DAF creates an application data system to assist Supply Chain

The Air Force has created an application data system to assist personnel downrange in tracking and sourcing commercially available supplies and services in a consistent format, replete with vendor information.

During the 2019-2020 school year, Blue Horizons Air Force Fellows Col. Karen Landale and Maj. Michael Sweeney discovered the supply chain problem and developed the concept. In January 2020, CyberWorx, an Air Force innovation design center focusing on cyber capability, created the initial concept for the application.

Blue Horizons is a think tank and incubator that is part of Air University’s Center for Strategy and Technology. Fellows work together on unique, cutting-edge initiatives that will help the Air Force break down barriers and rethink how it operates.

“The plan was to see what we could transport downrange from the ‘packing list.'” Col. Karen Landale, a former Blue Horizons Fellow, said, “We knew resources would already be available where we were going.” “To help planning and executing logistics for our operations, we needed a new type of intelligence.” We had to “look” at what the business market had to offer. We were in desperate need of business intelligence.”

BIZINT reveals commercially available supplies and services within any present or projected military operations support region by illuminating the relevant commercial market.

BIZINT displays merchants by location, as well as the types and amounts of supplies and services they offer. It also delivers much-needed commercial market intelligence and data visualization that was previously unavailable throughout the planning and execution stages.

BIZINT, which was launched in February 2022 to support European Command’s mission, is now being utilized to help ensure Ukraine and discourage Russian attack.

Col. Bill Waynick, former Air Force Cyberworx director, claimed, “BIZINT has identified approximately 4,000 vendors in Europe that are capable of supplying operations in support of Ukraine.”

BIZINT is being used by around 400 US and partner nation users in the European Command to locate commercial suppliers who can offer the materials and services needed to support operations.

BIZINT enables joint planners to make important “bring vs. purchase” decisions early in the planning process, “buying down” mobility requirements and freeing up critical strategic lift for organic support requirements that cannot be procured in the operational environment.