Ordering and Billing System for Large-scale Military Training

Situation

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WGS is a Norwegian company created for the specific purpose of providing military logistics services both in Norway and globally. Operating under the control of Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA, WGS offers services that cover the logistical requirements of air, sea, and ground forces during their preparation, deployment, and operations.

The Norwegian Armed Forces, like any other NATO Host Nation, has been running its business processes using Microsoft Excel and paper-based documents for the communication around Host Nation Support services offered to any allied nation (Sending Nation) visiting another allied nation (Host Nation) under a large exercise or operation. Without a doubt, such factors as various document versions, the absence of direct relations between documents, limited data traceability, and complex data administration became a massive issue while running a large-scale international exercise involving many stakeholders. Any lost accounts or similar inaccuracies can lead to inefficient logistics and significant financial losses.

Therefore, WGS suggested to the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) that they could, based on knowledge from Maritime Services business processes, design a digital tool. WGS started looking for a reliable IT partner to solve these difficulties with an IT-based solution.

Having a proven track record of implementing large-scale IT projects in Scandinavia, Baltic Amadeus came into consideration for the WGS case. Additionally, Baltic Amadeus recently created a ship tracking system that received excellent reviews from a Scandinavian client, adding to their credibility. Consequently, the partnership between WilNor Governmental Services AS and Baltic Amadeus was initiated.

Solution

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After a detailed analysis of the client's business specifics, the Baltic Amadeus team offered to combine all the development services – order management, delivery, invoicing and other related processes – into one unified platform. The proposed solution became the foundation of the Host Nation Support Ordering and Billing System (HOBS).

The new system was developed in close collaboration between the business and development teams. The HOBS solution proved its value during the first military exercises organised by the Norwegian Armed Forces and later attracted attention from other countries participating in international military exercises. Over time, the HOBS system was upgraded to meet higher security standards and deployed across several countries.

The web-based system provides significant IT-driven support for large-scale military training activities and operations. The solution supports tens of thousands of deploying troops by managing NATO Statements of Requirement (SOR) in accordance with NATO Allied Joint Publication (AJP) 4-3, which regulates Host Nation Support within NATO, including ordering goods and services, planning, tracking and billing.