Coalition Logistics Interoperability (CLI) Joint Logistics Integration

NCMS Project #: 140487

Problem: Given the current fiscal realities and understanding these impacts in future drawdown evolutions, the President’s 2012 guidance for the DoD is to leverage all available opportunities to “lean out” redundant or unnecessary costs and processes.  Nearly all significant military operations engaged in by the United States will be conducted jointly with multiple U.S. service components.  The need to develop key tools, technologies and processes that can leverage the benefits associated with Joint Operations will be paramount to success in challenging fiscal operational environs.

Traditional execution of logistical support focuses on supportability at the individual service component level.  This strategy produces a redundancy of parts stocks, consumable inventory, and maintenance capability, commonly referred to as the “Iron Mountain”.  To date, there is no simple means to share and support common items in a joint environment and this results in significant cost in terms of transport, sustainment, support and redeployment by the different cooperating elements.

Benefit: Industry partners will have a single interface to the services and DoD for item fault and repair data, while enriching the content and context of information available on items returned for repair.  Industry can then better anticipate workload and repair part requirements in support of workload, including reconstitution efforts.  This will also decrease cost and provide access to new revenue streams through enhancing bilateral data sharing in Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) arrangements.

Solution/Approach: Leverage IUID data, reduce maintenance costs, reduce supply costs, improve TLCSM, and gain joint service maintenance interoperability by:

  • Enabling multiple service level ERPs to share data seamlessly in order to promote efficient Joint Logistics.
  • Supporting the Joint Logistics Enterprise objective of pooling and sharing capabilities.
  • Building on the progress made on previous NCMS/CTMA project work to create a more efficient and effective logistics paradigm.
  • Promoting the use of IUID and standardized data exchanges based on NATO STANAG 4661 using ISO 10303-239 (PLCS).
  • Utilizing the Maintenance and Repair Data Exchange (M&R DEX) and demonstrate its use for receipt, capture, and processing of item level data.
  • Integrating current commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and government off-the-shelf (GOTS) technologies and programs of record to support pooling and sharing of maintenance actions via web services.

Impact on Warfighter:

  • Improved weapons system readiness, availability, global visibility and tracking.
  • More accurate and auditable records.
  • Class IX inventory reductions by enabling mutual logistics support during joint operations.
  • Reduction of deployed footprint.
  • Reduction of cost associated with expedited material shipments from outside of theater.
  • Reduction of supply lead times.
  • Reduction in data entry requirements for maintenance personnel.
  • Efficient redistribution of assets during turnover, drawdown and re-deployment

DOD Participation:

  • Headquarters Marine Corps, Installation & Logistics
  • Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy
  • U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Command
  • U.S. Army

Industry Participation:

  • TopLine Technology Solutions, LLC
  • Troika Solutions, LLC
  • PORTAC Consulting
  • Black & Rossi, LLC
  • RW Appleton & Company
  • NCMS

Final Report