Exploring Options to Improve Supply Chain Operations: A Review of Current Approaches and New Opportunities in Demand Forecasting, Robotic Process Automation, and Cyber Integrity
Abstract
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has had long-standing concerns about its supply chains and their potential for degradation. Given the varied types of resources for which USAF manages the supply chains, the complexity of those supply chains, the reliance on the defense industrial base, and opportunities for degradation, the Headquarters U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection (HAF/A4) asked RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) to identify technology and investment options to mitigate supply chain degradation, focusing specifically on forecasting the demand for legacy aircraft spare parts, applying robotic process automation for supply chain management and execution, and mitigating risks associated with cyber integrity. The RAND PAF research team employed different methodologies for each of the three lines of effort but developed use cases that cut across the different lines of effort to present findings and recommendations focused on cyber controls for integrity risks associated with the use of bots, as well as demand forecasting. We also highlighted opportunities for USAF to expand its current both initiatives, including a use case that could have value in improving spare part demand forecasts for a unique class of parts and a method of approach to future investments, more generally, that could improve demand forecasting.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1223843
Entities
People
- Bradley Deblois
- Chad Heitzenrater
- Christopher E. Maerzluft
- Dahlia A. Goldfeld
- James A. Leftwich
- Joshua Steier
- Luke Muggy
- Shannon Prier
- Sydne J. Newberry
Organizations
- RAND Corporation