 percent rather than 5 percent."
Source: CRM Buyer, http://crmbuyer.com