Automation has reached the Army's manufacturing shop floor as part of the final planned implementation of the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP).
The LMP Increment 2 capabilities were delivered to 17 Army Materiel Command (AMC) Organic Industrial Base (OIB) sites from January 2014 through May 2016, bringing full circle what the system set out to do nearly 15 years ago.
The LMP is one of the world's largest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems that tracks and manages equipment, including spare and repair parts, for the Army. The LMP Increment 2 provides new and expanded capabilities to the already deployed system that address several critical Army and DOD initiatives, including and especially shop floor automation.
"Since its initial deployment in 2003, the LMP has saved time, money, and effort by providing the mechanism to accurately track work done in our OIB facilities," said AMC Commander Gen. Dennis L. Via. "This enhanced fielding initiative gives us the ability to create electronic work instructions, and improve capacity planning and scheduling. LMP allows our depots, arsenals, and plants to continue to provide world-class logistics support and readiness to warfighters, while building and gaining efficiencies to remain competitive with commercial industry."
The Army is the only ERP user at the depot level in the DOD, with more than 14,000 users across the OIB, Via noted.
"This program has forever changed the face of the Army's supply chain through automation," said AMC's Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics James Dwyer. "The exponential improvements in managing and tracking materiel has gone from weeks to days and in some instances, days to minutes."
The LMP Increment 2 continues to provide a resounding change from paper records tracking and multiple legacy systems to a centralized component that automates and improves how the Army conducts business. For example, a typical overhaul of an Apache or Blackhawk helicopter requires approximately 30,000 pages of documentation -- enough paper to go end-to-end on 75 football fields. With the LMP Increment 2, most of that paper is replaced with technology, including the use of hand-held tablets that support shop floor automation and automated business processes.
"The LMP truly is one of a kind in its size, scope, capabilities, and reach supporting and interacting with dozens of enterprise information systems across the Army and DOD," said Terry Watson, acting Program Executive Officer Enterprise Information Systems, which has oversight of the LMP. "From its ability to manage and track asset movement to linking data to appropriate financials, the LMP is a powerful information system that the Army relies on 24/7 to support our troops and missions. The LMP team continues to exceed expectations in delivering these capabilities to connect the global Army."
"The LMP Increment 2 is a prime example of what a good enterprise resource planning system should be," said Col. Harry Culclasure, project manager of the Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program. "It's reliable, it delivers, and it's accurate. Beyond that, the system provides capabilities necessary to meet today's needs while laying a foundation we can expand on to address tomorrow's requirements."
In addition to providing functionality to the shop room floor, the LMP Increment 2 adds automatic identification technology and expanded munition requirements, and addresses strategic Army business transformation goals and specific DOD directives.
When the vision for the LMP began some 15 years ago, its mission was to provide world-class logistics for warfighter support. "The LMP has done that and so much more," said Lt. Col. Rob Williams, LMP product manager. "And we will continue to deliver capabilities and sustain the system to further strengthen the strongest Army in the world."
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About the LMP
The LMP is one of the world's largest, fully integrated supply chain, maintenance, repair and overhaul, planning, execution, and financial management systems. It is an SAP-based commercial off-the-shelf Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that manages and tracks orders and delivery of materiel from the Army Materiel Command (AMC) to Soldiers where and when they need it. First deployed in 2003, today the LMP is used throughout the AMC at more than 50 sites with approximately 30,000 users. The LMP also is used by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and select users at U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. For more information about the LMP, visit www.army.mil/lmp.
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