Optimizing Marine Corps Management of
Temporary Storage Projects
Introduction
Aminad helped the Marine Corps streamline enterprise storage and drive savings through rationalization of excess stock, process improvement, and close collaboration with the owners of temporary storage projects. Aminad worked quickly on the effort, rapidly progressing from storage strategy to implementation to help the Marine Corps deal with pressing fiscal challenges and space constraints. With Aminad’s help, the Marine Corps captured $5M in annual storage cost savings without impacting mission performance and freed up nearly three full warehouses for indoor storage of high-value military equipment.
Challenge
By 2018, Marine Corps enterprise storage was at a breaking point. LOGCOM lacked sufficient indoor warehouse space, forcing high‑value military equipment to be stored outdoors where it deteriorated from heat, humidity, and precipitation. A hurricane in Albany, Georgia—LOGCOM’s primary storage site—further damaged 47,000 pieces of outdoor‑stored equipment.
At the same time, the enterprise storage budget was under significant pressure. LOGCOM faced the loss of $30M in OCO funding and relied on temporary hurricane-related funds that only delayed unavoidable cuts. Temporary Storage Projects (TSP) had also become a major burden, occupying 20 warehouse bays (the equivalent of three 200,000‑square‑foot facilities), costing $9M annually to store, and suffering from poor inventory accuracy and weak project‑code discipline.
Figure 1.—Enterprise storage faced a $30M budget cut from the elimination of OCO funding
Approach
Aminad focused LOGCOM and MFSC on Operating Materials and Supplies (OM&S) inventory, using TSP as the first target because it offered the fastest path to impact. The team quantified the footprint, cost, and accountability problems associated with TSP, then built a strategy centered on inventory reductions, cost management, and process changes.
Figure 2. DLA storage was nearly three times more expensive than MFSC storage
For inventory reductions, the team’s analysis showed MFSC had 263 projects in storage, representing $1B in material. This included 41 projects already directed for closure and another 84 with no documented action or revalidation within two years. Even within active projects, 50% of items had not been issued within two years. Aminad identified TSP and NSN-level targets for MFSC divestment.
In terms of cost management, Aminad identified several approaches to reduce costs without affecting mission performance. For example, the team found that current DLA storage was nearly three times more expensive than MFSC storage for TSP material, and in many cases receipt and issue charges exceeded the value of the item itself. Aminad recommended that MFSC immediately move all TSP assets out of DLA storage.
To support execution and address needed process changes, Aminad helped formalize roles and processes for TSP management, improve collaboration across LOGCOM, MFSC, SYSCOM, and PEO LS, and drafted a TSP Policy Order that clarified responsibilities and accountability.
Aminad’s Unique Value to the Marine Corps
Focus on highest-value opportunities yields rapid results to meet near-term budget targets Facilitation of collaboration across commands yields greater impact for the Marine Corps enterprise Comprehensive implementation support enables successful execution of inventory strategyImpact
After designing a TSP strategy for LOGCOM and MFSC, Aminad helped implement the proposed changes to the TSP program and it delivered immediate and measurable results. Aminad helped MFSC reclassify 6 million orphan NSNs, dispose of more than $500M of inventory, free up 14 warehouse bays and 560,000 square feet of space, and generate $17M in one-time cash credits through DLA’s material returns program.
Most importantly, MFSC achieved $5M in annual storage cost savings by moving all items out of DLA storage, while also creating the space needed to bring more high-value equipment indoors. The effort also established a durable governance framework that should help sustain improvements and support the next phase of inventory cleanup and modernization.
