MV-22 SUPPLY CHAIN AGILITY: A STATIC SUPPLY CHAIN SUPPORTING A DYNAMIC DEPLOYMENT

The U.S. Marine Corps prides itself on the ability to successfully operate within a dynamic environment in an expedient and expeditious manner. No small accomplishment, this burden lies heavily on supply professionals and the agility of the supply network in support of operating forces. Supply chain management (SCM) must cultivate dynamic supply chains to be as fluid as the maneuver units it supports. Though military action is reactive at times, proactive preparations foster an ability to increase momentum and gain the initiative. This quantitative research assesses the supply chain of a deployed MV-22 Osprey squadron to discover inefficiencies, and makes recommendations to increase supply chain productivity. Specifically, this study takes advantage of Microsoft Excel and big data techniques to sort through structured and unstructured data. By collaborating with the Department of the Navy (DoN) and obtaining data sets, we are able to apply Excel and Lexical Link Analysis (LLA), a text-mining software, to derive relationships between given data sets. Interpreting these relationships helps determine opportunities, shortfalls, and favorable and unfavorable conditions within the MV-22 Osprey supply chain. The results observed can form the basis for supply chain improvement recommendations and can help enhance DoN SCM productivity.http://hdl.handle.net/10945/61199Major, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited