Army Logistics - Better Management of the Army's Unserviceable Inventories Could Save Millions: Nsiad-91-23 (Paperback)

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Army's plans for using its unserviceable asset inventories. GAO found that: (1) at three Army inventory control points, item managers initiated purchases for new assets without considering the potential for repairing unserviceable items in storage; (2) the Army could have repaired between 167 and 285 of the 815 items the inventory control points procured for less than the cost of purchasing new assets; (3) those item repairs could have saved $21.1 million to $35.9 million and enhanced readiness by making the assets available sooner; (4) the Army's emphasis on high stock availability and funding plans contributed to buying instead of repairing items; (5) the Army continued to store 27 percent of irreparable and consumable assets that it could dispose of; (6) of 140 sampled stored items, 30 unserviceable assets valued at $485,391 were beyond economic repair; (7) the inventory control points retained unneeded materiel, since current retention policies allowed item managers to keep any item and disposal actions were low priority; and (8) although issues involving unserviceable assets were reported before, the Army's internal controls were not effective in ensuring the implementation of corrective actions.