2020 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada—National Defence’s supply chain for the Canadian Armed Forces delivers late 50% of the time

2020 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of CanadaNational Defence’s supply chain for the Canadian Armed Forces delivers late 50% of the time

Ottawa, 8 July 2020—A report from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada tabled today in Parliament concludes that National Defence often did not deliver on time the materiel the Canadian Armed Forces requested, and that it did not have the right controls in place to determine whether it avoided needless transportation costs. On average, materiel such as uniforms, rations, and parts, was delivered late half of the time.

The audit, which focused on the National Defence’s supply chain for the Canadian Armed Forces, found that materiel is often not stocked when and where required. This means that requests need to be rerouted, with additional approvals and steps needed to fill them. Half of delayed requests were at least 15 days late, and 25% of these were at least 40 days late.

The audit found many instances where minimum stock levels in the military’s system were set at zero. National Defence was unable to confirm whether this was by accident or by design. Flags need to be going up to signal the need to re-order stock to avoid shortages and subsequent delays in filling the Canadian Armed Forces’ requests for materiel.

The 2020 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada—Report 3—Supplying the Canadian Armed Forces—National Defence is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.

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