The parts clerk says, Gee, I don't think we have one of those in stock. Of course you call the other store and the same conversation is repeated. You are a victim of one of the most common problems faced each day by the logistics support world. Logic would tell you that what we're talking about is a problem with an unsound business process. What they do know, however, is data telecommunications.
Processes belong to the user and rightfully so.
They know more about them and depend on them to complete their mission. Each data file is assigned a unique name and then compressed to about one-third its original size. It has a 100 percent audit trail. Databases exist to track assets through each of these various locations but none ties all this information together. Add to this the separate scenarios within each DoD service or agency and you begin to see how complicated the inventory control process has become.