Systems Design Procedures for Improved Effectiveness of Military Sea Transportation Service Operations

The primary focal point of the research was Military Sealift Command (MSC) operations and their interfaces with the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC). We describe surface transportation activities and supporting management systems through a horizontal view (the logistics supply chain and its associated agencies) and a vertical view (the strategic, tactical, and operational decision processes for planning and control); we consider the operational level in more detail and describe basic processes and systems associated with cargo traffic management. This provides a perspective on the problems of horizontal data and system integration across the several agencies and processes supporting cargo traffic management; and we discuss design and implementation issues. The key issue is the degree of (de)centralization of control/responsibility for design, development, and data specification within and among agencies in the transportation and deployment community. Finally, we summarize several pressing problems with the current state of defense transportation systems and delineate research opportunities which we view as promising.