viewpoint
Logistics for a greater cause
In emergencies and disaster situations, an efficient logistics framework is the key to successful relief op- erations. Just as businesses rely on logistics for the movement of goods all over the world, so do relief organizations rely on logistics to bring food, water,
and other supplies to the people in need.
Sadly though, humanitarian logistics is far from seamless.
For many years, corporate logisticians have been developing and refining strategies and technologies for optimizing global supply chains. Unfortunately, this expertise
has not trickled down to humanitarian relief
organizations, many of which suffer from
poorly defined manual processes, insufficient funding, fragmented technology, high
employee turnover rates, and a lack of institutional learning.
How I see humanitarian logistics is best
described by a quote by Bernard Chomilier,
Head of the International Federation of Red
Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) Logistics Division, “You do not know what you
need, you do not know where you need it,
but you have to get it there in a short amount
of time under difficult conditions or people
will die.”
Humanitarian logistics involves all the processes and
systems needed to mobilize people, resources, skills, and
knowledge to help vulnerable people affected by natural
disasters and complex emergencies.
It is a program that includes providing an initial relief
to a disaster in any part of the world, preferably within
48 hours, by a network of pre-positioned inventory that
will receive, maintain, and ship material as required. The
material staged at these facilities normally consists of
non-food items, such as plastic sheeting, blankets, water
filtration systems, vehicles and other relief items.
A humanitarian logistics operation may include planning, procurement, mobilization of personnel and transport, customs clearance, warehousing, transport, track
and trace, coordination with other organizations, in-coun-try operations such as local transport, customs clearance
and tax exemption procedures, and last-mile delivery and
distribution.
One challenge is that operations often occur without
government support in chaotic environments where
physical infrastructure has been destroyed and security
compromised.
In the Iraq & Afghan wars, militants have directly tar-
geted humanitarian workers, adding a new type of threat.
Humanitarian logistics needs training for logisticians;
the creation of collaboration and coordination mechanisms
before a disaster occurs; co-ordination by a central organization; seamless cooperation with the military, private
sector, and humanitarian organizations; and
development of new technology for track and
trace in disaster relief supply chains.
These new applications will utilize the best
of corporate logistics, but tailor the software’s
functions to the needs of the humanitarian
logistician.
Moreover, because emergencies are unexpected occurrences, relief organizations must
plan for every contingency and be ready to act
at a moment’s notice.
In this respect, humanitarian logistics is
much more demanding and uncertain than
corporate logistics, which affords more time
for planning and strategizing. One way to
compensate for the last-minute nature of the work is to
warehouse food and other supplies in locations around
the world so that it is closer to potential areas of conflict.
The private sector clearly has the expertise and ability
to serve humanitarian relief organizations in a new way.
Yet, these organizations have often been afraid of the private sector, imagining that it exists only to make money.
By thinking this way, they have at times inflicted unnecessary problems and costs on themselves.
The barriers must now come down. When humanitarian
and corporate logisticians can work together to share best
practices, they will be better able to use the world-class
logistics principles to assist those who are suffering.
Issa Baluch
Issa Baluch is the founder and chairman of Swift
Freight International and past president of FIATA. He
is the author of “Transport Logistics, Past, Present and
Predictions.” ( www.transportlogistics.com) ACW
