Modernization of Defense Logistics Standard Sys;tems (MODELS). Volume 1. Establishing the Functional Baseline

Abstract : In the 1960s, DoD established single-item managers for acquiring, managing, and distributing material. That approach required significant exchanges of logistics data among the Military Services and Defense agencies. To support those exchanges, DoD defined standard message formats, data elements, and procedures, thereby creating the Defense Logistics Standard Systems (DLSS). The DLSS have successfully supplied DoD logistics transactions for nearly 30 years. However, neither the DLSS nor their supporting Service or agency automated data processing systems have been modernized as rapidly as the surrounding environment, and neither has kept pace with user information requirements. To capitalize on technology advances and satisfy its logistics information requirements into the next century, DoD established the MODELS project to redesign the DLSS. This report documents the progress made in the MODELS program and recommends actions to further improve DoD's logistics capabilities. Principally, the Defense Logistics Management System (DLMS) - Functional Baseline, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Standards was released in May 1990. The DLMS (the DLSS replacement system) format is derived from the American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee X12 for EDI, tailored to meet DoD-unique requirements. EDI is a rapidly growing tool used in industry to reduce paper and improve business efficiency and has recently been adopted as a Federal information processing standard.