Commercial efficiency minimizes idle inventory, but military readiness deliberately pays to store munitions and spares. Those items cannot be produced quickly enough after a crisis begins. Standardizing equipment can also sacrifice the climate-specific performance needed by units assigned to Arctic or hot-weather operations. Automating sensitive HR and finance functions still requires expensive cleared technical staff behind the system, so the promised saving is not automatic.
Chapter · 5:38:16-5:44:46
Defence efficiency cannot be measured like just-in-time business
The promised £10.7 billion of efficiencies is tested against stockpiles, specialist equipment, automation, and secure-workforce costs.