NDSS (NATO Depot Support System)

NDSS stands for NATO Depot Support System. NATO describes it as an integrated logistics-support software tool that was designed, developed and is maintained by the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPA). The description appears in the NATO Logistics Handbook.

NDSS is a NATO logistics information system. It is not a procurement rule, a contracting standard or a certification scheme. Canadian suppliers are most likely to meet the term in NATO logistics documents, audit reports and acronym lists. The expansion is also recorded in the NATO glossary of acronyms and abbreviations (AAP-15).

Logistics functions NDSS covers

NDSS brings several logistics tasks into one software package. According to the NATO Logistics Handbook, it covers:

• item identification
• supply
• warehousing
• stock management
• maintenance
• property accounting
• asset management
• vehicle-fleet management

NATO audit material describes the system the same way: a software package maintained by NSPA that covers areas such as item identification, supply, maintenance and property accounting. The 2019 Allied Command Operations financial audit contains that description.

Platforms and system interfaces

NATO states that NDSS is scalable and runs on client-server, web-access and web-services platforms. It is also available as a functional service on the NATO Public Access Network.

NDSS can interface with other NATO enterprise systems. The NATO documentation names SAP at NSPA and NATO shipment-tracking capability as examples. NSPA maintains the software, so changes to the system are managed within NATO and not by individual user organisations.

Where NATO organisations use NDSS

NATO documentation records NDSS as an inventory and logistics system used across NATO logistics organisations and sites. The named users include:

• NATO communications-and-information-systems depots
• forward support points
• NATO signal battalions
• many NATO headquarters support commands

The 2015 Allied Command Operations financial audit also refers to NDSS as a system used by NATO organisations, including communications-and-information-systems depots.

Two names in NATO documents

NATO sources use two forms of the name. The NATO acronym glossary gives "NATO Depot Support System." NATO logistics and audit documents sometimes write "NATO Depot and Support System" in descriptive text. Both forms refer to the same NSPA-maintained logistics tool, and both abbreviate to NDSS.

What NDSS means for Canadian suppliers

NDSS is a NATO system maintained by NSPA. The NATO sources do not make it a general requirement for Canadian public procurement. A supplier bidding on a Canadian federal, provincial or municipal contract is not required to access, operate or integrate with NDSS because of anything in those sources.

The term is useful as background. If a bid involves NATO logistics, depot support or NSPA-linked work, NDSS may come up as the system NATO users rely on for stock, maintenance and asset records. Any obligation tied to it would be set out in the solicitation documents themselves, so read the statement of work and terms of each opportunity closely.