Procedures and Practices Used by Army and Navy Inventory Managers and Their Shipping Activities To Respond to Requests for Cancellation of Requisitions for Materiel

Gao ID: LCD-77-201 February 17, 1977

The Navy, having responded to earlier GAO recommendations, has implemented an automatic data processing system which has saved an estimated $44 million in procurement and transportation costs between July 1974 and March 1976 by identifying and cancelling unfilled orders for materiel which the requisitioners no longer needed.

Unlike the Navy system, the Army's automated logistic systems only provide for demand removal on the basis of confirmed requisition cancellations. The Army could benefit by adopting the Navy's system for automatic removal of invalid demands. Army and Navy inventory control points are required to cancel direct delivery back orders if procurement action has not been started when the request is cancelled, but action should be taken only for cancellation of materiel valued at more than $50 if procurement has been started. This practice has not been followed. The cancellation of requisitions has not been quickly processed and has cost millions of dollars. Many unnecessary procurements and shipments have occurred because of weakness in the system. The Navy's controls are inadequate to prevent duplicate filling of direct delivery of back orders.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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