Air Force Materiel Command (May 16, 2007): Global Logistics Support Center (Provisional) stands up.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Air Force Materiel Command's newest unit designed to consolidate logistics aid officially stood up during a May 7 ceremony.

The Global Logistics Support Center (Provisional) is tasked with standing up the GLSC, which will become the Air Force supply chain management process owner, providing enterprise planning, global command and control and a single focal point, all in support of the full range of military operations.

While the provisional headquarters for GLSC currently is at Wright-Patterson AFB, officials have yet to determine a permanent location. The command and control cell will be at Scott AFB, Ill., while the planning cell may be located at one of AFMC's three air logistics centers.

According to Air Force Col. Brent Baker, commander of the provisional unit, "We have a core team from Headquarters Air Force and Headquarters AFMC's Logistics Directorate. The team also consists of subject matter experts from the air logistics centers and other Air Force agencies. We'll also use contractor support to stand up the GLSC."

Maj. Gen. Gary McCoy, the Air Force logistics readiness director and former director of logistics and sustainment at Headquarters AFMC, said that material management has become increasingly complex because the Air Force is maintaining systems that have exceeded their expected lifetime, in harsh environmental conditions, and at extraordinary operational rates.

McCoy indicated that the Air Force plans to build on a 34 percent improvement in supply rates through the eLog21 campaign and other recent improvements in logistics support. GLSC is considered to be one of the key elements in the Air Force logistics transformation. The main objectives of eLog21 are to increase the equipment availability rate by 20 percent and decrease operations and support costs by 10 percent by fiscal 2011.

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The GLSC has three primary functions:

* The enterprise-wide planning of the Air Force supply chain including planning for material, maintenance, and distribution.

* The GLSC will exercise command and control as a single point of contact for customers to resolve immediate logistics issues at the point of execution.

* The GLSC will be the single point of entry and authority for enterprise supply chain information management. This will include the management of business rules, policies and procedures, providing functional requirements for supply chain systems and measuring, assessing, and taking action to improve supply chain performance through enterprise metrics and analysis capability.

According to Baker, successful implementation of the GLSC requires the application of world-class best practices no matter where they come from, be it DoD or private industry.

"Effective implementation includes a GLSC vision defined by core processes, a detailed Concept of Operations, organization structure, a comprehensive implementation strategy that includes a change management and risk mitigation plan, implementation metrics, and an integrated master schedule," the colonel said. "We'll accomplish this through AFSO21 events and an effective facilitation of a streamlined GLSC governance process."

According to Trixie Brewer, the provisional organization's deputy director, between 4,000 and 5,000 people will be assigned to the GLSC when it is fully operational.

"However, these people won't all be at one location," said Brewer. "They'll still be in place where they are, just part of a different organization."

Officials say they expect the GLSC to achieve initial capability in 2008. The first phase will network current locations, skill sets, and capabilities into a single supply chain organization, using leaned processes and enhanced information technology systems.

The second phase will revolve around the Expeditionary Combat Support System, newly skilled supply chain managers and lean, agile logistics processes by fiscal 2012.

"While the GLSC will be the hub for supply chain management activities occurring at multiple locations, the implementation of the organization will involve substantial organizational change that will dictate development of new command relationships, organizational responsibilities, training programs, unit manning documents and processes," said Baker. "But these changes will be anchored in our efforts to map, lean, and properly align overall Air Force supply chain processes."

Scharven writes for Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs.