The paper was presented at the International Logistics Conference “Logistics 2002 – Flexible supply chains – concepts, experiences, challenges”. Poznań, May 14-15, 2002.
The article presents the main procedures, principles, definitions of THE NATO CODIFICATION SYSTEM – NCS. It describes its purposes and advantages and also presents Contract Codification Clause as well as few features of NATO Master Cross Reference List – one of the data bases of this system. The article contains basic information about NCS and the full format of NC-1 form for manufacturers and governmental entities. Apart of this there is the description of the major, latest linking between EAN•UCC and NCS. The article outlines the content of the two of Standardisation Agreements (STANAG 2494 and STANAG 2495) related to Application Identifiers (AI) and asset tracking shipping label in NATO. There are figures showing an optional format of NATO asset tracking shipping label and a sample of NATO internal AI 90 for NATO Stock Numbers.
Introduction
The NATO Codification System (NCS) is a uniform and common system used by NATO countries for the identification, classification, and management of supply items. It is designed to achieve maximum efficiency in logistics support and to improve material management.
The main purpose of establishing the system in the 1950s was to create a common logistics language for NATO countries, which until then had used different standards, indexes, stock numbers, and even systems of physical units. This system enabled the achievement of economic and operational benefits within the Pact and national logistics systems. The foundations of the system are described in the literature [1]. Official policy, objectives, principles, procedures, and the identification and classification subsystems used are presented in three NATO publications [2, 3, 4] – edited and published by the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) on behalf of the Group of National Directors on Codification (NATO Allied Committee – AC/135).
In every country participating in this product codification system, there is a special office responsible for product codification. The NATO Codification System is built on the “supply item concept” and uses uniform classification and identification of products that may be supply items. Since a supply item is an object or group of objects defined by logistics services as meeting appropriate requirements and being subject to supply, this means that logistics services determine the order and scope of coding, and the National Codification Bureau (NCB) performs the codification.
The basic objectives realized by the codification system are:
• Increasing the efficiency of logistics systems;
• Facilitating data management;
• Minimizing logistics costs;
• Increasing the efficiency of logistics operations.
To achieve these goals, the NCS system uses unique subsystems for each “supply item”: product names, classification, identification, and NATO Stock Numbers (NSN), as well as a series of procedures described in the relevant literature.
Codification data is stored in national databases with fast access capabilities. International cooperation within the NCS is possible thanks to a strictly defined common language (code system) used for data exchange between NATO countries – NCS members – and approximately 22 non-Pact countries.
1. Basic principles of the NCS system
The first principle states that “… a supply item produced in more than one country will have the same NATO Stock Number (NSN) assigned”… [5].
The structure of the NATO Stock Number was established by STANAG 3151, pp. h [5]. It consists of 13 digits, which can be divided into 3 parts:
• The first four digits (from the left) form the NATO Supply Classification (NSC) and assign the product to a group and class of similar products.
• The next two digits define the code of the National Codification Bureau (NCB) that assigned the given NSN.
• The final seven digits of the NSN are a sequential serial number assigned by the given NCB.
One NSN is assigned by the codification bureau to only one supply item within the set of numbers assigned in the country performing the codification. The NATO Item Identification Number (NIIN) or the full NATO Stock Number (NSN) uniquely identifies the product as a supply item. The second principle establishes that: “a uniform system of stock numbers shall be used, based on the principle of product codification by the countries producing them for all countries that are users of these products” (STANAG 3151, pp. g) [5]. This means that the codification procedure is undertaken by the country of the product supplier or a NATO country that introduces this product to the “list” of supply items (if the supplier country is not a participant in the NCS system).
Full article in PDF format.