Delays in shipping reduced
at military sites worldwide
By Sandra Jontz, Washington
bureau
WASHINGTON — Whether it’s needed ammunition or extra rolls of toilet paper,
servicemembers worldwide are getting supplies faster than ever.
The Military Traffic Management Command reports a 15 percent faster delivery time over
last year to posts around the world.
"A huge success story is emerging," Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky,
commander of MTMC and chairman of the Surface Distribution Committee, said in a written
statement. "I don’t think the Department of Defense has ever seen such dramatic
reduction in customer wait times."
Faster transport time is attributed to the Strategic Distribution Management
Initiative, of which a major part is ensuring that transportation operations are well
synchronize.
Speedier deliveries also mean a reduction in excess defense inventories at worldwide
depots, said Lee Strong, a traffic management specialist in MTMC’s Distribution
Analysis Center.
"The global vision of this initiative truly is providing us some impressive
returns," Strong said.
"The actual transportation time for our freight was predictable," Strong
said. "What we are doing is squeezing the time out of the nodes. It is true
end-to-end supply chain management."
While the MTMC has seen sizable increases across the globe, progress has been slower to
the Middle East.
"In the Central Command, we’ve cut four days of wait time so far," said
Ruth Tetreault, a traffic management specialist. "The current customer wait time is
70 days. Our goal is 53 days."
One reason is stricter documentation requirements, especially in Saudi Arabia. The MTMC
is working on an automation system to boost shipping times and adhere to the restrictions
for customs entry, Tetreault said.
Servicemembers within the Southern Command receive freight 23 percent faster than the
2000 figures, according to MTCM data. That translates to a delivery time of 36 days
instead of the previous 47.
In the Pacific Command, MTCM recorded a 24 percent reduction in shipping times. It now
takes 37 days on average to ship from the West Coast to Pacific destinations; it used to
take 48 days.
"Some of our destinations have already achieved the targets set for them including
military customers in Guam and Japan," Strong said. "I think a big part of the
success was working closely with the customers and understanding their needs."
To speed up transport times, the MTCM dismantled obsolete business practices, such as
having servicemembers store their goods at ports.
"Korea was a good example of this," said Vivian Washington, a traffic
management specialist. "Some customers were storing their goods at the port until
demurrage [freight delay] charges starting piling up. We educated the chiefs of
transportation on the process.
"We want a culture where cargoes move forward at once — and are not subject
to delay at portside. We achieved dramatic changes relatively quickly."
The initiative to streamline shipping practices started a year ago with the European
and Central commands.
Transport times improved by 36 percent when cargo took 41 days to move from
Pennsylvania to Germany instead of the typical 64 days, data showed.
But the improved transport time meant an increase of congestion in Europe, Washington
said.
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