This Phase I base and Option project proposes to adapt 14bis Supply Trackings existing Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) product for Logistics to provide Just In Time Medical Logistics. It will test the operational feasibility of a TRL 4 prototype web-based portal with desktop and mobile applications and the algorithms developed for 5 specific metrics. Machine Learning capabilities will be trained to optimize Just In Time medical logistics. The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) uses multiple independent systems for medical logistics and tracking medical supply data including: Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS), Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratorys (MCWLs) prototype concept, Medical Common Operating Picture (MedCOP), Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK) and Unmanned systems (UxS) software among others. Medical personnel spend inordinate time accessing the disparate systems. This means that the onus is on the individual to access, collate and devise medical logistics requirements. The entire process uses up valuable manhours that can be deployed elsewhere and is prone to human error. Consequently, human oversight and system errors in inventory accountability, inspections, storage, and transportation of Class VIII materials, which are medical materials, result in unnecessary gaps and loss of information. This delays deployment of medical resources to forward locations (deployment or training). This lack of visibility prevents warfighters from having access to the proper medical supplies for mission readiness in a timely and efficient manner, which is critical under stressful combat environments. Furthermore, long lead times for supply and logistics fulfillment results in misallocated resources. This is detrimental to missions that need to ensure medical support readiness for the injured warfighter. 14bis Supply Tracking (14bis) is an award-winning software company focused on interoperability for supply chain and logistics with a successful track record with transitioning innovative technology. 14bis provides supply chain and logistics solutions to track assets across Defense industries through increased security using proprietary software focused on real-time secure data flows across systems: interoperability. 14bis products are hardware agnostic. They can work with any device or tag type (RFID, barcode, etc.). The products provide geolocation, timestamping and secure chain-of-custody in real time of assets with actionable data analytics dashboards. 14bis' mission is to make asset tracking simple, efficient, affordable and stress-free for customers.
Benefit: The benefits of adapting the 14bis Supply Trackings existing Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) product for Logistics to provide Just In Time Medical Logistics will enable tailored, situation and time-specific medical ordering, tracking, and logging with existing medical systems like BATDOK, MedCOP, DMLSS, and AMALs. This will create new opportunities for forces operating out of expeditionary facilities to receive tailorable resupply shipments that meet their needs, and projects future needs through the application of the algorithms and training of machine learning by 14bis. Furthermore, the success of this project could address massive healthcare issues in the DoD, Federal government and private sector. Ultimately, our goal is to provide the product to all of the Armed Forces. This would help the USMC Just In Time needs because they depend on the cooperation of various agencies, including DLA, and the overall Military Health System modernization efforts.
Keywords: just in time, just in time, algorithm, demand-based logistics, supply chain, Medical Logistics, Logistics, operations planning, Machine Learning
