The Army has initiated the process of identifying potential industry partners to implement the Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) model for its base workshops and ordnance depots intended to improve operational efficiency.
A Request For Information (RFI) was issued to shortlist service providers with experience in “warehousing, logistics and supply chain management” for Central Ordnance Depot (COD), Kanpur. Separately, the Army’s Master General of Ordnance (MGO) began evaluating the GOCO model for Army Base Workshops (ABWs) to drive “higher operational efficiencies” and PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. (PwC) hired as a consultant to run this engagement is scheduled to hold conferences and consultations with the industry.
“The agenda of these interactions would be to understand from interested industry participants their views on opportunities envisaged and issues/concerns if ABW(s) were to be run under GOCO model,” a notice issued by the Army says and the last date to send responses is January 10.
The eight ABWs identified are located in Delhi, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Kankinara (West Bengal), Allahabad, Agra and Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Kirkee near Pune and Bengaluru.
The tasks undertaken by these workshops include depot level (D level) repairs and overhaul of T-72 and T-90, guns, mortars and small arms, vehicles, communication systems, radars, air defence systems, armoured personnel carriers and manufacture of spares (indigenisation) and overhaul of aviation rotables.
The GOCO model was one of the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. DB Shekatkar (Retd.) committee to “enhance combat capability and re-balancing defence expenditure.” Based on the recommendations, the government has “decided to disband two advance base workshops, one static workshop and four ordnance depots” and eight ABWs are recommended to be corporatised on GOCO model.
The RFI dated December 19, 2019 aims “to shortlist Service Providers of repute with experience in warehousing, logistics and supply chain management and the last date for submitting responses “will be six weeks from the date of posting of the RFI...”
“The selected Service Provider will take over present infrastructure and related services from COD Kanpur on “as-it-is-and-where-it-is basis”. Maintenance of complete infrastructure will be thereafter the responsibility of the service provider,” the RFI states.
The existing civilian manpower/workforce will have to be absorbed by the selected Service Provider, it added. The functions of COD Kanpur envisaged for outsourcing under the GOCO model include warehousing operations, transportation of stores and area maintenance.
The service provider should be an Indian registered company with at least 10 years of working experience in related domains and have an average annual turnover of ₹50 crore for each of the last three financial years.
The total range of inventory of COD Kanpur is about 4045 items and on an average holds approximately 70,000 tonnes of stores at any given point of time, the RFI states. It consists of different types of clothing, footwear, headgear and tentage items, camping items, kitchen equipment and supply dropping equipment.
