Request a Demo

US Marine Corps | Maintenance and Supply Operational Capability in DDIL Environments

Read Time

4 min read
Share
X-twitter Linkedin Instagram Facebook Link

Improving Operational Capability in DDIL Environments

Background Summary

Global Combat Support System – Marine Corps (GCSS-MC) is the main centerpiece for logistics modernization in the Marine Corps. It provides accurate, real-time logistics/maintenance data & enterprise-wide visibility of logistics information, enabling Marines to make informed decisions that commensurate with the operational tempo.

Within the Supply and Maintenance functions of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), operations are conducted in Degraded, Denied, Intermittent, and Low-bandwidth (DDIL) network environments.

Historically, connection to the GCSS-MC ERP system has been difficult or almost impossible in austere environments where the USMC must operate.

As such, the Marine Corps needed the capability to connect to the GCSS-MC ERP in disadvantaged, disconnected, and low-bandwidth environments. When operating in challenging environments, the goal is to enable applications to seamlessly transition between connected and disconnected modes of operation within the GCSS-MC ERP.

Challenges Marine Corps Expeditionary Units Face:

Unpredictable loss of connectivity to Oracle EBS / GCSS-MC

Inaccurate or incomplete records when reconciling to GCSS-MC

Manual recording of supply and maintenance activities while at sea

Inability to conduct mission critical maintenance and logistics functions

usmc-marine-helmet
Impact on Marines
Burdened with manual record keeping and increasingly latent information on parts, supplies, and activities
usmc-commander-hat
Impact on Commanders
Loss of accurate, near real-time integrated logistics information and enterprise-wide visibility that informs critical decisions

Shipcom's Solution

Shipcom’s Catamaran NextGen™ solution, configured for the USMC and coined as DDIL MC Log, addresses the problems of degraded supply and maintenance operations. By providing a disconnected solution with unattended synchronization events, the DDIL MC Log application allows supply and maintenance roles to operate independent of a persistent connection to ERP systems for critical maintenance and supply functionality.

Above: Immediate 1-click access to actionable dashboards, guiding users directly to intended functions.

Inventory Management

Maintenance Request Workflow

Key Features of DDIL MC Log

  • Critical logistics data that you can rely on

    Shipcom’s solution ensures that officers and staff have access to integrated maintenance/logistics information and enterprise-wide visibility to make critical decisions.

  • Completely functional on a secure network:

    Catamaran NextGen™ is fully compliant with Marine Corps SIPRNET security protocols. This includes Common Access Card (CAC) enabled authentication architecture with Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

  • Elimination of latency issues

    Shipcom’s solution ensures that Marines aren’t burdened with manual record keeping processes (pencils and notepads) and latent information on parts, supplies, and activities.

  • Mobility

    DDIL MC Log’s mobile application supports a subset of operations that can be performed fully disconnected from the Forward Deployed Edge Servers in a littoral, austere environment and later synced. The example below shows a typical DDIL configuration.

  • Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software for rapid implementation

    Catamaran NextGen™ is a COTS software that takes large project implementation times down from years to months. Using rapid prototyping and leveraging ready APIs for ERP systems, Shipcom is able to deliver incrementally using the agile methodology.

Testing Results

  • Lightning Fast

    Shipcom’s solution substantially reduces existing transaction times from 1 to 10 minutes to a few seconds in a contested/degraded environment.

  • Strong GCSS-MC Integration

    This solution ensures that data flowing into and out of GCSS-MC is accurate and timely.

  • Elimination of latency issues

    The application captures and collects all maintenance and supply data while completely disconnected from the network for up to 10 days.

  • Expected in Production

    Shipcom’s solution has passed USMC user execution tests and MCTSSA testing.

  • Trusted Relationship

    Shipcom is currently in a 5-year contract with the United States Marine Corps.

Consistent look and feel throughout the application. This ease of use guides the users and results in fast efficient training. Many features are 1-click operations to access necessary data quickly.

Custom Dashboards for specific user types to guide users to summary screens relevant to their role.

Current and Future Overview
Service Request Creation
1 – 10 minutes
→​
~ 30 seconds
User Interface
Traditional Java form based
→​
Next generation User Interface & Experience
New User Training
Complex, taking weeks
→​
Intuitive, taking minutes
DDIL Network Performance
Unavailable/degraded performance in low-bandwidth
→​
Dependable in all network environments

Shipcom Delivers in Critical Environments

Shipcom delivers critical logistics data, ensuring officers and staff have integrated maintenance and logistics information, enterprise-wide visibility for informed decision-making, eliminating latency issues by streamlining manual record-keeping processes, and leveraging ready APIs for ERP systems to deliver incrementally with rapid implementation using the agile methodology, all while maintaining full compliance with Marine Corps SIPRNET security protocols, including Common Access Card (CAC) enabled authentication architecture with Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for secure network functionality and supporting mobile applications for disconnected operations in austere environments.

on this page