Information technology experts at Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Business Systems Center (BSC) developed an innovative solution to meet reformed business information needs while saving the Navy thousands of dollars, June 27. 

The solution provided an estimated cost savings of $552,000, eliminated 8,000 hours of work, and allows additional fields of data to be included with weapon systems contracts for better visibility of vendor status and performance.  

“The Integrated Technical Item Management and Procurement (ITIMP) solution is an absolute game-changer for improving our ability to manage material delivery on our repair contracts,” said Capt. Christopher Kovack, director of contracts and business lead for Workflow Pro at NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (WSS).  

“The ability to feed that information into the Vendor Compliance application will offer a resource that provides consolidated information to the supply planner and contract specialist so we can measure and track the contractor’s performance of deliveries,” he said.  

The solution stemmed from NAVSUP’s reform program efforts and the need to provide timely and predictable delivery of material to the fleet. 

“NAVSUP’s reform group asked for the ability to unbundle purchase requests and add fields of data within their contract procurement system,” said Mike Brown, NAVSUP Enterprise Web project lead. “The original estimate to make all the necessary changes was over 10,000 hours and $690,000.” 

Contracting staff at NAVSUP WSS currently use ITIMP, a mainframe common business-oriented language system, to process weapon systems contracts. ITIMP is expected to be phased out and replaced with the Enterprise Procurement System (EPS) over the next two years. 

Using ITIMP, “they only have the ability to track delivery at the contract award level. They don’t have the ability to track additional sub-contract line items to a separate date. ITIMP bundles purchase request data and assigns one due date at the award level,” said John Walker, ITIMP subject-matter expert at NAVSUP BSC. 

Additionally, “By adding repair turnaround time, throughput constraint, and induction expiration date, NAVSUP leadership will have additional data to hold vendors accountable for delivering parts according to schedules contracted,” he said. 

NAVSUP BSC’s ITIMP development team set the stage for implementing the solution by adding an ability to unbundle contract requirements and loading standardized remarks for contract representatives to capture needed data.  

“In 2019, we prepared a number of estimates for various scenarios,” said Walker. “The estimate of 10,000 hours included new ITIMP database elements, five interfaces, ITIMP generated contract award and contract modification documents, and purchase request unbundling.”  

Tasked to explore alternatives that reduce cost and time, the approved solution was developed from the collaborative efforts between NAVSUP WSS and NAVSUP BSC to capitalize on existing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) interface transaction remark fields.   

“We wrote a program that reads contract information from EDI transactions. When contracts are awarded, EDI transactions are created. ITIMP sends this data to the NAVSUP Enterprise Web Portal, our team extracts the extra data, and provides a dashboard to track delivery on our Vendor Compliance application,” said Brown. 

The Vendor Compliance application is in development as part of NAVSUP WSS’s Workflow Pro suite of applications. It is designed to measure and track contractor compliance to repair turnaround time and delivery dates. Workflow Pro digitizes and automates the procurement process and is designed to increase the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the procurement process and post-award management of contracts. 

“Our commitment to the fleet doesn’t end at contract award. It ends at material delivery and contract closeout,” said Kovack. “Workflow Pro, Vendor Compliance, and other digital solutions help NAVSUP WSS meet its commitment to improving and sustaining fleet readiness.” 

Brown and the NAVSUP Enterprise Web team expect that at least 90 days of data will be required before significant trends are revealed.  

“The NAVSUP BSC team’s innovative efforts provided considerable cost savings and allowed us to deliver a digital solution that directly benefits fleet readiness quickly,” said Capt. Gene Cash, commanding officer, NAVSUP BSC. 

NAVSUP BSC is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP, and provides information systems support through the design, development, and maintenance of information systems in the functional areas of logistics, supply chain management, transportation, finance, and accounting. 

NAVSUP is headquartered in Mechanicsburg and employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.