What We Did:
The objective of this evaluation was to determine the extent to which the DoD took actions to develop interoperable systems and tools to forecast logistics demand for campaign planning across the Joint Logistics Enterprise (JLEnt).
What We Found:
The DoD’s systems and tools used to forecast logistics demand for campaign planning across the JLEnt were not interoperable. The Defense Logistics Management Standards are not sufficient to achieve overall interoperability of the DoD’s systems and tools used for forecasting logistics demand because DoD policies do not assign roles and responsibilities for the development of interoperable JLEnt systems. Our analysis of an Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment-provided data set identified over 1,100 DoD systems and tools with the potential to forecast logistics demand for campaign planning. However, not one Military Service, combatant command, or Defense Logistics Agency official we spoke with identified any systems across the JLEnt that met the criteria for interoperability identified in DoDI 8330.01. To forecast logistics demand, joint logistics planners at the Military Services, combatant commands, and the Defense Logistics Agency either:
• manually converted, manipulated, or validated data sets from these noninteroperable systems and tools, or;
• bypassed the systems and tools by manually forecasting logistics demand for campaign plans to provide feasible estimates for future demands.
These conditions occurred because the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment did not:
• assign roles and responsibilities in DoD policies to develop interoperable JLEnt systems and tools to forecast demand for campaign planning, and;
• update the DoD Logistics Strategy to address data interoperability (as defined in DoDI 8330.01) for forecasting demand for campaign planning to align the DoD Logistics Strategy with the DoD Digital Modernization Strategy and the DoD Data Strategy, which identified specific goals to achieving interoperability of DoD information technology systems and tools.
Not having interoperable systems and tools for forecasting logistics demand increased the DoD’s risk to execute global operations in support of the National Defense Strategy. The lack of interoperability led to potentially inaccurate or untimely forecasts for logistics demands. Specifically, the lack of interoperability prevented logistics officials at combatant commands from accessing and analyzing accurate data, and providing effective, relevant recommendations to combatant commanders. Furthermore, forecasting logistics demand for campaign planning using noninteroperable DoD systems and tools placed a significant time burden on logistics officials, reducing their effectiveness and capability to support other priorities, such as managing global supplier networks. The inability to produce accurate and timely forecasts of joint logistics needs created an unmitigated risk to the DoD’s ability to plan and logistically support operations and contingencies.
Additionally, the duplication of future efforts to develop interoperable JLEnt systems and tools risks financial waste. Without clearly defined roles and responsibilities, the Military Services and combatant commands may continue to develop separate systems and tools, which may produce redundant or overlapping capabilities. For example, in April 2019, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council terminated the Global Combat Support System-Joint logistics system after investing over $200 million. Specifically, according to logistics officials we interviewed, the system was terminated because the system did not meet its objective, and combatant commands continued developing their own separate logistics information technology solutions.
What We Recommend:
We recommend that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment:
Review and identify DoD issuances related to forecasting logistics demand for campaign planning.
No later than the next periodic review process, identify and recommend updates to the DoD issuances identified in the prior recommendation or the creation of new issuances to assign roles and responsibilities across the JLEnt. At a minimum, the recommended updates should propose the following actions:
• establish a DoD-wide executive agent or management action group to track and monitor ongoing development and implementation of interoperable systems and tools (as defined in DoDI 8330.01) for forecasting logistics demand across the JLEnt;
• task existing logistics executive agents and offices of primary responsibility with coordinating and standardizing JLEnt data, planning factors, tools, and logistics support area processes within their areas of responsibility, and;
• assign new executive agents and offices of primary responsibility to coordinate and standardize data, planning factors, tools, and logistics support area processes for JLEnt areas that do not currently have an executive agent or office of primary responsibility.
Update the DoD Logistics Strategy to align with the DoD Digital Modernization Strategy and the DoD Data Strategy, which identified specific goals to achieving the interoperability of DoD systems and tools, by addressing data interoperability as identified in DoDI 8330.01 for forecasting logistics demand for campaign planning.