CSC Helps the Army Muster Information

that As the lead contractor in a mammoth 12-year project that, in a nutshell, changes the way the Army does business, Computer Sciences Corp. is putting its own methodologies and best practices to the test.

Seven years into the LMP (Logistics Modernization Program) for the U.S. Army Materiel Command, CSC continues to learn important lessons about large-scale systems integration work.

No strangers to big systems integration projects, CSC officials in El Segundo, Calif., said that the LMP—which is updating a 30-year-old logistics management system based on 25-year-old business processes—is among the most comprehensive to date for the $11.3 billion company.

“In size, complexity and resources, the LMP is one of the biggest ERP [enterprise resource planning] projects for our Federal Sector business unit,” said Sheri Thureen, vice president and program manager at CSC’s enterprise business center.

The USAMC provides and oversees the technology, equipment, and parts and pieces that go into readiness for the U.S. military worldwide. Its LPM serves approximately 1 million military personnel spread across 149 fixed locations in 41 states and 38 countries, who need supply and support for 6 million items worth more than $40 billion in goods and services.

The USAMC is involved in manufacturing and delivering items such as combat rations, tents, gauze bandages, ammunition and bombs, as well as repairing Marine Corps tank engines and Air Force radar, for example.

“The ultimate business benefit of the LMP is to provide global visibility into the USAMC IT systems so that informed decisions can be made quickly and actions can be taken to maintain the highest state of readiness for the customer, the ‘war fighter,'” said Thureen. The USAMC also is expected to realize millions of dollars in savings.

Working with major vendors—such as SAP, IBM and Raytheon, among others—and large management and technology consulting companies such as BearingPoint, CSC also coordinates the efforts of approximately 30 smaller businesses that provide resource expertise for the LMP.

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CSC is responsible not only for the modernization of the USAMC’s legacy systems and the adoption of best practices but also for the support of the existing legacy systems and business model throughout the duration of the project.