Initiative speeds defense freight worldwide.

Around the world, the Department of Defense is moving surface freight shipments faster than ever before.

Customers are getting military freight an average of 15 percent faster than a year ago.

Once considered the slow mode of movement, ocean transportation is now providing consistent, timely and synchronized global services to Department of Defense customers.

It is all part of the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative, a joint effort between the Military Traffic Management Command, U.S. Transportation Command, and the Defense Logistics Agency to move defense freight more efficiently.

"A huge success story is emerging," said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, Commander, Military Traffic Management Command.

"I don't think the Department of Defense has ever seen such dramatic reduction in customer wait times," said Privratsky, who also serves as chairman of the initiative's Surface Distribution Committee.

Whether routine sustainment supplies or critical spare parts, warfighters are getting their deliveries faster than ever. As an example, customers within Southern Command receive freight 23 percent faster than the 2000 baseline. It is received in 36 days instead of the previous 47 days.

It is not only speedier deliveries; the quicker shipments reduce excess Department of Defense inventories.

"There are many factors to consider, but our best analysis indicates that faster transportation translates into reductions in inventories," said Lee Strong, a traffic management specialist in MTMC's Distribution Analysis Center.

"The global vision of this initiative is truly providing us with some impressive returns," said Strong.

The essence of the faster shipments is synchronization of freight throughout the entire logistics process. The transshipments of freight through different transportation modes, such as track movements to ships, are pre-coordinated to reduce shore-to-ship delays.

"The actual transportation time for our freight was predictable," said Strong. "What we're doing is squeezing the time out of the nodes. It's true end-to-end supply chain management."

New data indicates speedier freight shipments in three Command-In-Chief operational areas: U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Joint Forces Command.

In the Pacific Command, a 24 percent drop in shipping times has been recorded. It now takes 37 days, on average, to ship from the West Coast to Pacific Ocean destinations. Formerly it took 48 days.

"Some of our destinations have already achieved the targets set for them, including military customers in Guam and Japan," said Strong. "I think a big part of the success was working closely with the customers and understanding their needs."

In some cases, said Strong, obsolete business practices were dismantled. As an example, some customers delayed the movement of shipping containers from ports to receiving warehouses.

"Korea was a good example of this," said traffic management specialist Vivian Washington. "Some customers were storing their goods at the port until demurrage charges starting piling up.

"We educated the chiefs of transportation on the process," said Washington. "We want a culture where cargoes move forward at once--and are not subject to delay at portside. We achieved dramatic changes relatively quickly."

Shipments in Southern Command have also shown an increase.

"We've improved shipping times by 23 percent over our baseline," said traffic management specialist Curtis Moore.

"It is a watershed event."

Faster freight movements have also been recorded in Joint Forces Command, where shipments are moving 19 percent faster than in 2000.

The Strategic Management Defense Initiative started one year ago, with a concentration in U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command.

When the initiative started, it took an average of 64 days to ship supplies and spare parts from a Pennsylvania depot to Germany. After freight handling improvements, by September the average time dropped to 41 days in European Command, a 36 percent reduction in shipping time.

The initiative's success in Europe has created a new challenge. With backlogs reduced at the point of origin, more efficient shipments have increased congestion at European destinations. That new congestion is part of a new focus of the initiative.

"We're going to go the last mile and fix it," said Washington.

Some success in freight shipments have been achieved in U. S. Central Command, but progress is slow.

Some of the challenges include distance and climate.

"In the Central Command, we've cut four days of wait time so far," said Ruth Tetreault. "The current customer wait time is 70 days; our goal is 53 days."

A big challenge is accurate documentation to meet customs requirements in Saudi Arabia. New automation may boost shipping times. A software prototype, said Tetreault, has been developed that is expected to speed customs entry in that country.

"It will provide container manifest data well in advance of shipment approval," said Tetreault. "That will permit host nation approval sooner. In our early tests, the software has been well received by users."

Great credit for the improvements in shipping times go to MTMC's 598th Transportation Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the 599th Transportation Group, Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii.

"They are the people on the spot, working with customers on a day-to-day basis," said Moore. "They see the problems on the ground and suggest solutions."

What does the future hold?

Privratsky predicted additional drops in supply chain distribution time.

"When we crosswalk such reductions as customer wait time and the inventory system, the Department of Defense will have a very impressive story to tell, with huge possibilities for savings, as inventory managers adjust buying behavior and inventories."