RICHMOND, Va. –
When supplying the military with the right parts at the right time is the mission, data acumen isn’t a “nice-to-have;” it’s a full-time detective partner.
Understanding the proper value and use of data enables buyers and others in the acquisition community to make better, more-informed decisions, Carl Allen, deputy director of Procurement Process Support for Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, wrote in data acumen procurement guidance.
“Data analysis can be used to identify cost-saving opportunities [and] negotiate better pricing with suppliers with the goal of ensuring the right goods and services are acquired at the best possible price and quality,” he wrote.
But sometimes, the hardest part of solving a problem isn’t interpreting the data; it’s defining the problem.
“Framing opportunities helps ensure that resources are focused on the right analysis at the right time by clearly defining the problem, aligning efforts with business objectives and prioritizing analyses that drive the most impact,” said DLA Aviation’s Adam Hardee, who heads the Research, Reviews and Analysis Division in the Business Process Support Directorate. “We encourage our mission partners to approach us with the problem rather than the perceived solution to a problem we haven’t even discussed.”
He described a challenging push to improve timeliness at shop service centers at Robins, Tinker and Hill Air Force bases, explaining how his team took a step back to examine the business rules at the Georgia, Oklahoma and Utah bases, respectively. What they discovered, he said, changed the game.
“To refine and finalize a problem statement for maximum clarity and impact, we start by clearly defining the core issue.”
Adam Hardee
“The then-current approach did not factor in replenishment timeliness to the SSC from DLA Distribution,” he said, noting the approach relied on assumptions rather than policy. “This resulted in [the Distribution Standard System] recommending inadequate levels to Aviation shop managers, which degraded performance.”
They reframed the problem and solved it by developing a new algorithm and introducing the SSC Fill Rate Tool, which factored in Air Force ordering patterns and replenishment times. The tool led to historic fill rates and laid the groundwork for a new supportability system capable of predicting supply chain issues 24 months in advance.
“To refine and finalize a problem statement for maximum clarity and impact, we start by clearly defining the core issue,” Hardee said. His team uses the “five Ws” technique to dig past the symptoms and uncover root causes.
Data acumen is also critical in preventing assumptions from derailing mission completion, as supply chain analyst Thomas Wright saw firsthand while working to forecast requirements for depot repairs to DLA-sourced parts.
“It was assumed the forecast requirements from the customer were accurate,” Wright said. “But when we completed a comparison analysis using historic versus forecasted data, it revealed that customer requirement data was only about 70% accurate.”
That 30% discrepancy could have cost money and resources, but Wright’s team didn’t just accept the data. They accounted for it and adjusted planning models accordingly.
Supply chain analyst Francisco Bermudez said a structured, data-driven approach relies on verified evidence rather than intuition influenced by unconscious biases. He helped build an unfilled orders dashboard for Navy Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida, and noted that collaboration is a key element of success. The result was a Qlik app that became a command-level tool for transparency, accountability and performance evaluations.
“All stakeholders had a shared understanding of objectives, data requirements and desired functionalities,” he said.
A Demand Planner Tool that Wright helped build also compares Air Force demand forecasts with actual acquisition data in DLA’s system. It even includes a note system for planners and sustainment specialists to leave breadcrumbs for each other. Before the tool was implemented, teams worked without clear insight into each others’ efforts, but now they address challenges and develop solutions together.
In another example, senior demand and supply chain analyst Bill Huttemann ran into a snag while aligning Army UH-60 helicopter data with DLA supportability. The Health and Usage Monitoring System data didn’t correlate with DLA’s, he said, adding that his team created a cross-reference system that he likened to a Rosetta Stone for helicopter maintenance and repair data.
Meanwhile, supply chain analyst Andrew Sabatini automated a seven-hour Unliquidated Obligations report with a cloud-based platform.
“Now I spend a few minutes getting my import files set up,”
he said.
Starting with a strong problem statement is a common thread among these successes at DLA Aviation.
Hardee said tomorrow’s analysts will need more than Excel. They’ll need programming chops in Python and R, visual storytelling in Power BI and Qlik, cloud fluency, and business acumen. Most importantly, he said, they’ll need the ability to ask the right questions and tell the right story.