Highlights
Wartime Readiness and Utilization
IDA research staff conduct analysis to help sponsors study and identify mission-specific gaps in wartime readiness due to planning gaps. Using peacetime end-to-end simulation models, components that introduce wartime readiness risk through supply and maintenance bottlenecks in the lead-up to conflict can be identified. Other limiting factors to combat effectiveness, such as mission equipment availability and usage or munitions inventories can also be studied. IDA Sustainment provides analytic support in tying proposed courses of action to readiness outcomes.
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
Sales and Operation Planning focuses on identifying and prioritizing key spares that drive NAVSUP’s support to the fleet. IDA supported the implementation of a policy to achieve dual readiness and fiscal goals by categorizing the risk associated with purchasing each item based on its sales value and the forecastability of future demands. Using the sustainment data pipeline, IDA employed a “time machine” methodology to assess the accuracy of S&OP contracting recommendations. Finding the underlying logic leads to improved finances and reductions in high-impact backorders.
Endurance Supply and Forward-positioned spares
IDA has played a critical role in analyzing how sparing decisions will be affected by the introduction of afloat endurance supply, a metric the Navy plants to use in determining spares’ allowances for operation in a contested environment. The step-by-step process developed for generating 90-day packages leverages IDA familiarity with OPUS spares packaging, and testing them in end-to-end sustainment SIMLOX models. The IDA Sustainment team has also showed that pre-positioning of spares presents a possible avenue to realize cost savings while still ensuring continued operations.
Strategic Supplier Management (SSM)
Maintaining adequate stock levels that support the operational readiness of the various military platforms requires frequent and ongoing negotiations with commercial vendors for the repair and procurement of materiel. IDA research staff has quantified the financial benefit of reductions in repair turnaround times and negotiated lead times, estimating the impact of consolidating purchase actions to alleviate personnel constraints and enable sponsors to pursue additional contract negotiations.
Cost and Readiness Impacts
Our sponsors need to directly connect investment dollars with fleet outcomes. IDA has utilized its end-to-end modeling and simulation skills to help the services analytically rack-and-stack its “good ideas” based on their individual impacts to fleet readiness and overall cost before spending any money. Leveraging the IDA suite of sustainment tools can help to identify and prioritize requirements that both improve and sustain readiness while maximizing affordability of military aviation sustainment.
Publications
IDA provides sustainment expertise to high-level sponsors throughout the U.S. government. The publicly releasable subset of our portfolio highlights our analysis capabilities in the public interest domain. Reach out by email for further inquiry into our portfolio and expertise.
