CHAPTER 4 MATERIAL PROCUREMENT

CHAPTER 4 MATERIAL PROCUREMENT The term procurement means an act of getting material or services from supply sources. In the Navy, procurement is a big undertaking. Think for a moment about the size of the Navy and the amount of material it needs to keep working. The Navy’s procurement process involves customers, support activities, and suppliers. The customers prepare requisitions and submit the completed forms to the supporting supply activity. Upon receipt of the requisition, the supporting supply activity checks the form for complete and correct information. When requested material is available, the supply activity processes the requisition for issue. If material is not available, the supply activity refers the requisition to the item manager or supporting stock points for issue. The suppliers of material can be a military or civilian organization. Chapters 1 through 3 of this training manual describe inventory manager responsibilities and stink points that supply material for the Navy. Material and services received from civilian vendors arc those not available in the Navy’s supply system. The supply department processes procurement requests to satisfy the customer’s needs or to restock supplies. The procedures and forms used in procurement may vary from activity to activity. The variations of the forms used depend on the local procedures set by the activity. In the most part, the basic procedures arc the same for all activities. This chapter will help you learn the procedures of getting the needed material to support your activity. Also, you will learn how to get and maintain the status of outstanding requisitions and perform material obligation validations (MOVs). REQUISITIONING INSTRUCTIONS A customer who needs an item or service makes that need known by submitting an official request called a “requisition.” The requisition tells, in a standardized format, what and how many of the item are needed. It also tells who the customer is, the urgency of the requirement (priority), and whom to bill for the payment. The Military Stanadard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures, NAVSUP P437, provides detailed instructions for preparing requisitions. Refer to this publication for additional information processing. METHODS OF PROCUREMENT in requisition There are two basic methods by which an activity may obtain the material or services it requires. They are the requisitioning and purchase methods. The requisitioning method is done by submitting a requisition to the supporting supply activity for material with a stock number. There are times, however, when the customer needs an item that does not have a stock number. To get the item, the customer still submits a requisition through the normal supply channel. The stock point usually sends the requisition to a contracting office, who buys goods and services from commercial sources. The contracting office uses the information on the requisition to buy the item on a onetime purchase basis. SOURCES OF SUPPLY Activities will normally submit requisitions to the supply activities specified in the orders and instructions issued by higher authority. For ships, these instructions are issued under the direction of fleet commanders. When requisitioning instructions do not specify the supply source, ships will submit requisitions to the nearest Navy ashore supply activity. MILITARY STANDARD REQUISITIONING AND ISSUE PROCEDURES FORMS The Department of Defense (DOD) developed the Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures (MILSTRIP). Its purpose is to standardize procedures, forms, formats, codes, and documentation of requisitioning and issuing systems for all military services. The use of a coded, single-line item document for each supply transaction is the basis of MILSTRIP. Refer to NAVSUP P-437 (ashore) and NAVSUP P-485 (afloat) for the Navy supply system procedures for operating MILSTRIP. The following text describes the forms used for MILSTRIP requisitioning. 4-1