APPLYING COMMERCIAL PROCEDURES AND TECHNOLOGY TO THE UNITED STATES NAVY'S MATERIAL INVENTORY VALIDITY

The Department of the Navy (DON) is faced with the need to improve inventory accuracy in order to increase readiness in multiple theaters. There are many commercial logistics organizations that excel at warehousing, supply chain management, and transportation; the DON has the opportunity to evaluate whether to adopt innovative technologies to improve its material accountability and readiness. This study examines the logistics model of high-profile, successful organizations to identify processes and technologies that would be potential adoption candidates to enable real-time audit for the DON. Further, the study conducts a cost-benefit analysis to determine the best-value technological tools for acquisition by the DON. The findings suggest that purchasing Automated Mobile Robot technology by Fetch Robotics is the most beneficial alternative for real-time inventory accountability.Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited