The Supply Officer of the Future

Background

The Air Force supply officer career field has much opportunity, if the leaders and the officers in the career field are ready and willing to embrace change. If not, the career field will become redundant and could be eliminated. Why do I say this?

First, the size of the Air Force is down dramatically--from around 600,000 active duty personnel in 1989 to fewer than 400,000 in 2000, a 40 percent reduction in active duty end strength. The Department of Defense budget has declined 28 percent since 1990, procurement spending has decreased by 53 percent, and operations and maintenance has been reduced by 15 percent. While this is not news, the pressure to continue reducing the support side of the equation is continuing and will increase in the years to come. Operations and procurement of new systems appear to have taken all the cuts they can afford.

Second, the way the Air Force will provide support to new weapon systems and, to some extent, existing systems will be significantly different than in the past. C-17 Flexible Sustainment, F-l17 Total System Performance Responsibility, and other concepts that provide contractor logistics support are either already in place or will be in the near term.

Third, there is a valid need for an officer corps that can provide what the commercial world refers to as supply chain expertise. While this is close to the skills many supply officers have developed, it is not reflected in the way the career field is described or in the training. Some of these changes include major command (MAJCOM) supply regionalization, loss of base service stores and individual equipment sections, increased use of the Government-wide Purchase Card, the Defense Logistics Agency's expanding use of prime and direct vendor delivery contracts, and the evolution of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force concept. The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics' transformation program will drive even more dramatic changes in the logistics processes.

Fourth, many of today's supply officer functions are similar to, or the same as, those taught in 1963 in the supply officers course at Amarillo AFB, Texas. That may not be bad, but it does not reflect what has happened in the commercial marketplace and what needs to happen in the Air Force.

Finally, there has probably never been a better time to make a change. The Air Force is conducting a logistics transformation program, the Chief of Staff has directed an assessment of the logistics organization and career fields, there are ongoing reengineering initiatives in all logistics career fields, and the MAJCOMs are all looking for more effective and more efficcient processes for logistics support. Industry has shown they can reinvent the traditional supply functional experts into supply chain managers who have better career paths and contribute more to the operational and financial health of the company. The Air Force needs to do the same thing with its supply officer and other logistics functional career fields.

Commercial Supply Chain Manager Model

Before discussing how to restructure the Air Force supply officer career field (AFSC 21SX), we need to compare it to the typical commercial, supply chain management position and highlight some of the responsibilities of the commercial supply chain managers.

Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 36-2102 describes supply officer duties and responsibilities as:

Directs, manages, and operates supply, equipment, and fuels management systems; develops, formulates, and implements plans, programs, and policies to operate, manage, and administer current and projected supply and fuels management systems; requirements determination and computation; allowances and authorizations; inventory and distribution control; reporting; stock fund operating programs preparation; and operations operating budget preparation. May serve as an accountable officer. [1]

What are the typical duties involved in supply chain management? Companies tend to differ in how they describe the duties of a supply chain manager, but they all generally involve those duties described in this description and the following quote.

Simply stated, the supply chain encompasses those activities associated with moving goods from the raw-materials stage to the end user. This includes sourcing and procurement, production scheduling, order processing, inventory management, transportation, warehousing, and customer service. It also embodies the information systems so necessary to monitor these activities.

Successful supply chain management coordinates and integrates these activities into a seamless process. It embraces and links the partners in the chain. In addition to the departments within the organization, these partners include vendors, carriers, third-party companies, and information systems providers. [2]

Further, a description of the logistics professional in supply chain management includes the following quote from Logistics! Candid Insights for Supply Chain Leaders.

Today, a successful supply-chain leader serves as a natural facilitator and integrator between the divergent needs of sales and manufacturing, quality and price, cost and service, and financial and qualitative measures.

To assume this kind of quarterback position effectively, however, logistics professionals have to do a couple of things. For one, they must broaden their understanding of other business functions within their organization. Specifically, they need to know more about purchasing and sourcing practices, production planning, marketing initiatives, and sales programs and promotions. They also must develop a more intimate knowledge of the customer, for as the new maxim goes: supply-chain management begins and ends with the customer. [3]

While each company may structure its positions differently or give the job a different title, the responsibilities are similar. The following are three supply chain manager position descriptions.

* Supply Chain Manager for a $100M manufacturing company. Provides strategic direction and leadership to the purchasing and inventory groups in all activities related to the selection, procurement, receipt, and management of products and services. The successful candidate will manage inventory levels and develop a strategic material/procurement plan that supports the objectives of the organization. Strong involvement with vendor evaluation and relations, negotiating bids, and qualifying the vendor base to support enterprise-wide objectives.

* Vice President of Operations for an international paperboard, packaging, and building material company. Responsible for driving key initiatives for the organization. Requires background and hands-on experience in the areas of logistics, transportation, customer service, store operations, forecasting, and all supporting information systems. Additional responsibilities include leading and developing customer-integrated logistics initiatives to improve company services and cost relationship with the customer. Participates in strategy development with a broad consumer/retail customer base. Creates linkage within team and across teams for all logistics, forecasting, and customer service initiatives. Ensures Inventory to support both new product availability and promotion activity. Effectively manages all integrated logistics and customer service initiatives.

* Senior Manager/Associate Partner for Supply Chain Management for a major consulting firm. Requires strong experience in one or more of the following areas of supply chain optimization: (1) e-procurement, (2) advanced planning systems, (3) e-fulfillment (online order processing/returns), and (4) systems integration (information technology delivery of supply chain systems/implementation--integration).

While there are many similarities in the major supply chain management (SCM) functions in AFMAN 36-2105, the differences are dramatic. The commercial SCM manager has a much broader responsibility for the entire process of determining what is required; purchasing, transporting, storing, and issuing; planning production and repair of an item; and ensuring the customer is properly supported. The Air Force supply officer has no responsibility for acquisition, transportation, or production/repair planning. These functions are performed and directed by different career fields. Yet, the supply officer is the one to whom the wing commander turns to ensure the necessary parts are available to meet sortie requirements.

What Should the Reinvented Supply Officer Career Field Look Like?

The supply officer of the 21st century Air Force, with the principal duty of supporting the Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF), should be an officer who is trained to perform the traditional functions associated with logistics plans, supply, acquisition (procurement), component repair, and transportation currently performed by five separate career fields. This reinvented career field should be called the logistics support officer.

This logistics support officer should be the single point of contact for the wing commander, logistics group commander, or operations squadron commander for anything and everything to do with getting parts or logistics services to satisfy mission needs. This person does not have to actually do the work but must ensure it is done. For example, if an operations squadron needs to have a service contract for logistics support of a mission planning system and the inventory manager does not provide the support, then the logistics support officer should be able to determine what company can provide the best service and direct the award of the contract using e-procurement or other web-enabled techniques.

To illustrate the differences between the commercial supply chain manager's and the military supply officer's responsibilities, consider a few examples.

Acquiring parts or repairs needed on an emergency basis is another case where the logistics support officer should provide the service without having to go though the contracting activity. These steps add time and cost but do not add value. That is why they have been eliminated in industry. If the logistics support officer is the contracting authority, the processes will allow this support to be obtained from the fastest and most efficient source available, without the delays that result from having to pass purchase orders from office to office.

In the area of fast transportation, the logistics support officer should also be able to direct the manner and speed of the shipment to and from the base to meet operational needs and budget restrictions. For example, how many of you order from a catalog or from an online web site? You decide at the time of your order if you want to pay for premium transportation or allow the shipper to decide, based on when you need the item. There is no reason in today's e-commerce environment that logistics support officers should not be able to do the same thing.

In the commercial example, the supply chain manager would not have to go through all the hoops or prepare all the paperwork that must be generated to do a similar task in the Air Force. The requirements are the same, and the process should be the same. The appropriate checks and balances could be established to meet the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Better still, maybe the FAR restrictions should be removed as an acquisition reform initiative to permit a more flexible and effective support process.

So How Do We Create this Logistics Support Officer?

First, determine what functions a logistics support officer needs to provide support to the AEF wing commander at both the home station and in the deployed operational environment.

Second, design the technical schools to teach young officers to use their brains and the skills they bring with them into the Air Force. They know how to use the web. Allow them to use sites like buy.com, myaircraft.com, Exostar.com, aerospan.com, and others to buy authorized items and services. Laws and regulations must be addressed to ensure correct parts and services are being procured, but this can be done using the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition Lightning Bolt process.

Third, define what can and cannot be bought at the local level and what can and cannot be bought without a contracting officer's warrant. There may even be a point where logistics support officers have warrants up to certain levels. The list for what cannot be bought should be fairly short. It should not be used as a way to keep jobs in a career field but should be limited to items and/or services that are safety of flight or engineering critical at the field level or specifically mandated by public law.

Fourth, create a career path that begins with second lieutenants to lieutenant colonels learning the intricacies of the contracting, logistics plans, supply, and transportation fields through both technical schools and field experience. Eliminate stovepipe schools and training paths and create a consolidated career path from the start, creating a multiskilled officer. All career fields multiskill their officers today, and they can handle the complexities of the various logistics disciplines. In this way, when officers are ready for squadron command, they will be better prepared to lead a consolidated logistics squadron. This logistics squadron would replace the current supply, transportation, and contracting squadrons and be responsible for supporting all facets of the wing's mission in the logistics functional disciplines.

Conclusion

You may not agree, but at least look at both the positive and negative aspects from the standpoint of what is best for the Air Force and its officers in the 21st century. One of my greatest regrets is that I did not initiate the discussion of more dramatic changes when I was the Director of Supply. I am not sure I could have gotten anyone to listen, but we could have had some interesting discussions.

The Air Force is not a business, and there are a lot of what some call inefficiencies in how supply and logistics business is done today, especially in support of the deployed units. Some of these inefficiencies are necessary to ensure the support required to respond with little notice to contingency operations. However, I reject the argument that, because the supply officer supports the warfighter, we cannot be more effective and efficient in how we do the job. The idea that we are so different or unique we cannot use commercial models will not wash anymore.

An opportunity exists for Air Forcee supply (and logistics) leaders to be creative in planning how the career field should evolve. If they do not seize the opportunity, the career field will become redundant, and the career path will stagnate and could be eliminated. We owe it to the officers in the supply career field to maintain a viable, effective career path, one that supports the warfighter in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Moreover, the supply officer is uniquely positioned to be the centerpiece to implement the new SCM capabilities to support the AEF. This new career field can be the bridge between planning and execution of the reengineered AEF support patterns.

Now is the time to look creatively at how the current supply officer and other logistics functional officer career fields can be combined to better support the Air Force and provide a better career path for the officers who will follow.

General Hopp is a former Director of Supply, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Headquarters, United States Air Force.

Notes

(1.) Air Force Manual 36-2105, Attachment 6, 11 Mar 98.

(2.) "What's the Buzz? (Supply Chain Management), Logistics Management, 1 Feb 97, 1.

(3.) "What's the Buzz?" 5.

(4.) Air Force Manual 36-21105.

COPYRIGHT 2000 U.S. Air Force, Logistics Management Agency
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group