Memo

To: Olga Kosyak

From: Francois Damba
Date: 15 December 2022
RE: TASK 8 – HUMANITARIAN AID SUPPLY CHAINS

We like your ideas for improving the performance of the supply chain, what actions
will you take to implement these improvements?
Understanding the Supply Chain Process.
If these different organisations do not understand the process, then barriers will come up. The
different organisations and the people who work in them, will not be working together to manage the
flow of information and the flow of goods. They may even work against each other because they
have their own objectives and their own needs. The different organisations need to work together to
meet the needs of the beneficiaries. Without this knowledge and understanding of the supply chain
process and the part they play in the process, they may make decisions that have a big impact on
the total process.
Even within organisations, there will be different departments, and different people working in those
departments, who will be carrying out different components and activities in the total supply chain
process.
Poor Infrastructure.
poor infrastructure, can have a significant effect on the
performance of the supply chain. Internationally sourced goods can get moved quickly in required
quantities to the country or region affected, but if it can’t be moved the last few miles/kilometres and
distributed to beneficiaries, then the supply chain is not being effective
poor infrastructure, can have a significant effect on the
performance of the supply chain. Internationally sourced goods can get moved quickly in required
quantities to the country or region affected, but if it can’t be moved the last few miles/kilometres and
distributed to beneficiaries, then the supply chain is not being effective
Poor Communication.
The information flow in the supply chain is just as important
as the goods flow, in fact the goods will not flow along the supply chain without people
communicating information. In the section above on Poor Infrastructure, we identified that
communication can be affected by poor or inadequate communication technology. Just as important
is the impact of poor communication due to the ability and willingness of people to communicate with
each other.
Uncertainty in Demand and Supply.
Supply chains are much easier to manage and can perform better, if the demand for goods is known
and we can be certain of what the future demand will be. The supply chain can be planned and we
know what goods will be required to procure, store, and transport. In humanitarian aid, particularly
in disaster and emergency situations, it can be difficult to get accurate information on demand.
Demand in terms of types of goods, quantities of goods, when goods are needed, and where goods

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are needed, may change at short notice and it can be difficult to forecast future demand.
In the same way, if we can be certain about the supply of goods, the resources needed to move and
store the goods can be put in place and goods will be available to be moved along the supply chain
to the beneficiaries. In humanitarian aid, there will always be some uncertainty of supply.
Availability of Resources.
For the supply chain to perform well it needs resources available to manage the flow of information
and the flow of goods. If we look at the flow of goods from suppliers to the beneficiaries, we will need
access to the following resources :
People.
Transport Vehicles.
Warehouses.
Equipment.
In disaster situations, particularly at the beginning of the relief operation, there is likely to be a
number of aid organisations trying to set up their supply chains and all wanting to acquire the same
types of resources at the same time. These resources are needed both for moving goods to the
country affected but, more importantly, in the country itself. Resources within the country are likely
to be in short supply which can lead to some organisations not being able to get the resources it
needs, which can significantly affect its supply chain performance.
LACK OF
Lack of Knowledge and Experience.
We must not forget the importance of the people resource on the performance of the supply chain.
Many aid organisations will have people who specialise in managing supply chains, these people
may work in head offices, in regional offices or out in the field. When a disaster situation occurs,
people resources need to be made available, particularly out in the field in the country affected. The
availability of enough people, with the right level of knowledge and experience, particularly to work in
the field, will have a significant effect on the performance of the supply chain.
The availability of local people in the field who can be recruited and trained to work in warehouses or
to drive vehicles, will also have an effect on performance. These people resources may also be in
short supply and in demand from a number of different aid organisations.
LACK OF
Lack of Visibility of Goods.
To manage the supply chain and for it to perform well, it is important that there is visibility of goods
as it moves from suppliers to the beneficiaries. This is visibility of what is being produced, what is
being held in warehouses and what is in transit throughout the total supply chain. Decisions that will
affect the service being given to customers (people requesting goods) and to beneficiaries, can only
be made if there is this visibility. As we saw earlier, different organisations and different people
together manage the total supply chain, so this visibility is often not possible. It can also be difficult
to get this visibility and be able to track and trace goods without using some form of computer
software. This is often not available particularly to people in the field.

How will you monitor the effect of these actions to see if they are improving the
performance of the supply chain?

Performance metrics
Customer service:
Quality of the service provided.
Speed that the supply chain can respond.
Dependability of the supply chain.
Flexibility of the supply chain.
The following are examples of metrics that can be used to measure customer service :
Delivery Performance – this is the percentage of requests/orders that are fulfilled. It is
important to define what is meant by fulfilled. The most used definition is on time, in full and
error free. On time are orders delivered on or before the date requested. In full are complete
orders, and error free usually means complete with correct documentation, labelling and not
damaged.

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Supply Chain Response Time/Lead Time – this is the time taken between a customer
making a request and that request being fulfilled.
Information on Status of Orders – this is the time taken to provide information on the
progress of orders and where goods currently are in the supply chain.
Targets can be set and agreed with the customer and performance can then be assessed against
these targets.

Cost
Total Supply Chain Costs - these are the sum of all the supply chain costs including people,
inventory carrying, goods acquisition and order management costs.
Inventory Costs - this is the cost of holding inventory in the whole supply chain.
Inventory Value - this is the value of inventory being held in the supply chain.
Order Management Costs - this is the cost involved in processing and managing an order.
Cost of Waste - this is the cost involved in managing, returning or disposing of goods that for
different reasons are never used by the customer. This can include wrong goods, damaged
goods, and goods arriving too late to be used.

Performance of the supply chain links

If these different actors and their people and departments are not performing well, have different
views about what performance is required, or are using different metrics to manage and measure
performance, these can have a significant impact on the performance of the total supply chain.
For example, if speed and on time delivery is important to the final customer, but people managing
the transport of goods see cost as important, they may make decisions to use less costly but slower
ways of moving the goods. For example, by sea rather than by air.
In a supply chain, as well as there being the supplier who supplies the final customer, there will be a
number of different customer/supplier links. Customer service metrics and targets should be agreed
for each of these links.

Commercial Suppliers supplying NGOs or UN Agencies.

UN Agencies supplying NGOs.
Donors supplying NGOs or UN Agencies.
Regional Warehouses supplying to local Warehouses.
Transport Companies moving and delivering goods.
Warehouses picking and preparing goods ready to be loaded on vehicles.
Customs and transit.

To be able to measure objectively requires setting up ways of recording performance and the
recording of performance information. If we are measuring delivery performance, then we need to
record all requests for goods, when orders are placed, when orders are delivered, orders not
delivered complete, etc.
The setting up and maintenance of these records are a key part of improving supply chain
performance, as they provide the information on current performance without which we cannot
manage and improve it.
Subjective measures include the views and perceptions of people that cannot be supported by hard facts.
Subjective measures include customer satisfaction surveys or customer review meetings

Regards

Francois

To answer this task, you will find the following the learning material sections helpful

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Improving the Performance of the Supply Chain
Improvement Opportunities in Humanitarian Supply Chains
Measuring Supply Chain Performance

- SCILaid does not have yet efficient Supply Management System. As I understood from my
predecessor, it is being ped by the Head office right now and I hope we will have it soon.
The standardised system will help to manage the supply chain more efficiently and will
greatly improve the information flow.
- We need to establish proper communication on the supply chain process with the SCILaid
staff, our suppliers, donors, partners, transport companies. All actors should understand
their roles in the supply chain so that all of them contribute to the same objective, and not
just follow their own needs and plans.
- Sometimes our staff have very little contact with suppliers (as, for example, with the supplier
of salt and sugar), and this leads to misunderstanding and mistakes in deliveries. If the
communication with the suppliers is improved, all issues will be cleared before the delivery
or even before the order is placed.
- The better communication with other humanitarian aid organizations in Betaland and donors
can help to avoid such issued as delivery of goods available locally from abroad (Wheat
Soya Bland) and to avoid possible problems with customs and freight expenditures. I am
sure we need to contact UNFA in order to clarify the next delivery of goods to Jumna Port
instead of Mugla and to work out a plan to deal with such delivery.
- As I understand the infrastructure is quite satisfactory in Betaland. The roads are quite
good. The issue with power in Chagong will be solved when generators come. We should
look for the opportunity to improve internet connection if possible as this can greatly improve
the information flow. It is very important for supply chain management to have real time
information that can be timely analyzed and shared with others respective people.
- The warehouse management is good in Mugla. However, Changong warehouse has some
issues with inventory and need improvement.
- Major processes and procedures should be more standardised so that people would not
need to spend time to re-invent the wheel.
- Great opportunity to improve the SCILaid supply chain will be a proper evaluation of the
supply chain performance, analyses of the results. It is always more easy to learn from the
experience.

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