Perceptions of the Pure Pallet Program

The expeditionary nature of today's Department of Defense (DoD) demands an effective Defense Transportation System (DTS). The major stakeholders within the DTS supply-chain including United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), the newly appointed Distribution Process Owner (DPO), have continued to explore process improvement programs initiated in the 1990s, but do so now from a systems-level approach. One such initiative is the pure pallet program, initially implemented in November 2003 by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)-owned depots, and later by Air Mobility Command (AMC)-owned aerial ports in March 2004. In coordination with United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), USTRANSCOM, and the DLA, AMC implements the pure pallet program to improve warfighter support. The cornerstone of the pure pallet program rests upon the consolidation of materiel early in the supply-chain by constructing end-user specific pallets. This research utilized a web-based survey to measure the perceptions of the air transportation specialists and logistics readiness officers who are implementing the program on behalf of the Air Force. The results indicate that the pure pallet program is achieving its intended results; however, there is a perception problem. Recommendations center on educating personnel on the importance of suboptimization avoidance and making the warfighter the most important customer. This research also serves as a formal source of information from which to form conclusions and make judgments on how well Air Force personnel are implementing the pure pallet program.