Summary: Many of the reparable exchange items repaired and stocked at Army installations are also stocked at the divisions. If the four divisions in GAO's review relied on inventories at the installations as their main supply source for reparable exchange items, they could reduce their inventory investment by nearly $47 million. Because of the close proximity of the divisions and their respective installation support activities, supply responsiveness would not suffer. Army officials were concerned that if the divisions eliminated reparable items from their inventories, the divisions would not have all of their authorized inventory items if they had to deploy. However, GAO found that in 93 percent of the cases there was more than enough inventory at the installation and wholesale level depots to meet the divisions' authorized inventory, without retaining the added inventory of such items at the division level. Officials were also concerned about situations in which units were at training locations away from the installation and needed a reparable exchange item. GAO suggests that this problem could be overcome by allowing the units to keep a minimum number of readiness-related reparable exchange items at the division level.
