The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been told to consider purchasing an off-the-shelf consignment tracking system, in a report denouncing defence chiefs for failing to close a gap in capability exposed in the first Gulf War over 10 years ago.

The watchdog Commons Public Accounts Committee complained that despite investing over £550m since then on new computerised asset management systems, the MoD 'still lacks a credible consignment tracking system'.

The MPs say this is 'a major reason why some equipment did not reach frontline troops when they needed it'. The shortages included enhanced body armour and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical detection and protection systems.

'The department should consider whether it might be better to procure a system that meets essentials and can be introduced into service quickly rather than trying to develop a technically-advanced bespoke system,' says the report.

'As a minimum, a system should be able to track supplies to the store held by frontline units, provide frontline commanders with visibility of the progress of their consignments within the supply chain, and be supported by a dedicated communications system and fully trained personnel.'

An integrated MoD supply system has been a priority since 2000 and a programme, Defence Stores Management Solution, was set up but it 'proved to be unaffordable and technically challenging' and was abandoned after expenditure of £120m (Computing, 6 November 2003).

'The repeated identification of important logistics lessons since 1991, such as the absence of an adequate consignment tracking system, suggests fundamental shortcomings in the department's ability to learn and act upon lessons from previous experience,' says the Committee.

The Army and RAF already use VITAL (Visibility In-Transit Asset Logging) and the Navy uses RIDELS (Royal Navy Invoicing and Delivery System) but these are single service systems and the MoD needs integrated systems.

A radio frequency tagging system manufactured in the US showing the location of individual containers helped track consignments into theatre and linked into VITAL. But it was introduced too late to be used in the crucial early stages of the deployment.

The MoD logistics organisation has still to determine the final cost of a tagging system and it has not yet received ministerial approval.

The report says lack of visibility of items in the supply chain led to a loss of confidence among commanders that they would receive supplies when required, leading to inefficiencies such as duplicate ordering and some 'misappropriation' of equipment.