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With the Wave 1 fielding of the Global Combat Support System-Army now complete, the product manager is currently working through the even greater task of fielding Wave 2.
The Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSSArmy) is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that facilitates near real-time management of all the Army's sustainment missions.
GCSS-Army is a component of the Army's logistics enterprise, which also includes the Logistics Modernization Program, General Fund Enterprise Business System, and Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program.
GCSS-Army replaces current tactical logistics management information systems, including the Standard Army Retail Supply System (SARSS), Property Book Unit Supply Enhanced (PBUSE) and Standard Army Maintenance System-Enhanced (SAMS-E).
It also replaces tactical financial management information systems, such as the Single Stock Fund Middleware (SSF-MW) and the Funds Control Module (FCM).
These systems performed their missions well, but GCSS-Army integrates all of their functions into a single database that provides accurate, near real-time tactical logistics and financial information for stakeholders throughout both Army components.
Two-Wave Deployment Strategy
During the test and evaluation phase of GCSS-Army, the product manager (PM) learned a number of valuable lessons that were incorporated into the plans for the system's future fielding. Operational assessments and continuous evaluations were conducted with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin, California, in 2007 and 2010. The initial operational test and evaluation was conducted with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2011.
One lesson that the PM GCSSArmy learned from these events was that implementing the full system presented the receiving units with a number of challenges. To mitigate the risks to the units and to Army readiness, the PM decided to divide the system's fielding effort into two waves.
By fielding parts of the solution at different times to the same units, the PM...