Automating WAWF. Making DOD compliance easy & efficient. Provided by: Copyright 2010 Mil-Pac Technology, Inc

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1 Automating WAWF Making DOD compliance easy & efficient Provided by:

2 2 For questions or more information, please contact Mil-Pac at: PO Box 2066 Ramona, CA version 1.02

3 3 Contents Introduction... 4 Defining Automation... 5 Creating the Case for Automation... 7 The Way We ve ALWAYS Done It... 7 How Did We Get Here?... 8 What Changed?... 8 Building a Case for Success Automation in Action - A Case Study Getting Started Automation Benefits... 17

4 4 Introduction The first time a caveman discovered that he could use a sharp rock to make marks on a cave wall, he started using a better tool to complete a desired task. Men eventually found that hammer and chisel made better tools to record their thoughts. Pen and paper were later discovered to be a better technology for this task. Men invented better and better tools printing presses, typewriters and eventually personal computers. Ever since the dawning of the personal computer era there have been many improvements in software applications, as they have become more powerful and specialized over time. Each step along the way, from the caveman with a sharp rock to where we are today, could be described as further automation. WAWF AUTOMATION However, many suppliers will find that further automating this process will greatly increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve payment cycle time. WAWF Automation can make your job easier and reduce your frustration. After all, isn t that what you want from a better tool? Signed, Brian Aldridge What do caveman have to do with Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)? [Pausing for you to insert your joke from a car insurance commercial here ] The government provides to US DOD (Department of Defense) suppliers the ability to enter data into WAWF through a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox). And like the hammer and chisel, this web browser method may in some cases and for some suppliers be the best tool for the job.

5 1 DEFINING AUTOMATION 5 automation STOP - I am already automated right? Maybe you already use WAWF. You type invoice and other information into WAWF and your data appears on computer screens for your government contacts. Money shows up in your bank account. Isn t this automation? \ȯ-tə-ˈmā-shən\ the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically Well, yes and no. WAWF is an automated system. It automatically receives contract information from government contracting systems. It automatically sends receiving and acceptance information to government payment systems. It automatically sends data to the UID Registry. It automatically communicates with other government systems. So WAWF is an automated system in the way it communicates with other government systems. And it automates the flow of your data, once you get it into WAWF. But if you are typing your information into WAWF through a web browser, then WAWF is not as automated for you as it could be.

6 WAWF Automation is 6 When we talk about WAWF Automation, from a DOD supplier perspective, we mean: Little or no typing data into a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) to get data into WAWF. Sending data to WAWF in batch transactions, kind of like s. Receiving data from the government in a format that can be used without re-typing, to feed into the WAWF transactions. Using WAWF transaction data for other processes, such as container labeling. The issue is - at what cost? Automation increases process efficiency and lowers operating costs. WHERE TO SUBMIT THE DATA? The number of systems to which a supplier submits data is dependent on contractual requirements. WAWF - nearly all invoices to be paid by the US Department of Defense are to be submitted through Wide Area Workflow RFID - shipments of certain products and materials, shipped to specific locations, require application of RFID tags and submission of RFID data to WAWF UID - single items with an acquisition cost of a $5,000 or more, or which are serially managed by the services, or whick are mission essential require UID part marking and submission of UID data to the UID registry

7 2 CREATING THE CASE FOR AUTOMATION 7 The Way We ve ALWAYS Done It We informally poll DOD suppliers when we discuss WAWF automation with them. Typically they tell us that the same data is entered 5-7 times per shipment, and multiple times for labels on different levels of packaging. Redundant data entry increases costs and likelihood for error. It s also tedious! Let s outline a typical scenario without any kind of integration or automation for a DOD supplier. It starts with the ERP or financial system, which typically does not have capabilities to automatically receive contract data from the government. Type it in. Next a stand alone labeling system is used to create the container labels. Type it in. Repeat for each packaging level (unit, intermediate, exterior, pallet ). Don t forget RFID tags. Type it in. Need forms? Type it in. Invoice and Receiving Report in WAWF? Type it in. PLACES TO EXAMINE FOR REDUNDANT DATA ENTRY: ERP or business system - typically these specialized system have no ability to interact with government systems or print specialized label requirements Labeling systems - stand alone labeling systems or software do not share data with other systems Government Contracts - data must be captured from the government and translated to receiving reports and invoices. Same data typed and re-typed.

8 8 HOW DID WE GET HERE? Does this mean that DOD suppliers have cornered the market on inefficiency? Absolutely NOT. For years and years it made sense for suppliers to operate in these silo function areas. The process was simple and easy to support. If forms were required, people used a typewriter or word processor. For labels? Just roll a sheet into the typewriter or use a computer to copy and change the labels you used last time. With this type of process in place, these systems grew up organically over the years. Suppliers met the few requirements in place with the simplest method possible and added new methods as needed. What changed? The demands on DOD suppliers have changed dramatically in the past few years. We can break this down into two broad areas ecommerce and Serialization. ecommerce - Doing business with the DOD is increasingly electronic. Nearly gone is the dependence on paper for contracting, receiving, invoicing, and payment. Instead, the DOD wants to communicate with suppliers via electronic transactions. Of course, suppliers can receive electronic transactions, print them out, and pretend things are as they were. They can use their paper to read from while they type data back into government systems, such as WAWF. How you handle the data within your four walls is up to you. But the fact remains that DOD commerce is ecommerce and suppliers can adapt or find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.

9 Serialization Serialization requirements fall into two groups parts and packages. And to make it more challenging there is some overlap between the requirements for serialization of parts and packages. Serialization of parts isn t anything new. What is new is the requirement for globally unique part serialization and for the requirement to store serialization data in a central data system. We are talking about the UID (Unique Identification) requirement. ORIGINS OF E-COMMERCE Perhaps the First E-Commerce In 1886, a telegraph operator was able to obtain a shipment of watches that was refused by the local jeweler. 9 This requirement is only for certain parts being sold to the DOD, but when it is required it means that suppliers have to apply a permanent serial number to the part, apply the serial number to the outside of the shipping container, and register the serial number with the UID Registry (directly to the UID Registry or through WAWF). This has to be done for each and every part under the UID mandate. Marking and registration also has to be done for some sub-components of UID parts. That s a lot of data, long lists of it. And these long lists of data have to be created and used during manufacturing, packaging, invoicing, and shipping. Serialization of containers for DOD is relatively new. The RFID mandate means each case and pallet requires a unique serial number and these serial numbers must be submitted to the DOD. A typical RFID tag has a 24-digit string of letters and numbers, which is not something easily memorized and prone to data entry error. Depending on your business, you can have 10s, 100s or 1000s of these data strings to enter each day. Using the telegraph, he sold all the watches to fellow operators and railroad employees and then ordered more. Within a short time, he made enough money to quit his job and start his own catalog mail order business. The young man's name was Richard Sears, who formed Sears, Roebuck and Co. in Little Known Facts E-commerce possibly originated in a standard for the exchange of documents during the Berlin blockade and airlift. Various industries elaborated upon the system until the first general standard was published in The electronic data interchange (EDI) standard is unambiguous, independent of any particular machine, and flexible enough to handle most simple electronic transactions.

10 Parts and Packages Serialization Overlap - Notice that we said that both part and package serial numbers must be submitted to the DOD. Actually, when both the UID and the RFID mandate apply to a shipment not only do UID and RFID have to be submitted, they have to be cross-referenced. So the supplier must describe which UID parts are in which RFID package on which RFID pallet (if applicable). TYPICAL DATA STRINGS: RFID: 2F C D UID: D1HLD923X Let s illustrate the difference between DOD supply prior to, and subsequent to, adoption of current serialization requirements: Prior to UID and RFID, suppliers simply described a shipment in language like this: I am shipping 8 Batteries as part of Shipment MPT0001 for CLIN 0001 on Contract DLA X Now, the same supplier could have to describe the shipment as: For Contract DLA X-1234, CLIN 0001, Shipment MPT0001, I am shipping Pallet 2F C FF with cases 2F C and 2F C Case 2F C contains Batteries D1HLD and D1HLD Case 2F C contains Batteries D1HLD and D1HLD I am also shipping Pallet 2F C with cases 2F C and 2F C Case

11 11 2F C contains Batteries D1HLD and D1HLD Case 2F C contains Batteries D1HLD and D1HLD This is only for 8 parts! And this data has to match for the part marks, the shipping labels and the WAWF data submission. Notice the second overlap ecommerce and Serialization overlap in that the DOD wants the serialization data in electronic format so that they can more efficiently use the data. Is the case for automation becoming clear? Are visions of weary data entry clerks dancing in your head? It is not that you cannot operate manually, you can. If your volume dictates a manual process and that process enables your business to reach its objectives, then a manual process may be best for you. However, the digital age is here to stay with the US Department of Defense, and its ebusiness initiatives will continue to grow. WAWF WITHOUT A WEB BROWSER How do I get data into WAWF without opening Internet Explorer and typing in the data? Will the DOD mind if I do it this way? Will I get paid? All good questions From day one, the DOD knew that using WAWF s web interface through a web browser would be useful for suppliers just starting up or with very small and infrequent shipments. It also knew that other suppliers would need a way to load data more efficiently. So the DOD provides an alternative method of updating WAWF a transactional interface. That s just a computer term for putting the entire shipment together and then submitting the shipment as a single file, rather than filling in all the fields in a collection of web screens. Here s how it works: Use a piece of DOD-savvy software to build a transaction file with all your shipment data Send the transaction file to WAWF through an approved communication method WAWF posts the transaction in exactly the same manner and to the same fields as if you had typed in the data (except that you saved all that time that it would have taken you) WAWF makes the same notifications to your customer that it would have if you had typed in the data It all works the same way, except that you didn t have to do all that repetitive typing!

12 3 BUILDING A SUCCESS 12 Automation in Action - A Case Study It s always useful when learning something new to look at a real-world example. We ve described the concepts; let s see how they were implemented for an actual DOD supplier. Before Automation A manufacturer of roto-molded, injected plastic parts took on the task of automating its systems for DOD compliance. Before the company began implementing integrated systems, it used the following processes: WAWF web screens which required lots of typing, made more difficult due to session time outs and connection loss. Label Printing Software which was not connected to other systems, requiring separate data entry each time labels were printed. Manually Entering RFID & UID Data into WAWF, making the process susceptible to errors due to the long strings of data. KEY COMPONENTS TO SUCCESS: Understand the parameters of the contract RFID & UID? RFID? Learn DOD mandate requirements Mil Std 129 & Mil Std 130 & Mil Std 2073 Plan ahead for process change What is best to automate? Evaluate cross functional areas Pre-encoded or On-Demand RFID? Evaluate Vendors Expertise with DOD? Training & Support offered? Updates included?

13 The catalyst for starting the process of change was a failed shipment on a Friday near the end of the month. The company had the shipment prepped - all labels and RFID tags were applied and cases were on pallets ready to ship. The only remaining step was to input the RFID data for the shipment. 13 The data entry began, and after nearly 8 hours of non-stop typing WAWF timed out, causing a complete loss of entered data. People came in the next day, a Saturday, to finish the task. With one person always at the computer to ensure no time-outs, the team spent 6 hours re-entering the data, only to get booted out of WAWF again. All entered data was lost! Painless RFID Submission Realizing this was not only an immediate problem, but a general process issue, the company sought out a system that provided an automated software solution which would enable a more solid and reliable data entry process. Within 30 minutes of installing the new software, they were able to autogenerate all the shipment RFID data and send it to WAWF in a single transaction file. No chance for WAWF timeouts since the entire transaction posted at one time! Inviting Labeling to the Party Because the company sought more than just a point solution to fix the RFID data entry issue, the next step was to look at integrating other steps in the process. On the next shipment, the supplier automated the shipment one step sooner by automatically generating the RFID transaction at the same time as when they printed their shipping labels. When generating shipping labels, an automated system can

14 simultaneously build the WAWF RFID transaction, eliminating the need to manually type the RFID data ever! Once their labels were printed, with 7 clicks of the mouse they submitted all the RFID data to WAWF, taking literally about 1 minute. Compare 1 minute (and succeeding) to 14 hours (and failing) and you see the tremendous benefit to WAWF automation. Automated Invoicing and Receiving Reports Implementing automation earlier in the process can drive even greater benefits. So our DOD supplier wanted to see how they could avoid typing shipment data once for WAWF Receiving Report and Invoicing and then re-typing it to print labels. By using software that automatically generates and submits WAWF Receiving Reports and Invoices they were able to not only submit these transactions to WAWF efficiently, but they also used all that shipment data to print their labels. This saved them the time and potential error of re-typing the label data. After that, they still submitted the RFID data in about 1 minute. AUTOMATED SOLUTION IN A NUTSHELL: Problem: Delayed shipment Increased labor costs and frustration Greater potential for data entry error Solution: Implement integrated, automated software solution specialized for DOD processes Benefits: Ship on time Decreased time for WAWF submissions Eliminated 90% of initial data entry Auto-generate RFID & UID data 14 Look Ma, No Hands! Could it be any easier? Well, yes. Our DOD supplier was receiving contract and purchase order information from the DOD via s and paper forms. But the DOD will deliver this information electronically as well, in an industry-standard transaction file. So our DOD supplier signed up to receive their data electronically, automatically imported the contract award into their software and then just added the few pieces of data that were missing (shipment date,

15 invoice number, etc.). Then they automatically submitted their Receiving Report and Invoice to WAWF, used that same shipment data to print labels, and then just 1 minute more to submit their RFID data. STEPS TO EASIER COMPLIANCE 15 Integrating UID Once this process was all in place, our DOD supplier began to see more and more shipments requiring UID. Since the software they were using was UID capable, all they had to do was to get the UID data into the software and the software could take it from there, adding UID to the Receiving Report, shipping labels, and RFID pack data. To get the UID into the software they could choose between scanning the UID barcodes, importing the UID data from some other system, or simply typing the UID serial numbers into the software. Actually, typing the UID serial numbers was the best option for them. Since their serial numbers were sequential they could just type the first and last serial numbers and the software would calculate all the serial numbers in between. Case Study Wrap-Up This is one suppliers story of how they automated their process, making software talk to software so that their staff had to do less repetitive typing. Although your process and needs may slightly differ, their successes might inspire you to look at how you can improve your process by adopting simple, off-the-shelf software. Data from DIBBS or emall WAWF Receiving Report Generate MSL Labels Generate RFID Tag Data Submit to WAWF

16 4 GETTING STARTED 16 Where does a supplier begin? Key components for success: 1 Get Educated Make sure you understand your contract RFID? UID? Learn about the mandates WAWF, RFID, UID, and Labeling. Good sources are this ebook, the DOD Supplier WIKI (dod-supply.com) and the DOD Supplier Blog (web.milpac.com). 2 Select Automation Software Select a software vendor that understands DOD supply. A jack of all trades may not be the best choice. Look for software that meets a broad range of your needs. Software that works with all the major printers gives you more options. Make sure you know how software upgrades and support are handled. 3 Implement Carefully Automating all steps at once can reap more benefits sooner. Automating one step at a time is simpler and can let you learn as you progress. Choose which approach best suits your needs and company culture. Involve software users early to identify potential problems and get their buy in.

17 5 AUTOMATION BENEFITS 17 WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT? Much less time spent re-typing the same data. Fewer errors since less data is manually typed. Fewer urgent tasks since data can be prepared and queued ahead of time. Eliminate 90% of initial data entry through the automation of downloading contract data. Auto-generate RFID & UID data. Eliminate dependency on WAWF system speeds. Are you curious to see an automated system in action? Watch our 10-minute video that shows you a step-by-step demonstration of how the process works. It is a chance to see how automation can positively affect your business processes and ultimately your bottom line.

18 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 18 Brian Aldridge is a Product Specialist for Mil-Pac Technology. Brian has over 15 years experience implementing Automated Systems and Supply Chain solutions for the Aerospace & Defense as well as various other industries. Mil-Pac Technology provides commercial off-the-shelf software to DOD suppliers to assist with WAWF transactions, UID, RFID, shipping container labeling and form printing. Mil-Pac Technology has been assisting DOD suppliers since 1982 and our customers include companies ranging in size from just a handful of employees up to the largest defense suppliers in the world. THE END.