Perhaps the most general definition of Integrated Logistics Support is a logistics support facility that disseminates and directs the identification as well as the development of system requirements and logistics support for military systems. The primary goal of ILS is to create systems that last longer and require less support. This has the double result of reducing costs and increasing the return on investments made by companies and shareholders. Therefore, this not only addresses these compatibility issues during acquisition, but also throughout the entire operational life of the system in question.
As the word ‘Integrated’ might suggest, this form of support involves planning and executing a number of things simultaneously to ensure system availability. In order for all ILS elements to interact with maximum efficiency, the planning of each individual ILS element is developed in coordination with each other and with the system engineering effort. However, because a system may be required to have a specific combination of requirements, trade-offs may need to be made to produce a system that is operable, supportable, transportable, sustainable, environmentally sound, and affordable (with the life cycle cost lowest possible). It may also be the case that a deliberate Logistics Support Analysis process is implemented to identify the specific tasks to be completed by each support element within a system.
As already mentioned, Integrated Logistics Support involves a wide range of activities. The most common include equipment support (such as test equipment, computing resource support, spare parts support, and also resource procurement); Labor and Personnel or personnel (including training and training support); PHS&T (Packaging, Handling, Storage and Transportation); Reliability engineering, Maintainability engineering, and also maintenance planning (which involves preventive, predictive and corrective planning). The impact of integrated logistics support is often measured in ‘metric terms’ such as availability, reliability, maintainability and testability (RAMT) and, in some cases, system security (RAMS).
The Integrated Logistics Support labor and personnel activity involves the identification and acquisition of potential workers with the necessary qualifications and skills to operate and maintain the system during its useful life. However, training support and training devices encompasses the procedures, techniques, processes, and equipment used to train personnel to operate and maintain the same system.