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Medical Material Readiness Assessment

Medical support for complex casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised expectations that the medical materiel supply chain—a critical enabler of today’s high survivability rate for combat casualties and historically low rates of disease and non-battle injuries—will respond quickly and reliably. Combatant command surgeons now express their confidence in the effectiveness of the medical materiel system.  As the DoD Medical Materiel Executive Agent (MMEA), the Director, Defense Logistics Agency plays a crucial role in maintaining this critical life-saving capability.

To ensure an effective integration of strategic, operational, and tactical planning and execution, LMI was asked to conduct a medical materiel readiness assessment—evaluating the medical materiel supply chain performance in support of current operations. Key to this process was our experience with and understanding of the critical materiel requirements needed for effective in-theater operations, the inventory management and distribution practices involved, and insights on how to most effectively exploit supply chain operations to ensure materiel availability when it is needed. Our analysis validated an effective level of supply chain performance in support of current operations and assessed the supply chain’s design and response.

We recently delivered a report to the MMEA to help the development of a broader medical supply chain strategy and theater support concepts. In it, we provided specific recommendations and courses of action for improvements that will help the MMEA better focus on in-theater support, enhance visibility over the full medical supply chain, better manage commercial components of the supply chain, and manage itself in its role as Executive Agent for Medical Materiel.