Summary: | As the Department of Defense continues to downsize as a result of various budget reduction initiatives, new, efficient methods must be devised and implemented to increase fleet customer service without degrading readiness. The Navy's Inventory Control Point -Mechanicsburg, PA, (NAVICP-M), Point Five FLSIP Plus (.5F+) COSAL inventory model was designed to meet that challenge. This thesis describes the .5F+ model and its impact on readiness. It then compares that model to a private-sector, not-for-profit, inventory control point, the Materials Management Department of the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH). The techniques that each organization uses to distribute scarce resources, maximizing both effectiveness and customer service levels while minimizing costs were analyzed to identify potential crossover defense-related applications. This thesis also analyzes some of the required trade-offs for each inventory management program. The research shows that SVMH has a more efficient inventory management program become of their customer-oriented strategic planning. DOD could increase their customer effectiveness, efficiency, and readiness by adopting a similar approach. (AN)
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