United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-04-13 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:NSIAD-94-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64 P0b002ee18038f4f2 f:ns94064 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64 NSIAD-94-64 Military inventories Inventory control systems Military procurement Computerized information systems Management information systems Federal supply systems Clothing industry Military cost control Administrative costs Federal property management Chapter Report NSIAD At a time when private sector companies are cutting costs by minimizing inventories, the Pentagon continues to store redundant levels of clothing and textile inventories. Much of this material is aged and obsolete--for about 26 percent of the items, the Defense Department (DOD) had 10 years of supplies on hand. DOD is incurring unnecessary inventory storage and handling costs because of the large supply operations infrastructure required to maintain these stocks. DOD's inventory practices stand in significant contrast to those used in the best managed private sector firms. Competition has forced private sector firms to cut costs by moving to "just-in-time" inventory concepts that help keep inventories low, turn stock frequently, and fill orders quickly while maintaining good customer service. For example, leading private sector uniform providers have 60 to 90 days worth of wholesale supplies on hand while the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has 2 to 10 years of supply. Many private sector firms and some federal agencies with uniformed employees are relying on prime vendors to manage their clothing inventories. DOD recently began to increase its use of innovative concepts, such as "quick response," but progress has been slow. In particular, DLA has yet to explore the possibility of using prime vendors to supply high volume clothing and textile items, even though they appear particularly well suited to the operations of the induction centers for recruits. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64.htm GAO/NSIAD-94-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-64 Chapter Report GAO/NSIAD-94-64; Commercial Practices: Leading-Edge Practices Can Help DOD Better Manage Clothing and Textile Stocks; Military inventories Inventory control systems Military procurement Computerized information systems Management information systems Federal supply systems Clothing industry Military cost control Administrative costs Federal property management