What’s Next for USTRANSCOM Transportation Management System
Telesto Group and its partners are implementing the USTRANSCOM TMS in logical phases both by capability as well as location. Now that things are running smoothly in several locations in terms of linking assets, using all modes of transportation (air, sea, and land), integrating with partners (including commercial vendors), asset visibility, financial compliance, and cybersecurity, the next step is to take all those capabilities worldwide, with Japan being the first non-U.S. location to be added to the TMS mix.
One of the most critical elements of this implementation is taking the logistical specificity out of the mode of transportation so USTRANSCOM, its subordinate commands, and its vendors can “talk” across platforms from anywhere in the world. By making modes, routes, rates, and schedules all speak the same language, ultimately the TMS solution is expected to take transportation planning from weeks down to days, which gets assets to where and when forces need it more quickly and cost effectively. For example, during scenario testing, the TMS solution decreased the number of systems needed to touch a brigade move by 61 percent, which in effect streamlined the number of “touches” needed to make a full brigade move (and all of its equipment and supplies) from one location to another.
Auditability also is a major focus of this implementation. With the TMS, it will be the first time combatant commanders will have in-transit visibility to his or her brigade and at the same time have traceability to funds, expenditures, invoices, and payments. Not only will TMS better track financials tied to the assets that are moving around the world, but ultimately will cost the U.S. taxpayers less to deliver the same equipment worldwide in less time than legacy systems.
The U.S. military is equivalent to an international powerhouse corporation with billions of dollars of assets literally “floating” around at sea…as well as in trucks and on planes. Once fully implemented, the TMS will “deliver the world” to support joint readiness.