GUEST BLOG: The U.S. Marine Corps’ new approach to asset management and data precision

Blog

November 25, 2024

In the rapidly evolving world of defense, military organizations must continuously adapt to maintain readiness and effectiveness. To meet these demands, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) has embraced innovative solutions like the Marine Corps Platform Integration (MCPIC) System. This advanced system dramatically enhances the service branch’s ability to manage critical assets while streamlining operations for improved efficiency and control.

The Marine Corps-developed MCPIC system is a net-centric software and hardware solution designed to improve the management of asset visibility, inventory, location verification, and force deployment and distribution. MCPIC enables Marine Corps personnel to quickly perform asset counts and provides real-time location tracking for all assets.

The system’s automatic identification technology (AIT) captures every event that occurs within the system, ensuring total accountability for processes, events, and workflows. This level of transparency and control has been pivotal for improving the Marine Corps’ operational efficiency.

Colonel John S. Sattely, Commanding Officer, BIC & Marine Corps Support Facility, explained, “MCPIC gives us very accurate in-transit asset visibility. It gets us out of the habit of notebooks and using Excel worksheets and building PowerPoints with all the same data. We can see the whole process of off-load to all the nodes it hits before it’s issued out. Not only does it help us with accuracy in terms of where the equipment and supplies are, but it also provides a standard format for the different ops [operations] centers and COCs [combat operations centers] to see what we are looking at is all the same.”

Live mapping of inventory operations

The MCPIC system transmits live data to the program through passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) transactions enabled using DT Research rugged tablets. This capability provides seamless real-time tracking, simplifying the oversight of items in their journey from the warehouse to maintenance facilities and, ultimately, to their final destination.

To ensure that Marine Corps personnel have immediate access to up-to-date information, the system includes an ITRAK function that provides real-time monitoring, visualization, and mapping of inventory operations, offering a comprehensive view of assets and their movements. The experience is maximized by LED-backlit, sunlight-readable touchscreen displays, which allow access to critical data even in difficult lighting conditions.

More efficient inventory

Deputy Commander Daniel W. Elzie of Marine Force Storage Command described MCPIC as a real time-saver: “MCPIC has been a game-changer for us. What once took us 14 months to do an inventory of military equipment, we can now do in about three hours. We use MCPIC in order to increase our auditability, improve inventory accuracy, and expedite our ability to locate all of our equipment.”

This major reduction in the time required for inventory checks has important implications for readiness and responsiveness, enabling the Marine Corps to maintain a higher level of operational readiness and respond swiftly to emerging threats or mission requirements.

Playbook management

Playbooks serve as an indispensable component of military operations. Through the Playbook Manager within MCPIC, schedules and executions can be adeptly organized and progress can be systematically tracked throughout the entirety of the asset-management process. This feature introduces an additional layer of control and coordination that ensures operations run smoothly and efficiently.

Scalability and adaptability

The ability to adapt and scale operations is critical for the Marine Corps. The MCPIC system supports this requirement by accommodating a near-limitless number of rugged tablets, making it versatile for a wide range of applications and scenarios. This flexibility enables Marine Corps teams to expand operations as needed, fully utilizing the system’s potential.

Achieving modern asset management

The MCPIC system has yielded remarkable results in asset management and data accuracy while streamlining processes, enhancing transparency, and largely reducing the time required for critical inventory checks.

This innovative approach shows the Marine Corps’ commitment to harnessing technology to meet the challenges of modern asset management and maintain operational effectiveness in a complex and evolving environment.

Carlos Peña is Director, Navy and Marine Corps, DT Research; and Robert Droppa is VP Government Solutions, DT Research.