Since that time,  DOD has made moderate progress in addressing weaknesses in its  supply chain management. For example, in our February 2013 High Risk  report we found that DOD had begun developing a strategy to coordinate  efforts to improve asset tracking and in-transit visibility. DOD’s Asset Visibility Strategy and Implementation Plans Contain Most, but Not All, of the Key Elements of a Comprehensive Strategic Plan, and DOD Is Taking Steps to Address the Missing Information

In January 2014, DOD issued its Strategy and implementation plans for  improving asset visibility, which included five of the seven key elements of  a comprehensive strategic plan and partially included the other two  elements—resources and investments and key external factors. The Strategy includes 22 SEPs developed by the  components that outline initiatives intended to improve asset visibility. Specifically, we  determined that the Strategy fully includes a comprehensive mission  statement; a problem definition, scope, and methodology; goals and  objectives; activities, milestones, and performance measures; and  organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination. These officials further noted it was DOD’s intent to capture and publish  costs and external factors during regular updates to the Strategy. DOD Has Taken Steps to Improve Its Asset Visibility, but Additional Actions Are Needed to Fully Address GAO’s High- Risk Criteria

DOD has taken steps to improve its asset visibility, and we found that the  department has fully met one of the five criteria for removal from the High- Risk List—leadership commitment—and partially met the other four, as  shown in table 2. DOD’s 2014 Strategy represents its corrective action plan and  provides goals and objectives as well as SEPs detailing specific initiatives  for improving asset visibility. Therefore, we  recommended that the department develop a strategy for total asset  visibility that included, among other things, goals and performance  measures to gauge improvement. Until DOD demonstrates that  implementation of the initiatives will result in measurable outcomes and  progress towards achieving the goals and objectives in the Strategy, it  may be limited in its ability to demonstrate sustained progress in  implementing corrective actions and resolving the high-risk area. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) has a  comprehensive strategy and implementation plans for improving asset  visibility, including in-transit visibility, we reviewed DOD’s Strategy for  Improving DOD Asset Visibility (the Strategy) and its implementation  plans. To evaluate any improvements made to asset visibility that would meet  criteria for removal from the High-Risk List (referred to as high-risk  criteria), we reviewed DOD’s Strategy and the supporting execution plans  (SEP), and we discussed with the components the initiatives they had  implemented or were in the process of implementing to improve asset  visibility.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO designated DOD's supply chain management as a high-risk area and in July 2011 found that limitations in asset visibility make it difficult to obtain timely and accurate information on assets that are present in a theater of operations. In 2013, GAO found that DOD had made moderate progress in addressing weaknesses in its supply chain management and identified several actions that DOD should take to strengthen asset visibility, including completing and implementing its strategy for coordinating efforts to improve asset visibility across the department.
This report examined the extent to which DOD has (1) a comprehensive strategy and implementation plans for improving asset visibility; and (2) made improvements in asset visibility that meet GAO's criteria for removal from the High-Risk List. GAO reviewed DOD's 2014 Strategy and initiatives for improving asset visibility and evaluated DOD's actions to improve asset visibility against GAO's criteria for determining and removing high risk designations.

What GAO Found

In January 2014, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued its Strategy for Improving DOD Asset Visibility ( Strategy ) and supporting execution plans (SEP), which included five of the seven key elements of a comprehensive strategic plan and partially included the other two elements. For example, the Strategy fully includes a comprehensive mission statement; a problem definition, scope, and methodology; goals and objectives; activities, milestones, and performance measures; and organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination. However, 4 of the 22 SEPs, which outline initiatives intended to improve asset visibility, did not address resources and investments and key external factors. DOD officials told GAO that this information would be added during regular updates to the Strategy . Since the Strategy was issued, DOD components have begun updating the SEPs to include informationsuch as costs and key external factorsthat had been missing from the SEPs included in the Strategy .
DOD has taken steps to improve its asset visibility, and GAO's assessment is that the department has fully met one of the five criteria for removal from the High-Risk List—leadership commitment—and partially met the other four, as shown below.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends four actions to improve DOD's management of asset visibility. The actions include, among other things, that DOD include information in its S trategy and SEPs on elements used to develop cost estimates; clearly link performance measures for the initiatives and the Strategy's goals and objectives; and demonstrate that the initiatives are resulting in measurable outcomes and progress toward meeting the goals and objectives in the Strategy . DOD agreed with all the recommendations.