1.2 Codification in the 21st Century
At the beginning, the NATO Codification System has been a purely NATO organisation. Nowadays its size is by far larger than NATO itself, over one third of the world’s nations belonging to the system (see Annex A). The benefits are more than visible: encouraging interoperability and fostering standardization, as a lever to ease joint deployments and offer a general logistics pool for all potential partners and allies.
Nowadays, Codification touches virtually every area of the supply chain: in practice it addresses the challenge to correctly identify material and exchange complex technical data regardless of language barriers. The technological support is a key enabler to Codification success. Codification impacts upon all parties involved in realisation of logistics support, whether it be to the military or other governmental organisations, in conflict or disaster relief, in industry or commerce.
”The NCS is governed by Allied Committee 135 (AC/135) – "NATO Group of National Directors on Codification." This committee is composed of representatives from each NATO member nation and a participant from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). The AC/135 functions under the authority of the Conference of National Armament Directors (CNAD) at NATO and normally meets twice per year. The committee is committed to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of defence logistics interoperability between participating nations and providing the bridge to facilitate global logistics operations”. [ ]
This target is possible thru the products of NCS, especially The NATO Master Catalogue of References for Logistics (NMCRL), which is the largest military logistics database in entired world. NMCRL contains more than 18 millions NATO Stock Numbers, 2.7 million suppliers and is available in multilingual user interface. This catalogue inventory is issued to all deployed NATO defence forces and is also available for a small subscription to commercial suppliers, especially to those of defence equipment, which have the oportunity to put their items in a shop window viewed by over 60 nations defence logistics organizations worldwide.
1.3 The capabilities of codification
The NCS is the global language of logistics, providing four key capabilities to underpin the defence logistic support system:
1. a common language, including codes for which different nations can provide translations into local language. Currently, the cataloguing tools are translated in 19 different languages, included romanian language;
2. master data describing the items within the defence inventory (Items of Supply), covering naming, identification, classification and characterisation of items. A few figures show that the NATO countries manage the data related to 16 millions Items of Supply, 32 millions part numbers and more than 1.5 millions manufacturers and vendors;
3. equivalence between form, fit and function of items available from different manufacturers (Items of Production), creating an association with Items of Supply;
4. master data for the purposes of logistics management of those items, covering, for example, inventory accounting, packaging and units of issue.
These four capabilities together deliver the impact on the logistic support system. Annex B shows the causal effect from the role of the Codification record to the corresponding impact and the progression of cause and effect of delivered benefit. In order to fully understand the way this pack of capabilities shapes a logistic system, we need to notice some things about “the brick” of NCS, NATO Stock Number.
1.4 NATO Stock Number (NSN)
When it is established that an Item of Supply is unique, its identity is fixed through the assignment of its own NATO Stock Number (NSN). NSNs are issued by National Codification Bureaux (NCBs), according to rule that every NCB codifies the Items of Supply produced in that country.
The NSN consists of three identifying parts:
• a four digit NATO Supply Classification Code (NSC), also known as “Group and Class”, this places the Item into a group classification, for example generators, aircraft engines etc.;
• a two digit Nation Code (NC), this identifies the country of manufacture;
• a seven digit Item Identification Number (IIN) which, together with the NC, is unique to that Item.
• NC and IIN form together the NIIN = NATO Item Identification Number
An example of a NSN and related terms is shown below :
1005 13 123-4567
NATO Supply
Classification
Code (NSC) NATO Code for
National Codification
Bureau (NCB) Non-Significant
Number
13-123-4567
NATO Item Identification Number
(NIIN)
1005-13-123-4567
NATO Stock Number
(NSN)
The” principal benefits”[ ] of the NSN are:
Uniformity. It is uniform in composition, length, structure and use.
Adaptability. It supports the varied requirements of logistics management in a supply system, both nationally and internationally, from initial procurement to final disposal of the Item of Supply.
Simplicity. It is applicable without modification to all Items of Supply, it is unique, easy to assign, it is flexible to maintain and it is readily recognised throughout the user nations of the world.
Stability. The NIIN is associated with only one Item of Supply in perpetuity, it is never re-allocated to another Item of Supply even if the original one is no longer in use.
Compatibility. The NSN and its related data can be recorded and communicated manually or by all types of computer systems (no two user nations have the same hardware / software configuration) providing, through the fixed format rules of the NATO Data Exchange (NADEX) system, elegant solutions to the communications problems raised by the use of diverse operating, communication and supply systems in the current user nations.
Expandability. Ten million different Items of Supply may be recorded for each NCB code.
This is a short description of the NSN. In fact, this code provides a lot of information capable to link different logistics systems and therefore is a main key of interoperability (see more details in Annex C).
In order to understand what NATO Codification means this days, we have to see some aspects of how NCS coopes with modern logistics operations.
1. NATO Codification, the basis for modern logistics operations
Logistics operations can be classified into following main areas:
1. Acquisition of Materiel: Initial purchase and reprovisioning;
2. Management of Resources; Warehousing; Distribution and Redistribution of materiel;
3. Maintenance (Repair or Overhaul);
4. Disposal.
”In an Alliance such as NATO, the concept of interoperability is of prime importance and should be vigoriously applied in each and every one of these areas”[ ].
1.1 Codification with regard to acquisition of materiel
Procurement of materiel is realised following a detailed assessment of the requirement. The Codification System answers questions raised by purchasers:
– Who manufactures the required item?
– Does the item proposed by the manufacturer meet the requirement?
– Are there restrictions on purchasing activities?
– Is the item already in use nationally or in another NATO nation?
The system then provides:
a list of manufacturers likely to provide the required item;
a detailed description of the item, covering all of its related: physical, qualitative and/or performance characteristics. Descriptions must be comparable, irrespective of their source of supply, and must therefore be based on a universal language;
access to information on unit prices and procurement conditions to promote competitiveness between manufacturers.
Regarding to this, NCS offers a very large characteristics database, easy to work with and very useful in acquisition phase and even in everyday life. It comprise about 30.000 Item Identification Guides, allowing the description of items based on their physical characteristics and performance using a common language. The US Item Idetification Guides are used as references by the other nations. This characteristics catalogue may be accessed at https://public.logisticsinformationservice.dla.mil/iig/.
1.2 Codification with regard to management of resources
NATO Logistics organizations:
– manage their materiel by type and application, notwithstanding the origin of the items;
– warehouse items under appropriate conditions to ensure their operational readiness;
– deliver the required materiel to the specific customer on time and using the most appropriate mode of transportation;
– distribute and redistribute the equipment according to specific requirement and the resources available among the various users.
The system therefore:
identifies items of supply satisfying the same requirement by a unique number, regardless of the referencing system used by the manufacturer;
specifies packaging requirements, warehousing conditions and expected shelf-life;
indicates the users of a specific item and / or specifies transportation information required for delivery of the materiel;
informs the logistics managers on all the resources available among the users.
1.3 Codification with regard to maintenance
Personnel responsible for maintaining equipment will need answers to the following questions:
– What spare parts are required to be purchased and where should they be delivered?
– What are the maintenance capabilities given the resources available on site?
– Are the spares needed available somewhere in the national and/or NATO wide system?
The codification system presents:
relationships which exists between all parts of a system and its components or sub-assemblies;
list of national and international registered users;
possible interchangeability between items in order to maximise the use of available resources.
1.4 Codification with regard to disposal
Disposal of an item of supply can be related to its usefulness (obsolescence, replacement of the main equipment) or its condition (non repairable). If it becomes necessary to dispose of unusable equipment to reduce warehousing costs, it is important to:
– eliminate only those items which cannot be reused by another user;
– salvage components or substances which can generate savings through recycling;
– guarantee the protection of the environment during disposal actions.
To this extent, the codification system contains data that:
identifies potential users for surplus equipment;
lists the nature of components and constituent elements of a given item, as well as its recoverability criteria;
indicates the disposal procedures for hazardous or polluting materiels or substances.