LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recall the terms associated with the Federal Supply System and how to use the Federal Supply Catalog.

The Department of Defense Supply System contains more than 4 million items; of this total the Navy stocks more than 1 million items. To order supplies effectively from this system, you must have a basic understanding of the DoD supply system terminology and structure. This includes the naming, description, classification, and numbering of all items carried under centralized control of the United States Government. Only one identification number is used for each item, from purchase to final disposal.

TERMINOLOGY
To effectively procure and account for naval materials, you will need to be familiar with terminology commonly used in the supply system. Some of the terms with which you should be familiar are discussed below:

BULK STOCK Material in full, unbroken containers available for future use.

CONSUMABLE Supplies that are consumed or disposed of after use.

EQUIPAGE Items that require management control afloat because of high unit cost, vulnerability to pilferage, or indispensability to the ship = s mission.

CONTROLLED EQUIPAGE
Items of equipage that require special management control because the material is essential for the mission or the protection of life, is relatively valuable, or easily converted to personal use.

EQUIPMENT Any functional unit of hull, mechanical, electrical, ordnance, or electronic material, operated singly or as a component of a system or subsystem. Equip- ment is considered noncon- sumable.

MATERIAL All supplies, repair parts, equipment, and equipage used in the Navy/Marine Corps.

NON- CONSUMABLE Supplies and materials that are not consumed or disposed of after their use. Buildings and equipment are nonconsumable items.

REPAIR PART Any item that has an application and appears in an allowance parts list (APL), stock number sequence list (SNSL), integrated stock list (ISL), Naval Ship Systems Command drawings, or a manufacturer = s handbook.

RESERVE STOCK Items on hand and available for issue for a specific purpose, but not for general use (for example, decontamination supplies).

STANDARD STOCK Material under the control of an inventory manager and identified by a National Item Identification Number (NIIN). The NIIN is the last nine-digits of the Federal Stock Number.

STOCK NUMBER The smallest quantity of a supply item.

FEDERAL SUPPLY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The Federal Supply Classification System is designed to permit the classification of all items of supply used by the federal government. Each item of supply will be included in one-AND ONLY ONE-FSC. The FSC is made up of 2 two-digit numeric codes: the federal supply group and the federal supply class. The federal supply group identifies, by title, the commodity area covered by the classes within each group.

An example of a Federal Supply Group and its classes is as follows:

NATIONAL STOCK NUMBERS
Every item in the Federal Supply Catalog is identified by a 13-digit stock number referred to as National Stock Number (NSN). The national stock number (NSN) for an item of supply consists of a four-digit federal supply classification (FSC group and class) and a nine-digit national item identification number (NIIN). The NIIN consists of a two-digit national codification bureau (NCB) code and seven digits that, in conjunction with the NCB code, identify each NSN item in the Federal Supply Distribution System.

The National Item Identification Number is a nine-digit number that identifies each item of supply used by the Department of Defense. Although the NIIN is part of the NSN, it is used independently to identify an item within a classification. Unlike the FSC, the NIIN is assigned serially, without regard for the name, description, or classification of the item.

An example NSNis: 3110-00-123-4567

NAVY ITEM CONTROL NUMBERS
Navy Item Control Numbers (NICN) identify items of material (such as pencils, staplers, sutures, and medications) that are not included in the FSC but are stocked in the Navy supply system. These numbers are 13-digits and are assigned by inventory control managers.

LOCAL ITEM CONTROL NUMBERS
Technically, any item identification number assigned by an activity for its own use is a Navy Item Control Number. To distinguish between NICNs that are authorized in supply transaction documents and those that are not, the term Local Item Control Number (LICN) is often used. A full explanation of the composition of NIINs, NICNs, and LICNs is contained in Afloat Supply Procedures, NAVSUP P-485.

COGNIZANCE SYMBOLS
Although cognizance symbols are not part of the NSN, they are used as supply management codes that identify the Navy inventory manager for the specific category of material requisitioned. This symbol consists of two parts, one numeric and one alphabetic. For example, the symbol for all Navy-owned bulk medical material is "9L."