MTMC moves forward to revamp defense moves.

The Military Traffic Management Command is moving ahead to change substantially the way the nation's service members move.

MTMC has presented to the U.S. Transportation Command a comprehensive plan that will significantly revamp defense moves, beginning October 2004. The plan was briefed Sept. 16 to a General Officers' Steering Committee, and Sept. 18 to the semi-annual personal property Military/Industry Symposium.

Currently, the Department of Defense spends over $1.7 billion annually on personal property moves managed by MTMC. With the inclusion of commercial-based services and quality of life additions, the new program is estimated to increase direct cost by 13 percent; however, planned efficiencies in the new program will reduce both storage and claims costs.

"At last," said Col. Silvia Anderson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Passenger and Personal Property, "we're moving forward. Our `Families First' plan incorporates years of pilot test efforts and moving experience.

"We greatly appreciate the support of the industry associations and the military services in developing this plan. We have developed the basis of a program that ensures members and their family can look forward to a quality move by a quality transportation provider. The most significant change for the members is their empowerment to determine who is a quality carrier. The traffic distribution method is based 70 percent on customer satisfaction and 30 percent on cost, which squarely places the focus on the needs of service members first."

To help ensure the success of the new program, service members will evaluate the transportation services they receive by completing a customer survey to assist in rating transportation providers. Surveys will be completed via the Web or by phone and only take up a few minutes of time.

The Department of Defense generates an average of 612,000 personal property moves a year. The existing program, now 30 years old, has generated many customer quality control complaints, and is fraught with inefficiency.

The new program, said Anderson, offers positive features for all sectors of the program.

Through better member-mover communications, the program will foster a reduction in temporary storage by increasing the number of door-to-door deliveries, said Anderson.

"A program feature called Spread Dates provides windows for both pickup and delivery--versus a guaranteed, or rigid, delivery date," said Anderson. "This will enable both members and transportation providers more flexibility to ensure the direct delivery when housing has not been arranged in advance."

There is an added benefit to reducing moves that require temporary storage, said Dinah Locklear, Chief, Personal Property Re-engineering Division.

"The greatest benefit of this is a reduction in damage caused by multiple handling of the personal property shipment," said Locklear.

In fact, correcting the frustrations surrounding loss and damage claims in the current program was the loudest refrain heard from members in earlier surveys. The new program envisions a streamlined claim process (much of it Web-enabled), direct settlement with the transportation provider and full value replacement up to a maximum of $50,000.

Another program feature, the Web counseling module, will expand information about the moving process to military customers.

The business focus of the plan is on the commercial firms who move the personal property, said Locklear. Transportation providers must demonstrate they are financially viable, have experience and maintain required performance bonds and cargo/liability insurance.

In return for high standards, commercial firms will be paid at a more competitive level. The MTMC program calls for adopting discounts off the commercial tariff, which provides the rate base used by the moving industry.

The new program was developed in a rapid series of MTMC-moving industry meetings, beginning June 19. One session was hosted by the Logistics Management Institute, McLean, Va.

Representatives from a trio of trade associations participated in the meetings, including the American Moving & Storage Association, Household Good Freight Forwarders of America, Inc., and Military Mobility Coalition.

The seven-week, fast-track effort was centered on the work of five smaller business-process working groups, which focused on rates, payments, claims, quality control and information systems.

The working groups reengineered processes, based on the guidance from a recent U.S. Transportation Command report that reviewed MTMC's personal property program and a quartet of pilot programs designed to improve it.

The USTRANSCOM report cited the need for improvements in the acquisition process, information systems technology, and the process of liability and claims.

"The whole idea was to leverage the lessons learned from the pilots and best practices," said Anderson.

Key plan features for Military Service Members:

Movers are required to have toll-free numbers to assist direct communication between the service member and the transportation provider.

Members will now provide in-transit contact information to the mover. More communication is expected to increase the number of direct deliveries and door-to-door moves. This will provide a more seamless move for the service member, and at the same time, be more economical.

Door-to-door delivery will help reduce temporary storage costs, and will minimize handling, which reduces opportunities for lost or damaged property.

The new program will require movers to provide a higher liability for full replacement value of lost or damaged goods. Currently, service members only receive a discounted value for loss.

In place of the current bureaucratic system, the revised program will be simplified and claims settled between the mover and customer.

Of additional assistance to the customer will be moving information and counseling available on the Web via any personal computer.

Features for the Military Services:

The military services will find, while they are paying additional direct costs, the revamped personal property moving program will provide a greater return on investment.

Ultimately, the program will speed the readiness of newly arrived personnel. The nation's service members will not be distracted from their duties due to protracted moving details.

A more professional move, with less loss or damage, will be a significant quality-of-life booster for service member families.

There will be a greater information flow--much of it Web based--to service member families, which will empower them during the moving process. Many factors in the new program, such as more door-to-door moves, which reduce temporary storage costs and damage claims, will be a hedge on the program's higher direct costs.

In the new program, the Department of Defense will find itself with a greater management perspective. New program automation will come from commercial off-the-shelf software. The enhanced software will provide complete oversight on the performance of personal property moves.

The win-win basis of the plan includes positive attributes for industry: transportation providers of personal property moves will find that the new program, while demanding higher qualitative performance, provides industry partners with greater operational flexibility.

The process of a military move will be modernized with a reduction in government unique forms and processes.

Best value awards, which have long been a hallmark in the rest of MTMC's transportation awards, will expand to personal property.

Now the lowest price is not necessarily the determining factor in a transportation award.

Another feature borrowed from regular MTMC freight movements will be the required use of PowerTrack automated payment software.

For a small fee, transportation providers will receive the payments for their moves in a span of a few days.