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Depot-Level Reparables (DLRs) Are Managed Relatively Well by the Services

• It is difficult to find DLRs with significant excess inventory due to avoidable situations or poor supply chain management decisions or processes.
• The buildup of excess inventory and resulting disposals stems primarily from DLR phase-outs due to upgrades, reductions in fleet sizes, and complete end item phase-outs, combined with very low condemnation rates.
• However, the data indicate that in most cases of excess leading to disposals, there is a multi-year delay between when DLRs are no longer needed and when disposals occur.

But Some Opportunities for Improving DLR Supply Chain Management Exist

• The broadest issue affecting DLR supply chain management effectiveness is parts supportability, with shortfalls degrading customer support.
• The Army's use of a push-like production planning system increases the risk of customer support degradation and the risk of producing serviceable excess when demand shifts.
• Long lead times for contracts affecting DLR supply chain management increase the risk of inventory excess and customer support shortfalls from unplanned changes in demand.
• Service repair planning systems do not always account for all resource lead times and do not account for all anticipatable demand shifts for new and lifetime repair-limited items.
• Having the right metrics in performance-based agreements between the services and the Defense Logistics Agency and using them as a communications tool would help align inter-organizational priorities, driving more-effective execution of collaborative and intra-organizational planning processes.