Commander and User Perceptions of the U.S. Army's In-Transit Visibility Architecture

One of the most important pieces of information for a commander, during times of peace or war, is the location of his equipment and supplies. To that end, the U.S Army (USA) currently has over 25 separate ITV systems that allow commanders to track and monitor the flow of equipment and supplies. However, there is no single, standardized system used throughout the Army The purpose of this research was to investigate relationships between some of the most widely used ITV systems and the degree to which they fulfilled the needs and requirements of the Army. Specifically, this research sought to determine if there were any differences between the various ITV systems and their ability to provide commanders and users with data and information capable of helping them accomplish their logistics mission. Analysis of individual ITV systems and their respective abilities to reduce duplicate ordering resulted in no difference amongst the systems. Based on the user's perceptions, ITV in general does not reduce duplicate ordering. However, results indicated ITV use in general did produce the data required for commanders and users to do their jobs.