Planning for a Rainy Day: Ways to Improve Efficiency and Cut Costs in the Aerospace and Defense Industry

Summary: If prizes were given out to industries that had the most cost overruns, delays and inefficiencies, aerospace and defense (A & D) would probably win hands down. On average, new weapons systems are coming in two years late, saddling taxpayers with nearly $300 billion in unanticipated costs. Human nature is partly to blame: Too many contractors presume a “sunny day” scenario, projecting budget requests that are based on nothing going wrong. But things are about to change. The industry is going to have to make some painful adjustments as Washington is forced to devote more of its resources to shore up the ailing economy. For the foreseeable future sunny days are likely to be few and far between. Highlights: * Why have so many efforts to reform the acquisitions system fallen short of expected results? * How can earned value management provide A & D program managers with accurate and reliable feedback on cost and schedule performance through the life cycles of their programs? * What kinds of challenges has supply chain complexity created for the A & D industry? * How do political considerations influence the procurement process? Guests: Tom Captain, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP John Coykendall, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP Rod Mateer, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP