Navy ERP system ready for full deployment, officials say

The Navy’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System is ready for prime time, based on the recommendations of two defense department agencies.

Navy ERP System Release 1.0 recently completed the Follow-on Operational Test Agency Evaluation Report (OT-D1A), which assesses the operational effectiveness and operational suitability of the system in order to provide a fielding recommendation.

The Navy ERP system standardizes and modernizes the Navy’s business practices. The system provides commanders with a significantly enhanced visibility into financial, program, workforce, and material management information across their areas of responsibility, Navy officials said.

“Navy ERP System Release 1.0 is operationally effective and operationally suitable and I recommend full fielding in accordance with the current schedule,” said Rear  Adm. David Dunaway, commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force.

The Defense Department's Operational Test and Evaluation office concurred with report in a subsequent memorandum to the Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation, officials said.

The Navy ERP system is currently being used by more than 35,000 people in three major Navy systems commands.

The Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Supply Systems Command are currently operating their business activities using Navy ERP as their financial system of record. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command is using the system for training and preparation for an October 1, Go-Live. The current Navy program of record calls for the SPAWAR implementation to begin October 2009, and the Naval Sea Systems Command implementation to begin October 2010.

“This evaluation is a major step forward for the program and the Navy,” said Dr. Jennifer Carter, Navy ERP Program Manager. “What has been a promise in development for several years is now an operating, functioning management system that is saving money and providing better information right now to Navy commanders so they can efficiently provide the support Navy warfighters must have.”

These benefits will continue to increase as the system is implemented in more Navy commands, she said.

When the current deployment scheduled is complete, the Navy ERP system will support more than 64,000 users and be used to manage more than 53 percent of the Navy’s total obligation authority, the money it is authorized to spend.

The Navy directed the implementation of an ERP system as part of efforts to transform its business affairs to more efficiently support warfighter readiness, part of the Navy’s maritime strategy. ERP systems integrate management functions enabling all aspects of a business operation to use the same information, aligning activities and speeding information availability.

The Navy ERP program is part of the portfolio of the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems.