Defense Logistics: Actions Needed to Enhance Success of Reengineering Initiatives

DOD concurred with the recommendation, stating that the many logistics initiatives underway throughout the Department needed to be fitted together. In commenting on GAO's report, DOD expressed the intent to achieve the recommended integration and overarching plan through the efforts of its Logistics Architecture Office. Since the report's issuance, DOD has developed its logistics architecture (which is now referred to as "future logistics environment") and a resulting Defense Logistics Strategic plan. While the change in administrations has created the need for some additional internal DOD coordination, DOD will begin to implement its new logistics plan during the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2002. Regarding the recommendation to develop an investment strategy for the logistics reengineering efforts within the Department, DOD has reviewed the individual Services' logistics plans during the FY 2002-2007 Program Objectives Memorandum process, in conjunction with DOD's efforts to reduce total ownership costs, to assess whether logistics initiatives are resourced and prioritized correctly.

The department did not reassess its schedule for testing its reengineering initiatives. However, regarding GAO's recommendation to establish a methodology showing how much savings or improvements come from reengineering efforts, the Department revised its 5000 regulation series in May 2003, to require that the services conduct continuing reviews of sustainment strategies, comparing expectations against actual performance, and where necessary, revise, correct, and improve sustainment strategies to meet performance requirements. Implementation of the revised policy's requirement to compare actual performance against expectations will achieve the objective of GAO's recommendation to quantify improvements resulting from reengineering efforts. With respect to the part of GAO's recommendation dealing with feedback from combat commanders on proposed reengineering changes, the Department revised 5000 regulation series also requires service agreements between the program manager and the warfighters. The Instruction requires program managers to work with the users to document performance and support requirements in performance agreements specifying objective outcomes, measures, resource commitments, and stakeholder responsibilities. The instruction also requires documenting logistics sustainment procedures that ensure integrated combat support. The revision of the 5000.2 Instruction reflects the department's reassessment of its approach for addressing combat command concerns about expanded use of and reliance on contractor personnel as weapon systems logistics providers.