Previously, logistics managers made a 35-minute drive from their Naval Station Mayport work site to the private shipyard across the St. Johns River to view the inventory reports and transaction ledgers that help them do their job.
The difference is access to the system called R-Supply, or Relational Supply, which is the database where Navy ships log and track their inventories. Now our logisticians at the Mayport maintenance can connect to a ship’s R-Supply database to view and generate reports.
Due to the sensitive nature of Navy ship information, this access required the cooperation of several commands, dozens of approvals and myriad technical changes, including access to a new server farm in Virginia.
But, after months of incremental progress, momentum picked up after NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville Industrial Support Department Director Glen Van Vorst mentioned the problem in a casual way to Capt. Dave Carnal, commanding officer of NAVSUP Business Systems Center, while Carnal was visiting Jacksonville.
After the technical work was done, our logisticians successfully tested the process with USS Farragut (DDG 99) while the destroyer was undergoing maintenance.
And there’s more to come. Barcode readers, scanners, printers, and software that make up the system known as Integrated Barcode System-One will ultimately be integrated into the system and fully automate the process.
Our thanks to NAVSUP Business Systems Center for its advocacy and to Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic and the Program Executive Office for Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions for technical expertise during this process.
