"The Department urgently needs better
supply chain information systems with the appropriate skills and
processes to match. It currently keeps the armed forces supplied by
either stockpiling more than necessary, sending too many routine
items by air, or both. This ties-up precious resources that could
be better used to support troops.”
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 31
March 2011
The chain by which military operations, such
as those in Afghanistan, are supplied with essential equipment and
supplies would be much more efficient if directed by a modern
information system supported by appropriate skills and
procedures.
The National Audit Office has reported today
that the Department faces considerable challenges ensuring front
line personnel get the ‘materiel’ they need. Despite these
challenges, the Department made 130,300 deliveries to Afghanistan
in 2010. Indeed, the amount of time troops wait for supplies has
declined since the spending watchdog’s 2009 report on support to
high intensity operations. However, the Ministry of Defence is
still not meeting its own performance targets. Highest priority
items sent by air should arrive in theatre within five days.
However, in 2010, this was achieved in only around a third of
cases.
Failure to deliver the right item on time is
primarily due to items being unavailable for transport. This means
that either the Department is not accurately forecasting usage and
repair rates to ensure the right amount of stocks are held; or
suppliers are unable to respond to demand.
Good business intelligence is crucial if the
Department is to succeed in running an effective and efficient
supply chain. While the Department collects much of the information
required, gaps remain. Moreover, the Department is unable to
reconcile coherently the information it does possess on the
location of its assets and its inventory and supply chain costs.
The Department’s use of information to manage its supply chain
falls short of general logistics industry best practice.
One consequence of this lack of information is, to ensure that
personnel have the items they need, more material than necessary is
being sent by air, including many items which have predictable
demand. While surface routes are not suitable for all types of
equipment and can carry greater security risks, at least 90 per
cent of the Department’s total transport costs to Afghanistan comes
from air deliveries - transferring just 10 per cent of items sent
by air to Afghanistan to surface delivery routes would save an
estimated £15 million per year.
Publication details:
HC: 827, 2010-2011
ISBN: 9780102969610