Recommendation 8

We remain concerned about the quality of the MoD’s inventory data; the MoD stated that while its visibility of its inventory is generally good, its system functionality can prevent staff from having a deeper understanding of it. For example, the Royal Navy’s base inventory system can record that an item is unserviceable, but not for what reason, meaning the MoD will not know what degree of repair it may need.16 The MoD’s short- term plan (known as ‘Bridging the Gap’, see below) is to move the Army and Royal Navy onto an upgraded version of the Royal Air Force’s inventory system, which is a more modern inventory management system with greater functionality. For example, the Royal Air Force inventory system has a much greater ability to recognise in more detail the repair status of individual items.17 12 Qq 4–5; C&AG’s Report para 1.12 13 Qq 4, 6, 10–11 14 Qq 5–6, 10–11, 20 15 Qq 12–13 ; C&AG’s Report para 9 16 Qq 24, 34–36 17 Qq 24–25, 34–36, 64 Improving Defence Inventory Management 11