The U.S. Navy is advancing a logistics IT modernization initiative intended to update the applications that shipyards, aviation units and other organizations across the service branch use to manage parts, products and equipment, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
This effort — known as Naval Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, or N-MRO — is part of the Navy’s broader LOG IT portfolio and aims to elevate the user experience so parts can be ordered more efficiently.
Jeff Baur, product director for logistics IT services within DON’s Program Executive Office for Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions, said PEO-MLB is enhancing a commercial off-the-shelf, or COTS, platform to meet these performance goals.
“The sailors are telling us how they want this tool to be configured. So we have determined that, yes, the tool can meet all of our requirements from a technical standpoint. Now it’s a matter of improving the user experience so that it’s easy for them to use,” Baur said at a recent AFCEA event.
“We’re applying that COTS product broadly across the Department of the Navy, against all of the user requirements that we have for shipyards, ships, aviation,” he continued. “And we’re implementing that solution, first starting with organizational level maintenance, but then moving on to intermediate and depot level maintenance.”
In 2020, IFS and Lockheed Martin secured a $233 million contract to modernize and integrate 20 logistics systems in support of the N-MRO program. Through this contract, the companies will deliver a platform infused with predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and digital twin capabilities to address potential equipment failures before they occur.
According to Baur, PEO-MLB recently concluded the initial testing of the platform on a ship and will leverage the results to identify next steps for design and capability improvements.
