GlossaryGuide

• 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
• improves cycle times for design, manufacture, and repair processes while extending weapon system life cycles
• centralizes item information on all items managed within DOD
• provides built-in protection for safeguarding proprietary information and limiting access to only those entities requiring such information
• records multiple manufacturers on NSNs which increases supportability
• aids in identifying duplicate items of supply

Perhaps the most significant and far-reaching benefit of the NSN is that it provides life cycle management of items of supply, from requisition to acquisition to maintenance to disposal.

The Bottom Line

The FLIS is used worldwide for logistics information, and the National Stock Number (NSN) is the international language of logistics. Together, the FLIS and the NSN make sense of the often confusing array of suppliers and supply parts, and provides affordable readiness and reduction of total ownership cost.