Advances in Operations Research
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 127497, 6 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/127497
Research Article

A Cost Model for Integrated Logistic Support Activities

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy

Received 27 September 2012; Accepted 13 December 2012

Academic Editor: Shey-Huei Sheu

Copyright © 2013 M. Elena Nenni. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

An Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) service has the objective of improving a system’s efficiency and availability for the life cycle. The system constructor offers the service to the customer, and she becomes the Contractor Logistic Support (CLS). The aim of this paper is to propose an approach to support the CLS in the budget formulation. Specific goals of the model are the provision of the annual cost of ILS activities through a specific cost model and a comprehensive examination of expected benefits, costs and savings under alternative ILS strategies. A simple example derived from an industrial application is also provided to illustrate the idea. Scientific literature is lacking in the topic and documents from the military are just dealing with the issue of performance measurement. Moreover, they are obviously focused on the customer’s perspective. Other scientific papers are general and focused only on maintenance or life cycle management. The model developed in this paper approaches the problem from the perspective of the CLS, and it is specifically tailored on the main issues of an ILS service.