1. WFP Logistics systems, the background.
WFP logistics procures, stores and transports 3.3 million tons of food items per year.
Our aid goes to the most remote points on the earth, where we often manage truck fleets and operate aircraft in places where commercial suppliers do not want to work due to the roughness of the terrain or the insecurity.
Increasingly WFP is also the ‘logistics provider’ for the other humanitarian agencies, storing their emergency stocks, and procuring or transporting their non-food items the world over.
To make it even more complex, WFP is accountable for every truck, every bag of food it stores, transports or tranships and ensures for every single beneficiary, a food basket of 10 to 15 ingredients is available at the distribution point at the same time.
This makes the WFP's logistics supply chain not only the most critical lifeline for close to 100 million people, but it is also by far the most complex logistics supply chain anyone operates. And this statement stands when we compare our operation not only with other humanitarian agencies, but also with commercial or military operations.
In the mid 90’s WFP realized such a vaste and complex logistics pipeline could not be managed on pieces of papers, and in a well-defined strategy - called “FMIP“ (Financial & Management Improvement Plan) – rolled out connectivity and information systems. These allowed Email, voice and data communications from and to any of our field stations. These systems allowed us, amongst others, to track the food pipeline and commodity movements from anywhere to anywhere in the world.
Late 2007, WFP logistics decided to upgrade its systems, training and tools, under the five pillar approach (illustration above). One of the pillars supporting the improved logistics are “systems”.
2. Why improved systems?
We have observed that with the proliferation of ICT in WFP, we ended up with logistics officers using at least 15 different systems, resulting in a duplication and inconsistency of data and unneeded double data entry. Many of these systems were isolated, and only contained data for a single office, making it impossible to have an overview on a country level, leave along on a global level.
At the same time, WFP logistics defined as one of its priorities to optimize its supply chain from the receipt of donor funds and commodities are ordered to the moment the aid is delivered to the beneficiaries.
This requires every logistics officer to have a unique and central access point to all the data, for all data to be accessible from anypoint in the world, and for data to flow transparently from system to system.
Rather than redevelopping or repurchasing software, we are taking a pragmatic and fast-track (and cheaper) approach, called the DELIVER project:
- all existing data will be made accessible through one portal (or website)
- existing software packages will not be redevelopped but we will ensure their data is available to the central portal
- those logistics areas (truck fleet management, UNHRD warehouse management, air asset (flight) management and Non-Food items tracking) which is not covered by current software will be rolled out
- we will link up with software from service providers (e.g. Nexus container cargo tracking) to provide a transparent sea freight tracking
3. What will the DELIVER Project give us, concretely?
These are more than “systems”, this is a new approach to humanitarian logistics, supported by the systems. And at the same time it should be understood a lot of these systems are not to provide support to WFP logistics only, it will support the wider humanitarian community.
Now concretely we will, by end 2009 have:
Developped and rolled out:
- One user portal for all logistics services
- UNHRD warehouse management system (including bar coding)
- An integrated “sales and customer relations” module
- A Non-Food Commodity Tracking system
- Performance monitoring system
Integrated and expanded:
- The Flight Management System
- The Fleet Management System
Improved and linked with:
- The Food Commodity tracking system (Compas)
- The corporate accounting (ERP) system (WINGS II) for finance and asset mgmt
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