Performance Based Logistics : A New Management Approach in the Defense Sector

This paper introduces and describes a new logistics approach called performance-based logistics (PBL). PBL was developed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and Great Britain. In times of increased costs and scarce financial resources, a rethink towards a more performance-orientated approach became necessary. In the United States of America for example, the majority of costs are spent on the sustainment of a weapon system. The main goal of the PBL approach is to optimize the supply chain and improve the utilisability of a weapon system while, at the same time, lowering the total cost of ownership. Since the Swiss Armed Forces are confronted with similar problems, the aim of this paper is to give an idea of how PBL could be implemented. The paper is based on the survey undertaken by the Chair of Logistics Management, University of St. Gallen (LOG-HSG). Furthermore, the perspectives of the client and the provider are highlighted to provide a holistic idea of what the implementation of PBL requires and which advantages arise from it.

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-8349-3726-1_7/fulltext.html