U.S. Coast Guard’s Aviation Logistics Center Migrates to IBM Cognos 8 BI for Report Consolidation and Smarter Decision-making

The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime service with a mission to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests in the nation’s ports and waterways along the coast, and on international waters. In times of peace, it operates as part of the Department of Homeland Security, and in wartime, it comes under the Navy Department. Peacetime duties for its nine districts include law enforcement, search and rescue, marine safety, and environmental protection.

The Aviation section of the U.S. Coast Guard, headquartered in Washington, D.C., was founded in the 1920s, and currently includes 26 aviation stations in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Challenges faced
Prior to the implementation of IBM Cognos, the U.S. Coast Guard Asset Logistic Management Information System (ALMIS) presented a number of logistics challenges. It was burdened with two legacy systems that didn’t communicate with each other. These systems also lacked a Web presence. Because the legacy systems offered limited functionality, users constantly resorted to their help desk and IT support to develop required custom reports. This was extremely labor intensive and led to unnecessary delays.

Another critical problem area was the inability to track the precise location of parts in the supply chain through the ALMIS system. If a part was needed quickly and hadn’t arrived, fleet wide authorized maintenance personnel would re-order the item on a high-priority basis because there was no way of knowing where the part was in the supply chain. Ultimately, ALC ended up paying more for unnecessary parts that would sit in a warehouse, tying up valuable space and resources.

Strategy followed
Once ALC started using IBM Cognos solutions in 2000, these problems became virtually obsolete. They were able to turn the two legacy systems that comprised ALMIS into a single cohesive system with better data integrity and greater efficiency.

“We had a requirement for operations information to be Web-based. Operations personnel – including pilots, coxswains, and crew – would fill out itineraries, asset status, and scheduled and unscheduled maintenance,” says Rebecca Jolley, DSS Project Manager in the Information Systems Division of the U.S.Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center (ALC). “We had to get the reports out to everyone over the Web, so we decided on the IBM Cognos solution because we knew it could do that quickly and cost-effectively.”

In 2007, the ALMIS staff was tasked to expand its data management of 26 air stations and it’s supporting logistics center to include naval assets and personnel. The expansion was monumental, counting 36 sectors, 249 standard boat stations and it’s supporting surface fleet logistics center.

In an effort to optimize performance, the department deployed new Linux® and Windows® 2003 hardware, and migrated from an Ingres database to an Oracle database. As part of this modernized IT infrastructure, ALC also purchased IBM® Cognos® 8 BI. In 2008, the ALMIS staff started migrating more than 300 reports and 60 cubes over to the new BI system. They also began to develop and deploy dashboards and scorecards throughout the organization, taking its decision support to the next level.

In addition, private industry vendors, who sometimes own parts on Coast Guard assets and maintain their own components, can log into the IBM Cognos Web portal to manage their own areas. In these cases, the Coast Guard has complete security, and control over what a vendor sees on their Intranet Web site. Jolley points out that managers located within the Aviation Logistics Division at ALC in Elizabeth City, NC, also use the IBM Cognos solution for short- and long-term trend analysis and reporting of their supply chain, leading to greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Benefits realized
In addition to Coast Guard Headquarters, the Operations System Center in West Virginia can pull data directly from the database at any time so that users throughout the Coast Guard can view and analyze the information via the Web. The department’s more than 13,000 users can self-serve as required, saving IT support and the help desk the work of having to specially generate customized reports. As people become more familiar with how to pull the data and develop their own reports, the number of IBM Cognos users continually increases.

Power users include Engineering Officers at the Coast Guard stations and members of the Aviations Logistics Center who want to look at parts demand and forecast when parts are needed, determine how many are essential to keep in stock, and perform a multitude of analytical analysis critical to the effective management of Coast Guard resources. Jolley indicates that the IBM Cognos system has garnered significant ROI thanks to its providing improved visibility into the –Coast Guard’s supply chain. In June 2005 the United States Coast Guard won the Technology ROI award from Nucleus Research and CIO Decision Magazine. The U.S. Coast Guard was recognized for the successful implementation of its Asset Logistics Management Information System (ALMIS) initiative, which is powered by IBM Cognos BI.

“In just the first year, we estimate that the IBM Cognos solution was able to contribute toward a half a million dollars in savings. By automating an important requisition status report using IBM Cognos BI— and linking it to FedEx for real-time delivery status information— we were able to significantly lower our re-order rate for unnecessary parts. This was a major process improvement for U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center.”

In the near future, ALMIS plans to roll out a newly-developed scorecard to high-level managers that will help them to better align tactics with strategy, communicate goals consistently, and monitor performance against targets – thereby, continuing to drive the department’s efficiency and success.

About IBM Cognos BI and Performance Management
IBM Cognos business intelligence (BI) and performance management solutions deliver world-leading enterprise planning, consolidation and BI software, support and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance. IBM Cognos solutions bring together technology, analytical applications, best practices, and a broad network of partners to give customers an open, adaptive and complete performance solution. Over 23,000 customers in more than 135 countries around the world choose IBM Cognos solutions.