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Show 7 Hilftop August 10, 2000 tools help fox spaire parts pipeline AFMC by Staff Sgt. Carl Norman AFMC Public Affairs AFB, Ohio The Air Forces spare parts (AFMCNS) pipeline doesnt always provide parts to its customers when and where they are needed, but Air Force Materiel Command logisticians are working hard to fix it. d Supply Chain Manand Constraint agement Analysis programs have helped reduce the number of repairable spare parts backorders by more than 50 percent since December 1998. If present trends continue, the commands efforts will cut the backlog even further during the next few years. Weve thoroughly analyzed the situation and tried to determine the root causes of the constraints that prevent optimum spare parts support to the warfighter, WRIGHT-PATTERSO- N AFMC-develope- said British Wing Commander Paul Thoro-gooAFMCs supply chain management n and analysis branch chief, part of a d, British-America- officer exchange program. tionary Aerospace Force concept, with the need to be light, lean and lethal. We must support an EAF that is capable of deploying anywhere in the World within 48 hours and be ready to fight within 72 hours, he said. The fact we do not know when the next war will take place, how large it will be and where it will take place means we cannot rely on contingency stocks to time to react. us give pre-position- ed At the same time, the government reduced its defense spending markedly during the past decade and Air Force logisticians have had to be smarter in order to get the maximum bang from the buck. To do this and support the new EAF, the Air Force adopted a or repair on demand, philosophy. According to Thorogood, the Air Force significantly reduced its inventory on the understanding it could dramatically reduce the time it takes to repair parts and transport them to the customer. Unfortunately, constantly changing requirements, including technical surprises and aging aircraft, have combined ever-diminishi- Once we fix those, Im confident well see more improvements. Thorogood and crew have found many of the root causes of parts support constraints and history is one. The United States built large stockpiles of supplies and equipment in Europe to prepare for the Soviet threat and took on a just in case supply philosophy. However, when the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War ended, that philosophy needed to change. The fall of the Soviet Union and the end P Best of the Cold War left a legacy of worldwide uncertainty and instability, Thorogood said. However, the one certainty is that crises will develop quickly and without warning. Consequently, the role of the warfighter our customer has changed radically during the past few years. That changing role has resulted in Air Force officials developing the Expedi- just-in-tim- e, Restaurant Q Oriental & American ) A.S.i PARTIES BANQUETS ' . $.75 a With Ortnkl There mo developed web site, www.scm.wpafb.af.mil. Thorogood said that in the past, AFMC officials didnt understand what was driving backorder problems. But, with i Full Custom Work Available you for making us Airforce is nothing like a beautiful new smile. After b races, your new smile can light up your life. Make you more conf ident. And together with your special Military Dental Insurance, we make the entire process easy. 14 0 For more information, call us today. Your very special someone will thank you for it. 1 4braces.com 0- - Orthodontic Specialists of Utah Only $79 Per Mo. OGDEN 393-580-0 Mitchell B. Silverman, DMD Advertised Fee $2,499-$4,04- 6 improvement. He said his analysis staff also looked at the way the command manages its commercial suppliers. We need to develop better, long-terrelationships with our suppliers so we situations for both of us, develop he said. We need to share information and data and work together. m win-wi- n CROSSROADS OF THE WEST GUEU AUGUST 3 (Call for further details) 1 - No Down Payment appropriately, well see a significant CE) OS ED TECH Records Fee $238 Retainers $476 Witb United Concordia Tricare Dental Plan 253550 o SHM7 AT THE GOLDEN SPIKE EVENTS CENTER Show Hours: Saturday Sunday 4 9-- i me smile, m. These and many other performance analysis tools can be found at a newly Tattoos of Ogden 625-023- TTian k ) said. has moved to 3040 Washington LUNCH SPECIALS As Low As backorders, he said. To deal with the situation, AFMC logisticians focused on clearing backorders. An important enabler to this was analyzing performance and understanding what was driving it. Thorogood and his team have worked to provide analysis tools that can pinpoint key performance drivers. A year ago, we could only look at performance in the average, said Thorogood. We can now identify performance against key indicators by individual item. For instance, the new backorder analysis tool can slice and dice any backorder situation in a number of ways, and provide information in seconds that used to take us weeks to do. He said he and his crew also have a tool called Tracker that allows anyone, at any time, to track a part and see where it is in the system, similar to tracking systems Federal Express and United Parcel Service use. Not only can we do that, but our supply chain managers and anyone involved with the system can do it, Thorogood the visibility these analysis tools provides allows supply chain managers and customers to examine the commands performance any way they like. Our focus on backorders has improved the overall backorder situation and that is helping keep Air Force aircraft in the air, he said. Providing analysis tools is not the only thing Thorogood and his team have been working on. His branch is responsible for introducing modern supply chain or SCM methodolomanagement AFMC into the gies way provides parts support. It looks at the business from a process rather than a traditional stovepipe perspective. The AFMC SCM Constraint Analysis Program has identified many of the obstacles hindering the commands warfighter support. One of those constraints is the way we manage our inventory. We must understand each item has an individual demand characteristic and should be supported accordingly, said Thorogood. Once we understand that, and apply our funding KSOTOCE h: TAKE-OU- T spares pipeline and an increase in warfighter wnmxmnm u Teriyalii v-'- ng to increase the war fighter support challenges and have led to a starved o LIMIT ONE COUPON PER ADULT 9-- 5 1 M 9 ? |