Una empresa emergente que trabaja con una subvenci\u00f3n del Cuerpo de Marines busca consolidar un software de log\u00edstica anticuado para poder entregar suministros m\u00e9dicos en zonas de desastre de manera m\u00e1s oportuna.<\/p>\n
PARIS \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0A startup working on a Marine Corps grant is looking to consolidate antiquated logistics software so it can deliver medical supplies in disaster zones in a timelier manner.<\/p>\n 14BIS Supply Tracking, a Burlington, Massachusetts-based company, developed its Just in Time Medical Logistics software under a Marine Corps Small Business Innovation and Research award, CEO and co-founder Eleanor Mitch, said at her booth at the Eurosatory trade show in Paris recently.<\/p>\n The problem is widespread in the military logistics world: legacy systems that don\u2019t connect or communicate, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrank over here has got one system. On the other side of the street, Betty has another, but no one knows what\u2019s happening,\u201d she said, especially when it comes to delivering consumables like medical supplies in a timely manner.<\/p>\n The Marine Corps was looking for more precise deliveries based on actual needs rather than estimates, she said.<\/p>\n The Marine Corps is running a competition for the program, and has yet to select a winner, so 14BIS, meanwhile, is marketing the system commercially to the emergency, disaster and humanitarian world, where centralized planning is a bane to workers in the field.<\/p>\n That sector has similar problems to the military, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s as if medical logistics were currently functioning with blinders, which means that the right supplies aren\u2019t delivered in good condition and on time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She likened the product to an octopus with many tentacles that can reach out and grab the right information.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, any operating system, any hardware, any software \u2014 even legacy ones that are written in COBOL, for example,\u201d she said. \u201cIt essentially pulls in that data, does secure tracking and also provides data analytics.\u201d<\/p>\n It can also automatically find the best and most efficient means of transportation available to deliver supplies.<\/p>\n It can work as an app or a desktop. And in disaster situations with intermittent internet access, it can send out data in bursts.<\/p>\n The system\u2019s distributed decision-making, rather than centralized planning, allows different sources \u2014 people or organizations \u2014 to consolidate their data.<\/p>\n \u201cThat makes it possible for greater local input and influence so that less time and fewer supplies are wasted,\u201d Mitch said.<\/p>\n