scope:

a. In the Federal Catalog System, the concept of each item of supply is expressed in, and fixed by, an item identification. The item identification will consist of the minimum data required to establish characteristics of the item. They give the item its character and differentiate it from every other item of supply.

(1) Item identifications may originate within any department or agency. Because each expressed characteristic tends to differentiate item identifications, the need arises for determining when different item identifications actually apply to the same item of supply. Each item identification, therefore, must consist of sufficient characteristics to reveal any duplication that may exist.

(2) Each item identification will be adequate, in whole or in part, for determination of requirements, procurement, production, distribution, redistribution, maintenance, and disposal of materiel.

(3) Basic Principles of Item Identification:

(a) Each item identification shall be applicable to one, and only one, item of supply.

(b) Each item of supply shall have applicable to it one, and only one, item identification.

(c) The submittal of all known part/reference numbers related to an item of production or an item of supply with the applicable Reference Number Variation Code (RNVC) and Reference Number Category Code (RNCC) is mandatory.

(4) Activity Determination.

(a) Each Government activity shall determine, and be able to justify, its items of supply in terms of technical considerations and logistics responsibilities. An activity shall define its items in the broadest possible terms that will assure identification consistent with the requirements of its logistics responsibilities.

(b) Because of this item-of-supply principle, item-of-supply concepts covering closely related items may exist at different levels of detail or tolerance, according to the number and nature of the characteristics included in the concepts. In this situation the broader item of supply may overlap the narrower item of supply in terms of the range of pieces or objects covered by each. Each such different item of supply, the broader and the narrower, is assigned a separate National Stock Number (NSN).

(5) Basis for Identification:

(a) The identification and differentiation of an item of supply rests on the characteristics inherent in the concept of the item. The charcteristics appropriate to a particular concept can be disclosed only by technical research, which therefore serves as the foundation for the process of item identification.

(b) Characteristics of an Item of Supply: Physical charcteristics consist of everything that enters into the makeup of the item, such as structure, material content, chemical composition, electrical data, dimensions, formation or arrangement of parts, principles of operation. Performance characteristics consist of the special or peculiar kind of action or service provided by, and expected of, the item because of its physical characteristics.

b. Under FLIS, the central data bank maintained by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) contains a record for each National Item Identification Number (NIIN) known as the FLIS data base. Each item record is further segmented into groups of related data elements normally associated with a given logistics function such as item identification, standardization, freight classification, catalog management data, and others. This provides for ―modular‖ or ―building block‖ construction of an item-oriented record. Segments or individual elements are added to the basic record (built as a result of the item identification operation) for the item. The total data for a given item is known as ―item intelligence.‖

c. This volume is limited to the item identification operation, i.e., construction of the base record and actions for subsequent maintenance of the item-of-supply concept as situations for adjustment develop. It outlines itemof- supply concept parameters in accordance with DoD 4100.39-M, FLIS Procedures Manual, volume 1, chapter 1.1 and automated design guidance.

(1) New items introduced into the supply system result in the preparation and submission of an item identification for the assignment of a NIIN by DLIS. Once assigned, the NSN (i.e., the Federal Supply Class (FSC) and NIIN) identifies the item for all logistics functions.

(2) This volume has been divided into chapters according to the major kinds of processing required to submit data into FLIS. (Refer to the Table of Contents for the particular operation to be performed.) Preparation and transmittal of item logistics data is to be performed in accordance with the guidelines contained herein.