Logistics is derived from the Greek word ‘logistikos’ which means skilled in calculating.
In today’s day and age when the doomsday clock is at 100 seconds away from midnight, the world is at the brink of war every other day. In current geopolitical scenarios, proxy wars and invasions are more common than they were 30 years ago.
When such a situation arises, military capabilities are not restricted to the weapons government showcases on the news, but also on how efficiently we source them, how quickly they can reach our personnel in the conflicted regions and so on. Military logistics entails everything from training of personnel to the ration requirements.
Recently, even in the current Ukrainian crisis, the Russian advances seem to be having a tough time moving ahead, making their advancements more complex and tougher. When the troops move ahead, the supply lines get longer and replenishment rate depletes, making it less efficient leading to more malfunctions in the equipment as well.
In this research paper, I am going to talk about what the general military logistical practices exist and, how important it is to make changes to increase its efficiency.
Military supply chain is based on planning mitigation strategies for supply chain interruptions.
Supply Chain in the military perspective is much different from supply chain in the private sector perspective. Several basic concepts like Just in Time (JIT) do not exist in military chain as excess stockpiling is a very common norm. Even in the medieval days, castles had to be stocked up during sieges and cutting the supply routes was the most efficient way to gain control of the fort.
Accurate forecasting and predictive analysis were something even lacked by the Russian military or else their personnel requirement would not have increased so drastically. (Russia requiring conscripted soldiers to take up arms against Ukraine). This can improve by building a common aggregator platform like those formed by the United States.
Now, most of the western countries have an advantage over others i.e., their border regions do not have a conflict that disrupts their sourcing and border traffic for procurement of defense equipment. Europe has a great tactical supply chain advantage here due to ease of transportation and long-established supply lines, making cross border sourcing easier. This not only enhances the distribution network but also multiplies the available suppliers, all countries have their own natural advantages, hence this results in lowering of costs as well. With the raw components for sourcing being available in and near the country the risk of procurement becomes lower and supply chain becomes stronger.
The only commonality in the supply chain between both the sectors is probably outsourcing of non-essential elements to cut down costs. These non-confidential resources are also in need of having multiple suppliers to maintain bargaining power as well as have diversified chains.
The major suggestion I have is using cloud automation, and technologies like ERP for a better predictive analysis, whilst doing intensive road mapping. Transportation is crucial in distribution and road mapping through satellites and other technologies should be done to map the terrain to better estimate delivery schedules and make the chain efficient.
Through this paper, I hope you understood the basics of what military logistics entail and what the steps to increase its efficiency are.
This is also available on substack and linkden