Reducing Risks In Military Supply Chain Management: Strategies And Analysis

Recent Trends in Military Logistics

Militaries have been trying to develop the commercial best practices to the way of doing businesses. The commercial industries sometimes seek the effective tactics that can mitigate the emerging risks in the military supply chain management. According to Hugos (2018), the military leaders have been prioritizing the resilient logistics and supply chain management process to ensure success on the battlefield. It is in fact noticed that the Military logistics is much expensive. The report is thus focusing on identifying the probable risks associated with the inputs into the military supply chain management. The development of the literature study will be exploring the conceptual and theoretical knowledge about the associated risks encountered in the military supply chain management. The study will also recognize the strategies to reduce these identified risks. In addition to this, the report will present a detailed plan for the remainder of the project.  

Military Supply Chain and Logistics process is quite expensive. It requires the appropriate planning. Risks occur at any moment and create the uncertainties. According to Humphries (2013), military logistics is quite inseparable from the combat. Moving forces to hotspots, bringing the militaries home, and providing them necessary facilities are essentially needed to be taken into account. Hence, it is important to prepare the assessment plan and identifying the risks. However, in some situations, the risks are quite unpredictable. The militants are unaware the exact location of the attacks. Therefore, they sometimes fail to calculate the risk severity (Glas, Hofmann and Eßig 2013). However, the systematic approach undertaken for reducing the risks. The appropriate strategies are needed to be identified for achieving the purpose in such context.

The aim of the research is to develop the set of strategies that can reduce the risks encountered in the inputs of military supply chain management.

• To explore the conceptual ideas of the risk in the military logistics and supply chain management
• To critically assess the preferable strategies that can minimize the risks associated in this process
• To identify the challenges encountered in developing the risk minimization strategies in the military logistics and supply chain management
• To present the suitable recommendations for overcoming the challenges

The research structure is as followed:

• Introduction: This chapter will introduce the background of the research as well as state the aims and objectives.
• Literature Review: The chapter explores conceptual and theoretical underpinning related to the subject matter.
• Research Methodology: The chapter provides the systematic process of conducting the entire research study.

The recent trends in the military logistics process ensues the requirements of the smaller training in the supply chain management. K?r?lmaz and Erol (2017) pointed out that the effective logistics and supply chain management in the military field require maintaining flexibility for meeting the needs. It has been observed that the military logistics and supply chain process involves the cargo drivers and the heavy equipments due to which the process is quite expensive. The literature study will thus identify the conceptual analysis of the risks in a specific manner. The information obtained from this analysis will be aligned to the risks encountered in the military logistics process. The strategies for reducing such emerging risks will also be highlighted in this literature study.

Identifying Risks in the Military Supply Chain Process

According to Bichou (2015), risk is often defined as the emerging uncertainty regarding any specific loss. Many scholars have defined the risks in different ways. Christopher (2016) explained that risk is generally conceptualized as the unwanted event, which may or may not occur. It is defined that the severity of the probable risks can be measured by judging the weighted average of the outcomes or consequences. Therefore, during the risk assessment process, the managers need to make the decisions by measuring the total risks against the total benefits. When the organisation encounters the emerging risks within any practices, it is essential to identify the suitable method of mitigating or reducing it. Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani (2016) suggested that the emerging risks are needed to be communicated properly for understanding the severity. It also generates the sense of reliability among the stakeholders in time of crisis. Therefore, it can be stated that the risk identification is the primary phase of reducing the severity of the risks. The risks encountered in the military supply chain management have the clear impact on the military practices. It is thus necessary for the personnel to develop the clear approach that can reduce the risk severity and develop better military practices as well as ensure success. The further section of the study will identify the associated risks encountered in the military supply chain process.

The first and foremost risk identified in the Military logistics is the high expenses of the capital amount. The military logistics process involves the heavy equipment and the cargo drivers that require the higher cost for the investment purpose. Melnyk, Narasimhan and DeCampos (2014) observed that the uncertainty in the future events is another probable risks visible during the military logistics and supply chain process. It is important for the military planners to develop a structured budget for the ‘war reserve materials’, ‘stock piles’ and the reserve transport capacity to become properly prepared for the uncertain events. In current environment, it has been observed that the engagement of the DoD is focusing on developing the better military planning process. It certainly brought transformations initiatives in diverse fonts of the military practices (Ozdemir and Bayrak 2015). The military defense contractors should opt to focus on the DoD manufacturing and they should try to cut down the flow times in this situation all the more.

Erbel and Kinsey (2018) observed that the current evaded in the currency and financial markets are affecting the supply chain management in the military field. It is true that the location of attack is absolutely uncertain. Therefore, it is quite difficult to estimate the costs for the necessary equipment require for the location. If the authority just decides to pass on the data, this will not be much helpful to bring down the effect of the uncertainty. Therefore, it creates the significant uncertainty. The integrated system in the military logistics process creates the considerable risks in this process (Crean 2017). If the service lacks the appropriate connectivity with the associated arms, it might create the severe risks the military logistics process. Without the appropriate understanding of the scenario, the risks can affect the entire supply chain process. It is considered that the severity of the probable risks can be measured by judging the weighted average of the outcomes or consequences (Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani 2016). Therefore, during the risk assessment process, the managers need to make the decisions by measuring the total risks against the total benefits. Therefore, the management of the military group needs to ensure the emerging risks by developing an integrated plan. The uncertainties in this scenario lie in the transportation of the communities at the right place at the right time (Melnyk, Narasimhan and DeCampos 2014). The inappropriate time allocation can also affect the entire process and decline the process of military supply chain management.

Types of Risks Encountered in Military Supply Chain Management

The different types of risk probability create the significant impact on the military supply chain management. The following types of risks are observed in this area.

The operational risks determine the ability of the firm to deal with the inventory, production, or any distribution process. It is noticeable that the operational process in military logistics is quite complex as well as time-consuming. The organisational reengineering process has the control over the entire logistic system (Elvira, John, and Nancy 2015). The military logistics is transited into Combat Logistics Command. On the other hand, the government legislations and the defense budget prepared for this supply chain process may create the significant risks in a considerable way.

It is observed that the repaired module that is executed in the contracted military maintenance companies is one of the greater sources for supply or demand risks. If the quality of the process is low, there will be a higher chance of the disrupted supply flow that may result in performance-related consequences (Christopher 2016). The research on this field informed that the poor quality of the raw materials that are procured from the local or foreign suppliers can also create the significant risks on the supply or demands. In addition to this, another most prominent issue is observed in the mismanagement of the appropriate time and quantity for distributing the military products or forces.

The information risk determines the risks associated with the ability of the hardware to capture, process, and utilize the data. The infrastructure and the communication channel of the information are the key drivers of such type of risk. If the information is incompatible, the managers would face the risks of high supply chain process (Melnyk, Narasimhan and DeCampos 2014). The lack of proper information causes delay in supply and maintenance process due to which the risks become higher.

Environmental risks occur when the external forces influence the system in a considerable way. For example, the regulations, infrastructure, legislations, innovations, and market competitions are the major external forces that may affect the military supply chain process. It is stated that the environmental risks have the most considerable impact on the military organisations since the disruption at the environmental prevents the control over the systems by the supply chain managers (Jacobs and Chase 2013). In fact, the defense policies are sometimes influence the defense budget plan.

These specific types of risks are quiet observable in the military supply chain process. The in-depth analysis of the issues needs to be taken into considerations while formulating or discussing the strategies that can prevent the risks more specifically. The military leaders need to take the hands-on approach to reduce the risks associated with the system.

Strategies for Reducing Risks in Military Supply Chain Management

The risks that arise in case of the military supply chain management in the country will have to be mitigated from every aspect. As the military force in all the countries is a very crucial thing to deal with, the countries must ensure that the risks are well covered and the best outcomes are found to resolve the risks. It has to be said in this context that the military supply chains will need five important things for the betterment of their services (Melnyk, Narasimhan and DeCampos 2014). 

These five things are engineering, manufacturing, logistics, management and repairing. There are many opportunities for the improvement of the military supply chains. If these five systems can work together in harmony, this will bring great results for the military systems indeed (Melnyk, Narasimhan and DeCampos 2014). If these five systems are used properly within the organization, this will be beneficial for the military personnel to work in to work in a smooth way. The military system can face many subtle uncertainties in their operations but the best way to confront that is to collaborate with their supply chain partners and focus on all five of these fields.

The effect of data sharing will be very much essential indeed. This is why this process of data sharing should be processed in good way indeed. If the authority just decides to pass on the data, this will not be much helpful to bring down the effect of the uncertainty. It is considered that the severity of the probable risks can be measured by judging the weighted average of the outcomes or consequences. The military defense contractors should opt to focus on the DoD manufacturing and they should try to cut down the flow times in this situation all the more. This will simply cater to provide the best services indeed. The services will have to be made more predictable indeed.

The need for the proper supply chain management in the military operations has great variations due to the different needs of the combat units, commodities for coping up with long running confrontations and the sending the different commodities to operating locations. The supply chain partners will have to be much efficient and responsible as the safety of the country largely depends on the operations of these military personnel (Jacobs and Chase 2013).  The repairing services will have to be done properly by improving the knowledge and inventory levels of the transportation facilities for the maximized benefits.

Literature review is the great source of knowledge in terms of understanding the probable risks associated with the military supply chain process. The discussion on this literature review section generates the idea about the lack of appropriate communication and informational sources that affect the supply chain process in an observable way. Apart from the mentioned strategies of preventing such risks, it is necessary for the military leaders to establish the communicational transparency for developing the appropriate flow of information (Jacobs and Chase 2013). The adequate and correct information reduces the risks in delaying the supply chain process. The better relationships and interactions with the leaders and the associated military forces are much beneficial in reducing the emerging risks during the supply chain process. Implementation of the suitable strategies requires the clear monitoring and review process.

The literature presents the appropriate conceptual ideas about the risks occur in the military logistics and supply chain process. However, the limited resources available for the study are quite a pitfall in such context. Due to the limited information, the literature study does not state the updated methods are followed in the military logistics and supply chain process. Moreover, the lack of time also created the considerable limitations in this literature study.

 The research study needs to be conducted in a systematic way. The study is specifically highlighting the suggestive risk reduction strategies for the risks encountered in the Military logistics and supply chain process. The mixed method research will be appropriate for gathering data in this process. It suggests that both the primary and the secondary data will be collected for gathering information regarding the subject area. The secondary data will be collected from the secondary sources, such as journals, books, and news paper articles. On the other hand, the primary data will be collected from surveying people involved with the military practices. The information gathered from the primary data collection process and secondary data collection process will be aligned together to analyse the research issues in a detailed way. The responses gathered from the survey process will be analyzed by using graphs and chart. The MS Excel will be used for calculating the primary data received from the respondents who have been dealing with the real life scenario. The appropriate use of the software tools will be helpful for completing the research in a synchronized way.

 Table 1: Timeline

(Source: Created by the Author)

References

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Elvira n, L., John f, R. and Nancy y., M. 2015. Measuring and Managing Army Supply Chain Risk: A Quantitative Approach by Item Number and Commercial Entity Code. Arroyo Center. pp. 6-20.

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR900/RR902/RAND_RR902.pdf

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https://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/177650

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