Members of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support executive leadership team met virtually in January for a strategic offsite to discuss the command’s path ahead for 2021.
The team met again in February to solidify their goals, which align with the chief of naval operations’ Navigation Plan 2021, the Naval Sustainment System Supply initiative known as NSS-Supply, and the command’s internal Blueprint for Supply Chain Excellence.
“In the CNO’s 2021 Navigation plan, he discusses 4 top priorities - our sailors, readiness, capability and capacity,” said NAVSUP WSS Commander Rear Adm. Doug Noble. “Our own Blueprint goals are aligned with these priorities and they are also supported by our efforts with NSS-Supply.”
NSS-Supply is an effort designed to address the Navy’s requirement for a single, strategic-scale, and sustainable design for a Navy-wide supply chain with the right mix of organic and commercial activities in order to deliver, project and sustain the force required for warfighting. The effort focuses on six pillars: Achieve End-to-End Integration, Demand Management, Optimize Working Capital Fund Portfolio, Shape Industrial Base, Optimize Organic Repair, and Increase End-to-End (E2E) Velocity.
As the lead organization for the Increase E2E Velocity pillar, NAVSUP WSS is working to shorten end-to-end repair turnaround times, and move parts through the system faster. This will allow for a higher velocity supply chain, maximizing responsiveness to mission partner needs.
While keeping the goals of the Navigation Plan, Blueprint and NSS-Supply in mind, the group split into six teams – people, processes, mission partners, finance, communication, and information technology. These teams, each aligning with one of the command’s Blueprint strategic priorities or enablers, brainstormed how to bridge the gap between the current state of each area and the ideal state. The teams developed draft charters and roadmaps that will guide efforts over the coming year.
The people team will establish knowledge transfer events for all employees, covering various topics including core business as well as leadership skills. The team will also stand up a senior leadership recognition program.
The process team is tasked with the implementation of a Material Support Date health check that will be utilized across the command. The mission partner team will define the command’s role as the E2E supply chain integrator, determine which performance standards best fit the definition, identify gaps and work with the communication team to develop internal and external messaging to ensure consistency throughout the command.
The finance team will be working to improve readiness and requirements reporting, while the communications team will continue developing and improving products and events to bolster the command’s internal and external communications. The IT team will assist the other teams to develop necessary IT tools and solutions to enable success.
The next steps are to establish working groups for each team, and then build detailed action plans to carry out the 2021 goals.
“Nobody knows our business like we do. We need to be bold. We want to be confident and move out to drive the change our Navy needs” said Noble. “Ultimately, we’re trying to increase our urgency and speed in order to have a more agile and responsive supply chain.”
NAVSUP WSS is one of eleven commands under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.