Author: SEC

reduces downtime by enabling procurement personnel to quickly identify, locate, and order parts or supplies accounts for existing inventory identifies shelf life of an item of supply maximizes use of available spares by identifying items of supply that are interchangeable or substitutable provides pricing information, which is valuable when negotiating contracts and managing military budgets… Continue reading What’s the Real Value of a NSN?

The NSN is used by domestic and foreign governments, all the military services and various federal and civil agencies. The NSN is officially recognized by the United States government, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and many other governments around the world. The NSN affords the opportunity for greater cross-servicing potential and facilitates operations that… Continue reading Who Uses NSNs?

The DLA Logistics Information Service, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, assigns all NSNs at the request of the military services, certain federal and civil agencies, and foreign friendly countries. Each NSN assigned to an item of supply is the result of a careful review process known as cataloging. Cataloging is the process whereby each item… Continue reading Who Assigns a NSN?

Manufacturers and suppliers do not have the authority to request a NSN. This is usually accomplished once a requirement/need for that manufacturer’s/supplier’s item has been identified by a military service, NATO country, federal/civil agency or various Contractor Support Weapons Systems (CSWS) managed by a contractor. Requests are then forwarded thru the appropriate supply chain for… Continue reading Who Can Request a NSN Assignment?

Everyone recognizes this number system, (269) 961-7766. It is, of course, a telephone number. The three distinct parts of a phone number are easily identifiable. The first part is the area code, the second part is the exchange, and the third part is a unique four-digit number. (269) 961-7766 Just as each part of a… Continue reading What Does a NSN Structure Look Like?

During World War II, it was common to find different names applied to a single item of supply used by each military service. That made it difficult for the military services to locate supplies and, in most cases, impossible to share items of supply. This resulted in an item depletion situation for one service and… Continue reading Why Was The Concept of a NSN Created?

A National Stock Number is simply the official label applied to an item of supply that is repeatedly procured, stocked, stored, issued, and used throughout the federal supply system. It is a unique item identifying series of numbers. When a NSN is assigned to an item of supply, data is assembled to describe the item.… Continue reading What is a National Stock Number (NSN)?