By Paul R Salmon FCILT FSCM FCMI
Introduction: The Hidden Constraint in Modern Supply Chains
In supply chain and logistics circles, “availability” is the gold standard — the measure that matters most when operational outcomes are on the line. In defence and other high-stakes environments, it can be the difference between mission success and failure.
Traditionally, improving availability has focused on speeding up procurement, reducing lead times, enhancing forecasting, or increasing safety stocks. But these approaches often overlook one deceptively simple question: do we already have what we need, just in the wrong place?
Enter re-brigading — the proactive redistribution of existing stock to match current demand. It’s not about buying more, but about using what we already own more effectively. Re-brigading isn’t new, but in an era of constrained budgets, stressed supply chains, and rising geopolitical risk, it is more relevant — and underutilised — than ever.
What Is Re-Brigading?
Re-brigading (sometimes called stock reallocation or inventory rebalance) refers to the process of moving in-service or warehoused items across locations, fleets, or user groups to better reflect demand patterns, operational priorities, or risk profiles. Unlike redistribution based on pre-set quotas or replenishment schedules, re-brigading is dynamic, data-driven, and responsive to actual conditions.
Imagine multiple units each holding the same critical spare part “just in case” — while an operationally vital fleet elsewhere is grounded due to a shortage of that very same item. Re-brigading cuts through that inefficiency by moving the part to where it is needed most.
Why Re-Brigading Matters
In many large-scale organisations — particularly in defence, aerospace, or complex manufacturing — availability failures are often not due to outright scarcity, but due to misaligned positioning of inventory. This is particularly true when:
Demand patterns are highly variable. Obsolescence cycles are short. Readiness requirements differ across platforms. Procurement pipelines are long and inflexible.
Re-brigading enables organisations to optimise within the inventory envelope — driving availability without increasing stockholding costs. In effect, it’s about unlocking latent value trapped in the system.
Common Symptoms of Poor Stock Distribution
When re-brigading isn’t happening effectively, supply chains show familiar symptoms:
Parts in the wrong place: Critical components sitting idle in low-demand areas while high-demand sites suffer stockouts. Over-investment in buffer stock: Units over-ordering “just in case,” leading to bloated inventories. Slow-moving or obsolete items: Stock becoming shelf-locked while newer systems compete for procurement budgets. Cross-functional friction: Frontline maintainers fighting for availability while central planning teams struggle to respond.
These outcomes aren’t the result of poor effort — but they often reflect poor visibility and an absence of a structured re-brigading strategy.
The Strategic Case for Re-Brigading
Re-brigading supports four major strategic goals within modern supply chain management:
1. Improved Operational Availability
By moving inventory to where it’s actually needed, re-brigading increases the likelihood that spares will be on hand to meet demand — improving equipment uptime, mission readiness, or production continuity.
2. Reduced Working Capital
Instead of funding additional procurement, organisations can achieve the same output by repurposing what they already own — lowering inventory investment and improving return on assets.
3. Enhanced Agility
Re-brigading builds a dynamic response capability. Rather than being fixed to forecasts made months earlier, organisations can respond in near real-time to changing circumstances.
4. De-risking End-of-Life and Transition Phases
As platforms or products approach the end of their lifecycle, re-brigading enables strategic rundown planning, avoiding expensive write-offs or stockpiles of unusable components.
Enablers of Successful Re-Brigading
To operationalise re-brigading at scale, several key enablers must be in place:
A. High-Quality, Trusted Data
The starting point is good information. Organisations must know:
What stock is held, where, and in what condition What the forecasted demand is across locations What the lead times and replenishment pipelines are
Without trusted master data and real-time visibility, re-brigading becomes reactive guesswork.
B. Demand Segmentation and Criticality Analysis
Not all stock is created equal. Organisations must segment inventory by:
Criticality to operations Usage velocity Shelf life or obsolescence risk
This enables a risk-based approach to redistribution — moving the items that matter most first.
C. Organisational Flexibility
Re-brigading challenges siloed behaviours. It requires:
Units or departments to release stock they “own” Cross-functional collaboration between operations, logistics, and finance A central authority (like a Support Authority or Inventory Optimisation Cell) to coordinate and approve transfers
D. Digital Decision Support
Modern analytics platforms can model:
Availability impact of reallocation Risk of stockouts by location Transport and handling costs Opportunity cost of inaction
Tools such as digital twins, inventory optimisation engines, and AI-based reallocation models can take much of the manual burden out of re-brigading.
Case Example: Re-Brigading in Action (Defence Scenario)
Let’s consider a hypothetical example based on real-world defence dynamics:
A logistics hub supports two combat vehicle platforms: one in active deployment (Platform A), and one in training use (Platform B). A specific cooling unit is common to both but is experiencing global supply shortages. Platform A is suffering 45% equipment downtime due to the unavailability of this unit. Platform B, however, holds a buffer of 60 units for training maintenance, most of which remain unused for weeks at a time.
A data-driven re-brigading effort identifies that 20 of Platform B’s units can be reallocated with negligible impact to training operations — restoring Platform A’s fleet availability to over 85% within days.
No procurement. No long waits. Just smarter movement of existing stock.
When Re-Brigading Doesn’t Work
While powerful, re-brigading is not a cure-all. It faces practical limits:
Items with strict traceability or certification may be location-bound. Hazardous goods or sensitive technology may have movement restrictions. Data latency or mistrust can lead to risk-averse hoarding behaviours. High transport costs or long transfer times can offset the availability benefits.
That’s why re-brigading should be part of a broader availability toolkit, aligned with procurement, planning, and obsolescence strategies.
Building Re-Brigading into Policy and Practice
For organisations serious about availability, re-brigading must be formalised:
Policy frameworks should mandate periodic reviews of inventory positioning. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) should guide the approval, documentation, and tracking of reallocation. KPIs should measure not just inventory accuracy or turnover, but stock agility — the ability to move the right part to the right place at the right time.
In defence, this aligns with Joint Support Chain optimisation and the strategic aims of the Defence Support Operating Model. In commercial contexts, it supports leaner, greener, and more responsive supply networks.
Conclusion: Think Before You Procure
In a world of tightening budgets, rising risk, and increasing operational tempo, more inventory is not the answer — better inventory is. Re-brigading offers a low-cost, high-impact way to unlock availability improvements using what you already have.
It isn’t glamorous. It doesn’t require exotic AI or drones. But re-brigading reflects the fundamental discipline at the heart of logistics: right part, right place, right time.
Before you raise a new purchase order, pause and ask: is the part already in the system — just somewhere else?
Paul R Salmon FCILT FSCM FCMI is Chair of the CILT Defence Forum and a former RAF engineer turned logistics and support modelling specialist. Paul is a passionate advocate for data-driven decision-making and professional development in defence supply chains. He also leads industry engagement through the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and contributes regularly to webinars, policy development, and innovation forums across the sector.
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