International Journal of Engineering and Technology

First we start with design and development. Let’s take the military as an example. Suppose the military wants to design new weapon systems that will be more accurate than systems they currently have. The first things they have to do is get a team of scientists and whatever other personnel are needed to design the system. Then, after they come up with a design they are pleased with they have to get the engineers to develop it. All these people either have to be hired or contracted. Some of the work maybe sub contracted. Then there is the acquisition of the materials needed. Some of the materials may already be on hand while others have to be purchased. Some will be purchased domestically and others will need to be purchased from overseas. In many cases bids will be put in to various companies to see who can supply the materials at the cheapest cost. After the materials are acquired there’s the matter of storage. In many cases the materials is either of so large a quantity or so large in size that the storage facilities need to be specially built in order to adequately provide the needed space. This of course has to be figured in to the equation. Then there’s the matter of movement and distribution to may be the various military bases around the country or even overseas. Trucks or planes need to be acquired in order to distribute the materials if there aren’t enough readymade transportation vehicles. Transportation costs alone can be astronomical.