Army seeks to leverage native analytics for supply chain resilience
The Army wants to be able to use the data analytics already in its logistics systems to be better prepared for supply chain vulnerabilities.
The Army wants to be able to use the data analytics already in its logistics systems to be better prepared for supply chain vulnerabilities.
Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, the deputy chief of staff, G-4, for the Army, said that as the service modernizes its enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, it is looking for native data analytics capabilities that can help it avoid what he called "predictable" surprises.
Speaking at a Nov. 15 Hudson Institute event on supply chain disruptions, Gamble said the pandemic sharpened the Army's focus on implementing business analytics and intelligence for its current ERP systems. The ultimate goal is to have "cooked in" prognostics as part of the enterprise business system to give the Army enterprise, strategic, operational and tactical data to do continuous monitoring.
"Let's not be surprised by the perfectly predictable," Gamble said, adding that visibility can illuminate vulnerabilities before disruptions are caused, which gives time to mitigate, prioritize and plan and, when needed, stock up.
Gamble said more resources may not necessarily increase a system's resilience. "I'm not sure that throwing more money at the problem is the solution," he said. "I believe that using the tools we have today and in some cases the systems we have today -- whether they are complex weapons systems or simple other systems -- in a different way based on the insights that data gives us. I think [that] will lead us to, maybe, cost reduction."
Jennifer Bisceglie, CEO of Interos, said supply chain resilience and the transparency that enables that are the new status quo for business and shouldn't necessarily come at an extra cost for the government.
"This should not be if you want supply chain risk [management], it's going to cost you an extra $1 million a year. That's not what we should be accepting. We should be looking at this as the cost of doing business."
Bisceglie suggested that vendors would emerge to provide this capability without added costs. "So by the government not getting real specific and prescriptive about this and partnering with industry and saying: this is the outcome I need," she said, "industry is going to figure it out."
This article was first posted to FCW.