Logistics preparedness: saving time, money, and livelihoods
In spring of 2020, as the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HELP Logistics continued to support its partners with logistics expertise. Together with FAO, the company undertook supply chain management (SCM) assessments in several countries with particularly challenging operational contexts, including Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Yemen - countries where even prior to the pandemic, food insecurity was widespread, and access issues were especially complicated due to infrastructure constraints and conflict.
In places where there is an elevated risk to food security and livelihoods, having a smooth supply chain is key to providing support to communities on the ground. HELP Logistics was able to provide the needed logistics expertise to help FAO improve its inventory and logistics work in challenging contexts where high-value projects are underway. The assessments contributed to FAO’s Global Inventory Management Solution (GIMS), which enables better visibility and controls along FAO’s supply chain through improved policy, procedures and systems. The project, overseen by FAO’s Corporate Logistics and Operational Support stream, helps to improve delivery of goods to destinations in the field and the subsequent tracking, management and maintenance of inventory, while strengthening the Organization’s IPSAS-compliant accounting and reporting.
The SCM reviews highlighted key challenges, weaknesses and bottlenecks in various parts of the supply chain, helping FAO country offices to improve business processes for planning, receipt, inspection, storage/warehousing, insurance, tracking, reporting, transport and distribution of project inputs. Despite the unprecedented setting - the midst of a global pandemic – the HELP team was particularly agile in responding to the crisis and managed to conduct the assessment seamlessly in the countries identified to participate in the review.
Findings from the review are now being incorporated in an implementation plan to help FAO improve inventory and logistics controls and processes in a number of country offices. Going forward, HELP Logistics will continue to support FAO by reinforcing the Organization’s internal logistics capacity through training and workshops. HELP Logistics’ expertise has not only helped to improve FAO’s project delivery in challenging contexts, but has also aligned FAO’s operations to best practices in other UN agencies and strengthened its emergency preparedness, helping to generate significant savings in terms of improved operational effectiveness and organizational efficiency.
The Humanitarian and Emergency Logistics Project (HELP) was founded by The Kuehne Foundation to respond to the challenges facing humanitarian supply chain and logistics. In 2014, FAO and HELP Logistics signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote capacity building and knowledge exchange in the field of logistics for agriculture. The partnership focuses on strengthening logistics capacity to support efficient food and agricultural systems, both in the context of humanitarian emergencies and in longer-term development settings.
Areas of engagement: Capacity development, advocacy and communication, technical cooperation