Realism in empirical logistics research

This discussion, although oriented toward research in logistics, including the initial gathering of pertinent data and subsequent search for structure, is limited to elemental aspects of problems in simulation of functions. The two specific problems outlined ‐ with suggestions for method of attack ‐ are pertinent to Navy ships only: What load should be carried when the ship is deployable and available for a mission, and what provisions are necessary for back‐up support? The load and support problems are, in turn, divisible into three subordinate considerations: manpower, facilities, and materials. The latter receives the most attention in this paper. Because the present classification of materials is unsatisfactory, a new classification is suggested, based on three criteria: The nature of utilization, the status (as repairable or disposable), and the rate of utility exhaustion. The first two are important for classification; the third is the core of an empirical study. In determining what is to be loaded into a ship, certain predictable items are considered: population, time, and usage rate. The Navy currently has no procedure for collecting good experience data on usage, although only specific experience is reducible to clerical statistics. A job order system is therefore proposed.