In order to improve business processes and improve warfighter readiness and lethality, Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) is reforming to better align with its customers in delivering supplies, services and quality-of-life support to the Navy and Joint warfighters stationed around the world.

Customer Presence is one of the core pillars that NAVSUP’s reform program is structured around. “The goal of NAVSUP’s Customer Presence team is to identify and address critical deficiencies in coordinating and communicating with stakeholders and customers across the Navy to help them accomplish their mission,” said Capt. Raymond Bichard, the team’s sponsor.

“From conducting deep dive surveys and implementing immediate, high impact pilots, we learned from our customers that they’ve been unable to reliably convey their supply needs and priorities to us and track deliverables along the supply chain,” Bichard said. “This lack of communication and transparency into the supply chain process causes them a great deal of frustration, particularly when it comes to delivering time-sensitive repair parts and forecasting their supply needs.”

The team came up with one solution to help resolve issues with communication and transparency: it involves a framework for mapping NAVSUP’s key customers and entire customer base.

“As NAVSUP maps its customers, the enterprise can improve its presence where it is needed the most,” said Capt. Blake Kent, leader of the Customer Presence value team responsible for the mapping effort. “Once we have a better understanding of where and who our key customers are, we can designate representatives to best serve as coordinators and process enablers between us and our customers.”

Kent stated that another solution to improving the command’s alignment with its customer base will be to empower key customers with improved escalation strategies for their critical requisitions.

These strategies are currently being tested with six ships in San Diego. The strategies involve working with the NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support supply planners to improve background information on parts delays that appear in One Touch Support, encouraging shipboard supply officers to use the Global Distance Support Center (GDSC) for detailed requisition information, and leveraging the expertise of the logistics support representatives from the nearby Fleet Logistics Centers.

“These strategies will aid customers by giving them increased visibility and understanding of what is causing their requisitions to be backordered and assist with planning maintenance efforts based on the arrival of parts,” Kent said.

Since the Customer Presence team began working to align NAVSUP closer to its customers, Kent said there has already been some measurable success.

“We’re already seeing the progress we were hoping for in certain target areas,” said Kent. “An example of progress includes improved information directly available to the six pilot ships through One Touch Support without having to call a given supply planner, thereby making the planners more efficient. We have also seen a seven percent increase in the use of GDSC as an escalation path for additional clarification on backorder status.”

One Touch Support is the Navy’s research and procurement website that enables Fleet Sailors, industrial activities, and other support providers the capability to perform integrated technical screening, stock checks, requisition input, requisition status checks, and shipment tracking from more than 20 government and commercial data sources.

Even with this forward momentum, Kent said it will take time to align NAVSUP closer to its customers. “The reform we need in terms of improving customer presence won’t occur overnight, but we have great people who are dedicated to bolstering warfighter lethality and readiness. Our team of supply chain managers is fully engaged in implementing solutions to improve how we do business.”

The overall goal of the reform program is to improve business processes, increase the speed of support, and rally with other key players in Navy sustainment. Over the next year, the results of the reform initiatives will evolve the organization’s operating model to adapt to the changing environment and remain always ready, resourceful, responsive!

Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing 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. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and http://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.

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