Military logistics - from military sciences for the science of management and quality

Pomimo dynamicznych zmian zachodzących wewnątrz sił zbrojnych, jak i w ich otoczeniu zewnętrznym istota poznania i obszary zainteresowania logistyki wojskowej pozostają od lat praktycznie niezmienne. Współczesny, interdyscyplinarny charakter logistyki wojskowej jest wypadkową jej długoletniej ewolucji, przebiegającej na przestrzeni lat w ramach wielu dyscyplin naukowych, spośród których prym wiodły: nauki wojskowe, nauki techniczne, zarządzanie, ekonomia czy kwalitologia. Szerokie spektrum tzw. pól problemowych logistyk wojskowej warunkuje ich rozpatrywanie na płaszczyźnie wielu dyscyplin w ujęcie interdyscyplinarnym. Obecnie wiele argumentów wskazuje jednak na to, że dyscyplina nauki o zarządzaniu i jakości w wymiarze epistemologicznym i ontologicznym wykazuje najściślejsze związki poznawcze z przedmiotem badań logistyki wojskowej. Celem artykułu jest identyfikacja i ocena ewolucji logistyki wojskowej postrzeganej jako specjalności nauk wojskowych oraz nauk o zarządzaniu i jakości. Podjęty do rozwiązania problem badawczy został sprecyzowany w następującej postaci: Jaki wpływ na współczesny, interdyscyplinarny wymiar logistyki wojskowej wywarła jej ewolucja od nauk wojskowych do nauk o zarządzaniu i jakości? W materiale wykorzystano szereg metod, wśród których wiodące były: analiza i synteza, kwerenda literatury przedmiotu, abstrahowanie oraz wnioskowanie. Jako metodę empiryczną wykorzystano metodę sondażu diagnostycznego z użyciem techniki wywiadu eksperckiego. Przyjęte podejście umożliwiło uzyskanie przekrojowego charakteru rozważań, dając jednocześnie podstawy do dalszych, poszerzonych badań tego niezwykle istotnego oraz aktualnego problemu.

Devising matrix technology for forecasting the dynamics in the operation of a closed military logistics system

There is a tendency of intensive development of a new scientific area aimed at optimizing the processes of comprehensive ensuring the life of society and industrial processes of countries, specifically logistics, and its more important aspect, military logistics. This paper considers typical contradictions between the need and opportunities for additional development of the theory of processes involving this system. On the one hand, the military has important, dynamic, multifaceted processes for the comprehensive provision of their combat operations to analyze, which requires significant intensification of the development of methods and models for quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the functioning of military logistics systems. On the other hand, there is now limited availability of theoretical developments and the practical application of the necessary, convenient, effective mathematical tools aimed at computerization of solving the problems of providing military scientific and technical problems in real time. Matrix technology for forecasting the dynamics of functioning of closed systems of military logistics of various military purposes is proposed. Matrix calculus makes it possible to obtain intermediate and ultimate results in a compact form and carry out complex and cumbersome calculations using effective algorithms. A method to precisely solve the system of linear differential equations describing processes of arbitrary type has been proposed. The method is based on the use of the operational calculus by Laplace. The possibilities of the method and procedures of forecasting are illustrated by solving practical military tasks that arise during the functioning of military logistics systems of varying complexity. These tasks differ in configuration, different numbers of possible states, and state transitions

FAHP FOR SELECTING TRANSPORT MODES OF TAIWAN OFF-SHORE ISLANDS’ MILITARY LOGISTICS

Three off-shore islands of Taiwan: Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu are critical in tactical position for Taiwan military, but lack of scarcity resource. Therefore, logistics is very important especially for the off-shore islands. Practically, most of the goods and materials are transported to the islands in the way of shipping and air transportation by Taiwan. However, the severe weather of the islands makes the transportation difficult or even to delay, which is a serious problem for the military logistics of the islands. To raise transportation performance, a proper evaluation method is necessary for military logistics to select the best transport mode based on reducing cost and emphasizing efficiency. Generally, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) may be a method in the selection of transport modes for Taiwan off-shore islands’ military logistics. However, some computation procedures in AHP are hard or complicated especially for processing numerous interviewees’ messages. To resolve the above tie, we utilize fuzzy analytic hierarchy process(FAHP) in selecting transport modes for Taiwan off-shore islands’ military logistics in this paper. After integrating interviewees’(i.e., querying soldiers’) opinions into fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrices, FAHP, being different from AHP, simply and efficiently yields priorities of the fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrices to find the best transport mode of Taiwan off-shore islands’ military logistics.

Assessing uncertainty and risk in an expeditionary military logistics network

Uncertainty is rampant in military expeditionary operations spanning high-intensity combat to humanitarian operations. These missions require rapid planning and decision-support tools to address the logistical challenges involved in providing support in often austere environments. The US Army’s adoption of an enterprise resource planning system provides an opportunity to develop automated decision-support tools and other analytical models designed to take advantage of newly available logistical data. This research presents a tool that runs in near-real time to assess risk while conducting capacity planning and performance analysis designed for inclusion in a suite of applications dubbed the Military Logistics Network Planning System, which previously only evaluated the mean sample path. Logistical data from combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom drive supply requisition forecasts for a contingency scenario in a similar geographic environment. A nonstationary queueing network model is linked with a heuristic logistics scheduling methodology to provide a stochastic framework to account for uncertainty and assess risk.

A Military Logistics Network Planning System

This paper presents a proof of concept for a Military Logistics Network Planning System (MLNPS) to be used during mission planning to quickly identify a robust logistical footprint that can adequately sustain units deployed in an expeditionary environment. The logistical network is modeled using an efficient form of goal-seeking deterministic discrete event simulation to process supply requisitions through the logistical network. The queuing information obtained from the simulation informs capacity adjustments to the network to maximize efficiency. This process of simulation and network tuning continues interactively until an adequate and robust logistical footprint is found. During the planning stages, the MLNPS can be used to identify and mitigate logistical problems instead of waiting to react to backlogs when the military's operations would have already been affected. Designed to run as an app on the Army's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (Global Combat Support System-Army), the MLNPS can also be used during operations to inform commanders of expected operational impacts on logistics. Contingency operation scenarios are used to demonstrate the MLNPS' capabilities.

A METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE MILITARY-ECONOMIC INDICATORS WITH THE PURPOSE OF LOCATING A LOGISTICS CENTER FOR REDEPLOYING TROOPS

The article proposes a methodology for assessing the economic efficiency of a logistics center that provides technical support to redeploying troops. It is noted that the development of this method is based on the assessment of the efficiency of the logistics center, taking into account its economically efficient functionality, without regard to the use of classical profitability. The author analyzes the structure of capital expenditure and operating expenses allocated for the establishment of a logistics center, proposing the maintenance and repair expenses for each unit of equipment as the main criterion, proposing their calculation in the general case, and substantiating the military-economic indicators of the center. An analysis of the structure of capital expenditure and operating expenses aimed at organizing a logistics center, as well as the military-economic indicators of this center, gives grounds to note the following results: the structure of capital expenditure and operating expenses associated with designing a logistics center for the troops has been elaborated; the calculation method has been developed, taking into account the available resources, communications and infrastructure, information reflected in the annual plans for the operation and maintenance of automotive and armored vehicles of military units; the calculation methodology developed on the basis of the structure of capital expenditure and operating expenses on the organization of a logistics center also reflects the infrastructure indicators related to the geographic location of the center (the distance of the logistics center from the transport hub and the military units it services); the proposed method can be used to choose a geographic location that is favorable from the point of view of economic profitability for organizing a logistics center for the troops; using this method, it is possible to compare the economic aspects of various options of organizing military logistics.