EQUIPMENT—any functional unit of hull, mechanical, electrical, ordnance, or electronic materiel operated singly or as a component of a system or subsystem. It is a nonconsumable item.
CONSUMABLE—all supplies consumed in use
STOCK UNIT—the smallest quantity of a supply item
STANDARD STOCK—materiel under the control of an inventory manager and identified by a National Item Identification Number (NIIN)
RESERVE STOCK—items on hand and available for issue for a specific purpose but not for general use
BULK STOCK—materiel carried in stock for future use in full unbroken containers
REPAIR PART—a replaceable part of machinery or equipment
CONTROLLED EQUIPAGE—equipment that is under management control due to high replacement cost, likelihood that it maybe stolen, or is highly essential to accomplish the activity’s mission
FEDERAL SUPPLY CLASSIFICATION (FSC) STRUCTURE
The FSC System classifies all supplies used by the federal government. Each item is identified by a four-digit code. The first two digits denote the group or major division of commodities; the last two denote the class or subdivisions of commodities within a group. An example is 6505, Drugs, Biological, and Official Reagents.
| [Group] | [Class] |
| 65 | 05 |
Cognizance Symbols These symbols are supply management codes that identify the Navy inventory manager of the specific category of materiel in which the item is included. The cognizance symbol for all Navyowned bulk medical materiel is “9L.”
National Stock Numbers (NSN) The national stock number (NSN) for an item of supply consists of a four-digit federal supply classification (FSC—group and class) and a nine-digit national item identification number (NIIN). NIIN consists of a two-digit national codification bureau (NCB) code and seven digits that, in conjunction with the NCB code, identify each NSN item in the Federal Supply Distribution system.
An example of NSN is:
National Codification Bureau (NCB) Code
An NCB code is a two-digit code that is included as the fifth and sixth digits of an NSN or NATO stock number. It identifies the country that assigned the stock number or it indicates that the stock number is used by two or more countries. The NCB codes 00 and 01 are currently assigned to the United States.
National Item Identification Number (NIIN) The national item identification number (NIIN) is a nine-digit number that identifies each item of supply used by the Department of Defense (DOD). The NIIN indexes or relates to information that makes an item of supply for DOD different from every other item of supply. The amount and type of information would depend on the item and its intended use. Although NIIN is part of the national stock number, it is used independently to identify an item. Except for identification lists, most federal supply catalogs are arranged in NIIN order.
Navy Item Control Numbers (NICN) NICNs identify items of materiel that are not included in FCS, but which are stocked in the
