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AFGLSC transforms Air Force supply chain

  • Published
  • By Michael Lee
  • Air Force Global Logistics Support Center Change Management lead
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  For more than a decade, Air Force supply chain leaders and their commercial industry peers have met with nearly identical objectives -- finding ways to enhance the Air Force supply chain to improve support to the warfighter. 

Recently, the Air Force Global Logistics Support Center, along with its government and industry partners, met to respond to challenges that demand new and innovative approaches.

Maj. Gen. Gary McCoy, AFGLSC commander, hosted the three-day AFGLSC Visioning Conference highlighted by keynote speaker Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, Air Force Materiel Command vice commander.  Also in attendance were 24 AFGLSC leaders, 12 Air Force major command logistics leaders, eight Department of Defense supply chain partners -- including U.S. Army, Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Navy, Office of Secretary of Defense, and U.S. Transportation Command -- two of the nations leading supply chain professors, and industry leaders from Caterpillar, DHL, FedEx, IBM and Toyota.

Our industry peers shared their past, present and future supply chain challenges, as well as the strategies and solutions implemented to overcome them. Industry leaders attributed innovation and improvements to processes and business models as keys to eliminating these barriers to success. 

"Continuous Process Improvement is a critical tool for industry and military organizations making incremental improvements; however, what we (the Air Force) need is Generational Improvement -- drastic transformation that will allow us to make generational leaps to reach the efficiency and effectiveness of our best-in-breed industry peers," said General McCoy.

This was a strategy and visioning conference, with Air Force supply chain stakeholders coming together and committing to enhancing the Air Force supply operational effectiveness and efficiency.

General Gabreski stressed one of the most important roles of the AFGLSC is to be the Air Force's supply chain integrator, enhancing support to the warfighter in these extraordinary times. She also emphasized the vital need for the AFGLSC to fulfill its mandate as the single face to the customer for the Air Force supply chain. 

The conference also featured an interactive discussion with a panel of Air Force logistics leaders representing Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Space Command and Air Force Materiel Command.  More importantly, the open dialogue uncovered many challenges looming on the logistics horizon and how the supply chain enterprise must posture itself to be ready to succeed.

Despite the gravity of the challenges, the optimism and unified sense of partnership conveyed by the panel of Air Force logistics leaders forged a joint commitment to work with the AFGLSC on logistics transformation. 

General McCoy marked this as an opportunity to "synchronize our efforts with other DOD supply chain stakeholders" because in the end it's about "collaborating in an unprecedented manner to support all of our brave men and women serving around the world."

"In any strategic meeting of this magnitude, supply chain customers, peers and partners don't want to hear what we do right. They want to hear that we understand what we can do better, that we care how it affects them and that we are committed to fix it; because in the end, it's the difference between victory or defeat and life and death for the warfighter," said General McCoy.  "And that is the purpose of this conference, to move from a reactive way of business to a new era driven by being predictive."

The general also said "AFGLSC will not be judged or measured by what we 'own' but our ability to influence and integrate the supply chain to improve weapon system readiness, sustainability and availability; how well we reduce cost; and our ability to support the warfighter anywhere, anytime."