Galinis: Navy starting to see effect of supply chain issues

The Navy is starting to experience a longer lead time for materials due to international supply chain issues, Vice Adm. William Galinis, the head of Navy Sea Systems Command, said Tuesday.

Galinis, speaking Tuesday at the American Society of Naval Engineers’ Fleet Maintenance and Modernization Symposium, said the service is experiencing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain issues.

“We’re starting to see additional longer lead time for material, for parts, and for raw stock and everything like that,” he said. “I think that’s something we’re going to have to continue to work our way through.”

These supply chain challenges are affecting both the private and public sectors, Galinis said.

“Normally you can get parts in a relatively short turnaround time; we’re starting to see evidence of increased lead times to buy parts,” he said.

The Navy has stood up a supply chain monitoring group, which started with a focus on new construction but has now migrated across the enterprise, Galinis said.

“It’s principally on the new construction side, but I think there’s some opportunity to leverage that into what we are doing with the fleet maintenance work,” he said.

Galinis said that the Navy’s days of maintenance delay didn’t change from fiscal year 2020 to FY-21, partially driven by some long-lasting, complex modernization and maintenance availabilities that are ongoing.