Tinker demand planner provides forecasting expertise

Published March 19, 2008
By Tonya Johnson
DSCR Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- Pat Deatherage, who served 20 years in the Air Force, is the only demand planner in his current forward presence job at Tinker Air Force Base.
   Deatherage is a part of the Aviation Supply and Demand Chain Forward Presence Team for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. He has been in his position since November.
   Nine employees are part of the forward presence team at Tinker. The business and customer relationship manager is Neal Miller, who is the team leader. The team also includes three customer account specialists, one transition liaison officer and three customer service representatives.
   "We have a hard-working and dedicated team focused every day on improving parts support to a critical warfighting mission, which is maintaining Air Force planes and engines," said Miller.
   As a demand planner, Deatherage works with the ALC forecasting focal point and various program offices to forecast parts for his customers so that DLA can order the right quantities. Deatherage uses manugistics, which is a forecasting tool that provides statistical information and allows him to research forecasting data.
   "On-site demand planning and interfacing face-to-face with your customers should result in better forecasting," said Miller. "With his extensive Air Logistics Center background and DLA demand training, he (Deatherage) has been able to interface with various Air Force customers and provide them valuable planning information to assist them in developing better parts forecasts."
   Deatherage works with Diane Nichols, program manager at the ALC who oversees the Air Force's Reparability Forecast Model. Nichols gathers monthly data to submit the Demand Data Exchange input to DLA. The DDE submission is for those items with a future requirement different from the DLA historical usage.
   "I am able to provide them (customers) first-hand knowledge from manugistics, which enables them to make better decisions in their forecast requirements," said Deatherage. "With the first-hand working knowledge gained from beingon-site, I am also able to focus in on specific areas which may need improvement or address issues before they become problems."
   Demand planners have a challenging job analyzing and forecasting their customer's future needs. Although they look at previous historical data, they also have to communicate closely with their customer to see if upcoming events might cause a spike in orders for certain parts.
   "Forecasting parts is a challenging endeavor and you really need to have a long-range approach to assist the customer," he said. "Currently I am analyzing data for the parts we provide in support of the constant speed drives for all (Air Force) aircraft. This analysis will show the long term benefits of collaborating on those tough-to-get parts so that we have the parts when they need them."
   According to Deatherage, constant speed drives allow an aircraft's engine to work as efficiently as possible. The part is located between the engine crankshaft and alternator.
   Although Deatherage is the only demand planner at the forward presence site, three demand planners at DSCR work closely with him.
   "I have to call them a lot to ask them how to do this or how to do that," said Deatherage. "I have to say that Laverne Charity, Lee Edwards and Bernice Smith have really gone out of their way to help me. They're great."
   While located at his customer's site, Deatherage said one of his challenges is working through Citrix. That slows his access to DLA's Manugistics system. But Deatherage said that it's important to have forward presence teams to be located at their customer's sites.
   "To me it's all about knowing who to go to when you're trying to fix the problems we see day to day," said Deatherage. "The personal interaction I get with the customer gives me an advantage over someone at a different location. I can be here for their meetings and pick up on things and areas where they need our help. If needed, I can walk over to their office and have that one-on-one conversation. Some things are just lost in translation over the phone or in an e-mail."
   As a retired master sergeant, Deatherage has years of logistical experience to aid in his current job. During his career, he spent 14 years in the inventory management career field. Prior to working for DLA, Deatherage was a program manager in Sunnyvale, Calif., with the Navy on the Trident II missile program and he spent six years as an item manager for the Accessories Division within the Oklahoma City ALC procuring valves and actuators. Valves help regulate the flow of fluids throughout different parts of an aircraft. Actuators make it easier to open and close doors or panels on an aircraft.
   In his spare time, Deatherage likes to bowl and spend time with his granddaughter, Lena Michelle, who just turned a year old. His future goals include improving his golf game and continuing to make a difference in his job supporting warfighters.
   "As a forward presence demand planner, I get to interface with our customer, which I really enjoy," he said. "It's great to have the face-to-face interaction. You get to know the people and who you can turn to quickly to resolve supportability issues."
   The aviation supply and demand chain is managed by Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., which is part of the Defense Logistics Agency located at Fort Belvoir, Va. DSCR's mission is to provide best value aviation weapon systems and environmental logistics support to America's warfighters. DSCR's core mission is to supply products with a direct application to aviation. These items include a mix of military-unique items supporting over 1,300 major weapons systems, ranging from critical, safety-of-flight air-frame structural components and aircraft engine parts to electric cable and electrical power products.