Managing A Humanitarian Supply Chain Response

MANAGING A HUMANITARIAN
SUPPLY CHAIN RESPONSE
Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the final unit in the Certification in the Humanitarian Logistics programme.
If humanitarian operations are to successfully meet the twin needs of achieving what they are
planned to do within the resources allocated there needs to be good management.
In the previous units we have looked at setting up and operating a warehouse, managing
transport, procuring goods and services, setting up and managing a fleet and importing and
exporting goods. There are a number of other aspects of the supply chain that also need
managing. If these are not managed then they will have a significant effect on the ability of the
supply chain to respond to the humanitarian aid situation.
The aim of this unit will be to look at how we bring the different elements of management
together and the techniques used to manage the operational resources as well as the individuals
and teams involved.
The unit has been separated into seven modules each of which looks at one of these
management aspects:
Module 1 : Managing the situation
Module 2 : Managing Flow
Module 3 : Managing People.
Module 4 : Managing the Working Environment.
Module 5 : Managing the Financial Impact of Activities.
Module 6 : Working with Others.
Module 7 : Managing the Links
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MODULE 1 CONTENTS: PAGE NO:
MANAGING A
Managing the Situation
HUMANITARIAN
SUPPLY CHAIN Humanitarian Aid Context 6
RESPONSE
The Role of Supply Chain in 8
Humanitarian Aid
The Management Role 13
MODULE 2 Impact of time and uncertainty 20

Managing Flow
Push and pull activity 23
Stages of response 25
Guidelines that help you 30

manage
Management activities 33
MODULE 3 Recruiting and selecting people. 34

Managing People
Planning, organising and leading 42

teams and individuals.
Appraising performance, training 48

to develop knowledge and skills.
MODULE 4
Managing the Working Health and safety requirements 53
Environment in supply chain activities
Security factors and risks that

can affect supply chain 62
operations
MODULE 5 Transparency leads to

Managing the auditability 67
Financial Impact of
Activities
Budget types and their use 68
Financial information used for 70

planning and budgeting
Financial indicators of 76
performance
Financial records 77
Claims management 77
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MODULE 6 Actors and stakeholders in the 81
Working with Others humanitarian supply chain
Building trust 81
What can be shared 83
How can we share 83
Relationship building 84
skills/influencing for a Win-Win
Working with others in a

86
dysfunctional situation
MODULE 7 Supply Chain Activity Excellence 92

Managing the Links
Good management 92
Building Trust 93
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MODULE 1 - MANAGING THE SITUATION
In the first unit of the programme you will recall that we looked at the context of humanitarian aid
and the role that the supply chain had in supporting it. In the following units we then explored in
detail the activities performed in the major components of the supply chain. Now in this unit we
will once again look at the total supply chain and consider how it can be managed, in an
integrated way, to respond to the different phases of a humanitarian response.
The first module seeks to set the scene by describing the different things that we need to
coordinate together to ensure that our response is effective and efficient.
We will:
Review some of the key learning points about the humanitarian aid context.
Recap on the role of the supply chain in providing humanitarian aid.
Consider the nature of the management role.
HUMANITARIAN AID CONTEXT

Before we look at managing a supply chain response let us remind ourselves about what we
mean by supply chain and a humanitarian supply chain.
Let’s firstly recall some key information about the humanitarian aid context related to:
What humanitarian aid is

The need for humanitarian aid
Phases of humanitarian response
Operational activities within humanitarian aid
WHAT IS HUMANITARIAN AID?
Throughout this programme we have used the definition of:
Humanitarian aid is assistance provided to save lives, alleviate suffering, and

maintain human dignity.
The assistance can be given by individual citizens, organisations, agencies or governments.

There are many full time, professional aid organisations around the world both within government
and non government organisations. We have looked at the different organisations that are
involved in humanitarian assistance:
Governments.
UN Agencies.
Non Government Organisations.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Institutional Donors.
Media.
Private Sector Initiatives.
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You will recall that we differentiated humanitarian aid from development aid as being focused on
relieving suffering in the short term caused by natural disasters or conflict. Development aid is
focused on removing the root cause of poverty, or vulnerability, for the long term.
THE NEED FOR HUMANITARIAN AID
You will also recall that we said that the provision of humanitarian aid is not new. Humanitarian
aid is required in situations where people’s lives and livelihoods are put at risk to a point where
their own coping mechanisms fail to provide adequate protection. These situations have occurred
for a long time and are likely to continue in the future. The context of such crises, however, is
affected by geopolitics (the political, social, and economic environment of its geographical
location).
We discussed the changing nature of conflicts, the increase in natural disasters and the
increasing complexity in the context in which humanitarian aid is provided.
There are many different situations and terms used by organisations, but throughout this course
we have looked at humanitarian aid in terms of the following descriptions :
Disaster or Crisis.
Complex Emergencies.
Slow Onset, Rapid Onset Situations.
Endemic Situations.
Triggers.
Vulnerability.
Risk.
PHASES OF HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
We have also looked at the phases of a humanitarian response, and have identified that disaster
management and humanitarian responses can be divided into five phases. The supply chain will
need managing to be able to respond to the different demands of each phase, particularly the
final three. The phases are:
Disaster Prevention.
Disaster Preparedness.
Emergency Relief.
Reconstruction.
Development.
The first two phases take place before a disaster occurs to try to prevent or prepare for a
disaster.
Humanitarian organisations will not always be involved in all of these phases and not every
response to a crisis will necessarily cover each of them.
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HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
When looking earlier at the different organisations involved in humanitarian aid, we started to see
that each one specialised in different aspects of humanitarian aid and will focus on either
responding to emergencies or development.
When thinking about humanitarian aid it can be easy to think it is about responding to disasters
by providing food, medicines and shelter. Indeed throughout this programme we have
concentrated upon these activities. However, we should not forget the other activities that the
United Nations and NGOs are involved in.
In order for supplies to reach the beneficiaries, the operators will need the re-assurance that they
have a strong supply chain organisation behind them ensuring the flow of goods and information.
This will require us to manage the supply chain operations effectively and efficiently to ensure
that they are meeting the operational objectives. This introduces us to two more terms:
Efficient –
Doing things right
Effective –
Doing the right things
THE ROLE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN IN HUMANITARIAN AID

During the programme we have also seen the importance of the supply chain in enabling
humanitarian aid to be delivered to beneficiaries. Let’s recall:
What is the supply chain

The main components of the supply chain
WHAT IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN?
In humanitarian organisations the terms supply chain and logistics are both used to describe the
process of getting aid, in the form of goods, to the beneficiaries requiring the goods. The term
logistics is also used in some organisations, to describe the function/department that is
responsible for managing the process.
Throughout this programme we have used the term supply chain to describe the process and we
defined this as:
A process that integrates, coordinates and controls

the movement of materials, goods and related information;
from suppliers and donors to meet
beneficiary requirements in a timely manner
The complexity of a supply chain is often not understood by others working in humanitarian aid
organisations, as they often will not realise the actions necessary to ensure the right goods are
available in the right place at the right time.
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As you have discovered in the earlier units, the nature of humanitarian aid operations is complex
and this can make the logistics and supply chain element different to the logistics and supply
chain elements in commercial organisations.
You will recall that the supply chain response to a disaster can be illustrated in the following way:
There is nothing very complicated about the concept of supply chain. If you are going to provide
aid, in the form of goods to people, then those goods need to be made and then delivered to the
people needing them.
Of course the difficulty of the task will depend on things like the type and quantity of goods
required, the location of the people needing the goods, and the speed with which the goods need
to be made and delivered.
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In this simple diagram, of a typical supply chain, we can see that on the right hand side we have
demand that is created by the people who will eventually consume or use the goods. In
humanitarian aid organisations these are the beneficiaries. Satisfying the demand of these
beneficiaries is what supply chain management is all about. Perhaps it could be better to
describe it as demand chain management, as you are managing the chain of activities to meet
demand rather than supplying goods and hoping there will be a demand for them. At the
beginning of a disaster situation, goods may be pushed down the supply chain but, as the needs
become clearer, the chain is responding to the demand placed on it by people in the field
operation.
In order to meet the demand we need to supply. Ultimately we should trace this back to the
source of the raw materials used to make the goods, e.g. pharmaceutical goods, where we need
to be able to trace individual production batches back to its source, in case there is the need to
recall specific goods.
As the goods travel along the supply chain, the ownership of the goods will change between
different companies or organisations.
Within the supply chain there are two types of flow :
Goods Flow.
Information Flow.
THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN
The supply chain process is made up of a number of different components and within these,
there are a number of activities that need to be carried out. The previous units of this programme
have looked at each of these components in more detail and the activities carried out in each.
The following diagram is a reminder of how these elements link together into a structured
humanitarian aid supply chain:
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As seen in previous units, the main components are :
Procurement and Order Management.

Transport.
Warehousing and Inventory.
PROCUREMENT AND ORDER MANAGEMENT
The procurement and order management component involves the sourcing of goods that are
needed to meet the needs of the beneficiaries. It is a key part of the information flow that we
discussed when looking at ‘What is a supply chain’, as a lot of the activities involved in this
component are about the flow of information. This information will be in the form of orders being
placed and on the progress of orders that have been placed.
Goods needing to be delivered to beneficiaries may already be held by humanitarian aid

organisations or may be made available by donors; other goods though will need to be sourced
from commercial suppliers.
TRANSPORT
As we have seen, the supply chain process includes the physical movement of goods from
suppliers or donors to beneficiaries. The transport component of the supply chain is therefore
critical in connecting supply with demand. The diagram shows a generic humanitarian supply
chain and the arrows on the diagram show us all the different movements of goods that could
happen for the goods to be moved from suppliers or donors, along the supply chain to the
beneficiaries.
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A number of different actors may be involved in transporting goods along the chain, including
commercial suppliers, UN organisations and NGOs. They may all take responsibility for ensuring
the goods are transported along part of the physical supply chain.
The means by which goods are transported will depend on different factors including :
The urgency that goods are required.

The type of goods to be transported.
The volume of goods to be transported.
The availability of different transport routes.
The place to which the goods need to be transported.
The cost of transportation.
The availability of different types of transport.
The terrain through which the goods need to be transported.
If we consider the above factors, then we can see that a range of different transport methods will
be used to transport goods along a humanitarian aid supply chain. These will include air, sea,
road and rail, and may range from large sea vessels to horse drawn carts.
Moving goods rarely requires just one means of transport. More often the movement of goods
will require the need to plan different transport ‘chains’ which will need to be integrated to
manage the flow from suppliers/donors to beneficiaries. This planning may also need to be
flexible so that as the above factors change, there is the flexibility to adapt the plan.
Transport is therefore an important component that ensures goods are moved efficiently and at
the right speed along the supply chain.
WAREHOUSING AND INVENTORY
Warehousing and inventory is the third key component of the supply chain process. By
warehousing, we mean any place in the supply chain where inventory is being stored. Some
people would say that in the perfect supply chain you should not need warehouses and that the
goods should always be on the move and not being stored in warehouses.
Clearly, there are reasons why goods have to be stored and hence, why we need warehouses. If
we look at our generic humanitarian supply chain diagram again, we can see a number of
different places in the chain where we may have warehouses. These warehouses may be the
responsibility of different organisations, e.g. supplier warehouses, donor warehouses, NGO
warehouses.
SUBSIDIARY ACTIVITIES
In addition to the primary activities, there are also the activities of managing the receipt and
despatch of goods across international borders. We covered the activities of Import and Export in
a separate unit. We also considered how to manage the vehicles that are controlled and
managed by the organisation in-country in the unit on Fleet Management.
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THE MANAGEMENT ROLE
In order to manage Humanitarian Supply Chain operations, there are a number of interlinked
elements that need to be integrated together. Integration is the job of management. But what do
we mean by management? We will firstly define management and then look at the elements that
are required in order to manage.
WHAT IS MANAGEMENT
Management in humanitarian operations follows the same principles as it does in many other
walks of life. However the context can be quite different, in having to manage in a stressful
environment, with a mix of peoples, cultures and socio-economic circumstances. The successful
manager will also have to be one who can manage his team in some of the most difficult of
circumstances.
When put bluntly and simply, many people struggle to explain clearly, exactly what management
is about. Writers from around the world have produced definitions, but perhaps the one, which
summarises it best, is:
“Getting things done through people working together in a given situation”.
This breaks down into four distinct aspects.
“Getting things done”.
The whole purpose of management is to achieve a task using resources, in our case providing a
service in a humanitarian situation.
“Through People”.
These people are individuals and teams of individuals, all different with different needs and
aspirations and we will look at this more closely in the section on managing people.
“Working together”
We will need to work closely with other people, whether these are people within our own
organisation or in outside organisations. In managing the humanitarian supply chain we need to
recognise who we need to work with and develop relationships with others to smooth the flow of
information and goods.
“In a given situation”
There will be a variety of situations that we have to manage in. Sometimes these will be routine
and predictable, but at other times they may be a crisis with high levels of uncertainty. Our
management action must be adapted to suit these different situations. Not always will the
information we would like to have be available. At such times we will have to rely upon
experience and judgment to enable decisions to be made, so that we can get things done.
Sometimes we have to make decisions in less than perfect situations and be prepared to adapt
our actions as more reliable information becomes available.
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ELEMENTS OF MANAGEMENT
To begin we will look at some general activities that apply in all management situations. Whilst
“getting things done” can be clearly measured and controlled, doing it “through people” involves
special skills to deal with the unpredictable nature of people. We will also need to develop skills
in building relationships with other people within and outside of our organisation in order to “work
together”. “Getting things done through people working together in a given situation” requires five
key activities:
Planning
Organising
Directing
Controlling
Communicating
PLANNING
Planning means examining future trends, predicting requirements, thinking what is to be done;
how, when, where and who will do it. It then involves developing a plan of action to put it all into
practice.
Your primary responsibility as a manager is to ensure that your team achieves its common task.
Your boss may set the objectives for you, or your team may be free to set its own objectives. It is
a key responsibility of team leaders at all levels in an organisation to ensure that everyone
understands the objectives, and how these contribute to the overall aims of the organisation.
People need to have the objective clearly defined at the beginning of a task, and they need
regular reminders as they progress through the task to completion. Having established the
objectives, you need to agree how you and your team are to go about achieving them. You must
consider all aspects, take the decision and then inform people. You will need to do this in the
context of your organisations established processes.
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ORGANISING
Organising means channelling resources (e.g., manpower, machinery, materials, money) to put
the plan into action. It is about establishing the mechanisms for coordinating human behaviour.
This element involves the activities of delegating and allocating work and jobs.
Examples of organising actions include:

Developing procedures
Developing structures.
Procuring resources.
Designing and allocating jobs.
Once you have decided on the plan, it needs to be put into action. The question uppermost in
people’s minds is:
“Where do I fit in?”
As a manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that people understand and accept their roles
and responsibilities. The key to this is effective, regular and relevant communication. For
example, you may hold a daily briefing meeting with all of your team. The purpose of this meeting
would be to allocate tasks to groups or individuals; to distribute resources and to set standards of
performance. Each person should know at the end, what is expected of them and how their own
contribution fits in with the work of everyone else. To be a good manager you must be a good
organiser.
DIRECTING
Directing means maintaining the level of activity of people; winning their commitment, motivating
them, training and building them into an effective team; unifying and harmonising all the actions.
The manager’s role is in informing, supporting and co-ordinating.
When you are directing the work of your team, you must identify the aspects or areas of
performance, which are critical to the success of the task and inform your team. For each of the
areas you should set targets or standards of performance, so that everyone knows exactly what
is expected of them. For some people, you may need to communicate instructions concerning
even the smallest level of detail. This is directive management.
With others, you can confidently allocate to staff their own areas of responsibility, define their
task, give them all the available necessary resources and provide them with the support they
need to achieve their task. This is called supportive management.
As a manager you will need to quickly establish where the balance is for each individual between
these two extremes.
Co-ordinating means ensuring that the logistics section group cooperates in the achievement of
the overall task. The objectives of this team will contribute to the operation’s objectives, and thus
to the humanitarian organisation’s goals. Therefore, the only way for the organisation to achieve
its goals is for every element within it to be working effectively. We have also acknowledged that
every individual and group of individuals is different, so one management style is not sufficient.
Good managers are flexible, and able to adapt their style to different individuals, groups and
situations.
CONTROLLING
Controlling means seeing that everything occurs as it should and taking corrective action where
necessary to rectify any deviation. The emphasis is on:
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Measuring,
Monitoring
Evaluating.
Measuring
If we can observe an event we can measure it. If we can measure it, we can improve it.
Measuring is a quantitative process by which we record what is actually happening. Deciding
what measures to make is often difficult. Data collection can be difficult and time consuming. It’s
easy to collect data you can’t use or doesn’t tell you what you need to know. Initially, you may
have no choice but to rely on educated guesses to identify what and where to measure. With
experience, you will get better at knowing what kind of data to collect to help you answer specific
questions such as “How is this process performing?” or “What is the cause of this problem?”
Just be clear that any data you collect should throw light on why or how your activities do or do
not meet the expected requirements.
There are two types of measurement activity. Planning and measuring performance against
beneficiary requirements and developing baseline defect measures to identify improvement
opportunities.
This means that we can measure to help define problems, to count defects, to analyse the cause
of variations or to gauge the success of improvements. We must also identify key measures that
will enable us to maintain and manage the process over time.
Measurement defines what we want to measure and the units by which we measure it, for
example using a fork lift truck we might expect to offload vehicles at a rate of 12 pallets per hour.
The absence of good measures will mean that we will be making decisions based upon
subjective judgments only. Sometimes this will be necessary, when the situation demands quick
action and there is not time to act in the desired way. In such circumstances we should be
looking to move to the more objective position as soon as the situation helps us.
Monitoring
Having established measures we can them use them to monitor the progress of our activities.
This will involve collecting the data defined in our measures.
An example, might be a quality inspection to be performed when goods are received. The
measurements required will have been specified and we must monitor the activity to ensure that
they are in line with our expectations. Often this might be done using some form of control chart
or defect report.
While this is primarily quantitative, very often the data will need to be supplemented by qualitative
data that identify the particular circumstances in which the measurement was taken. For
example we might not achieve 12 pallets an hour, if our fork lift is operating outside in a
monsoon.
Evaluating
Armed with measures that are being effectively monitored we then have to evaluate whether
performance is in line with our expectations and requirements. Evaluation is both subjective and
objective, quantitative and qualitative. Customers of supply chain activity, such as, programme
or beneficiaries will be constantly evaluating how well we are performing. Frequently, this
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evaluation will be based upon subjective, qualitative perceptions that may or may not reflect
reality.
If we design our measures well we can use them to help make the evaluation more objective and
to help us to change other people’s perception.
The evaluation will decide whether the activity is on track and whether we need to take corrective
action to amend behaviour. Any investigation would need to take into account both the
quantitative and qualitative data available and having established the circumstances of the
variance we would then need to take corrective action.
Corrective action can be in one of two forms – either the standard set was not realistic and
achievable, in which case we need to look at resetting the standard. Alternatively, if the standard
was realistic and achievable, then we need to correct the other factors that have created the
variance.
Effective managers will be looking ahead, anticipating problem areas and developing
contingency plans.
An essential part of any control system should involve physically watching what is happening and
talking to the people performing the task. This part of a manager’s job is called Managing By
Walking About (MBWA). It is not aimless wandering, but the purposeful gathering of information
to enable you to better understand and use all the data available, to keep control of the task.
COMMUNICATING
None of the above elements will work correctly if we cannot communicate our plans effectively to
those with whom we need to work. The purpose of communication is to get our message across
to others. This is a process that involves both the sender of the message and the receiver. This
process leaves room for error, with messages often misinterpreted by one or more of the parties
involved. This causes unnecessary confusion and counter productivity.
In fact, a message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it in the
same way.
By successfully getting our message across, we convey our thoughts and ideas effectively.
When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that we convey do not necessarily reflect our own,
causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of the
achievement of our goals – both personally and professionally.
Getting our message across is paramount to progressing the other elements of management. To
do this, we must understand what our message is, the audience we are sending it to, and how it
will be perceived by that audience. We also need to consider the circumstances surrounding the
communications, such as the given situation and cultural context.
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MODULE 2 : MANAGING FLOW
The supply chain process integrates, coordinates and controls the movement of materials, goods
and related information from suppliers and donors to meet beneficiary requirements in a timely
manner. At the heart of this process is the capability to manage flow, both of goods and
information.
As a manager involved in managing the process we have a fundamental aim of providing a

service to satisfy the beneficiary requirements. Not only must we do this in a timely manner but
we must also do it at an acceptable level of cost. The ability to achieve a level of acceptability will
depend upon how we utilise the resources at our disposal. We could therefore describe our
management aim as:
Manage the flow to satisfy beneficiary requirements in a timely manner at an acceptable

cost.
If we relate this to the role of management we discussed in the last module, our aim represents
what we must get done.
Throughout the entire programme we have explored how we can manage operational activities in
a way that optimises the flow of goods. This detailed exploration covered:
Warehousing
Transport
Fleet management
Procurement
Import and export.
The exploration looked at the key practices that can be used to manage a specific operation well.
However, managing individual operational areas well does not necessarily guarantee smooth
flows through the entire supply chain. Indeed it is possible that by doing something in one
operational area we create problems in other areas that adversely impact the overall product
flow.
The idea of a supply chain highlights the structure of a chain. A chain consists of links that are
connected together. If we place a chain under pressure by applying a force at either end the
chain will break at its weakest point. In other words a supply chain is as strong as its weakest
link.
Further we must remember why we are performing each activity. It is easy to forget when we are
under pressure, to get the goods out of the warehouse door, or to move product from one point
to another, or to procure a required piece of equipment that the reason we are doing it is to
contribute to managing the flow of goods, so that ultimately we can relieve the suffering of people
in distress. To this end we all have the same goal.
Later on in this unit we will revisit these operational activities to examine the importance of
managing the links between these activities to ensure that we have a smooth, integrated and
coordinated flow that contributes to the mandate of our organisation in providing humanitarian
aid.
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Within each of these operational activities we will have to manage the activities of people to
ensure flow. For many, supply chains are about trucks, ships and warehouses, but the secret of
success rests with our ability to get things done through people. We will therefore dedicate a
module to the important topic of managing people.
The managing people module will concentrate on the people who are under our direct control.
There are however lots of other people with whom we will have to work with. These will exist in
other parts of our own organisation and also in other organisations that perform a role in the
overall supply chain. For this reason we have included a module on working with others.
The combination of these modules will enable us to perform the management role of getting
things done through people working together.
In module one though, we also stated that there was a further aspect to consider in performing
the role which was concerned with the situation. The situation in which we operate will have
specific environmental characteristics that pose safety and security issues for the assets, goods
and people we are managing. For this reason there is a module on managing the working
environment.
Reality dictates that all the supply chain activity requires money to fund operations. Whilst the
focus on cost may vary at different times, as a manager we will have to demonstrate
transparency in our actions to ensure financial integrity. The managing finance module will
consider this.
Combined together managing flow depends on our ability to integrate these topics together.
The situation will also be influenced by the phase of response. In turn this will dictate the
structure of the supply chain and the way in which it works. In particular time and uncertainty will
have a major impact on the structure of the supply chain. This will have a significant impact on
flow and hence we will explore this in greater detail.
We will then explain how this leads to push and pull activity and explore the characteristics of the
different stages of supply chain response.
Finally we will look at some guidelines that will help you manage and the activities that are
included in the management role.
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IMPACT OF TIME AND UNCERTAINTY ON FLOW
In the first module we recalled the structure of the supply chain and how it connected supply to
demand. This connecting process involved:
Managing a flow of goods and materials from the suppliers towards the beneficiaries
Managing the flow of information both up and down the supply chain.
These flows have time embedded within them. Firstly, we have the overall time that it takes for
goods to flow through the entire chain from the supply to the demand side. Imagine “stapling”
yourself to a product at the supply end and staying with it all the way through the journey until
you reach the beneficiary. During this journey three things could happen to you.
Firstly, you could be moved from one place to another. This might involve movement from one
geographical location to another one. It might also involve movement from one part of a facility to
another part. An example of this might be the construction of a kit by combining several goods
together that have been stored in one part of the warehouse, assembled in another part and then
finally stored in a new location.
Secondly, you might be being processed. This might include a repacking operation as
mentioned above, but it could also include a production activity higher up the supply chain.
Thirdly, you could be held as inventory. As the journey unfolds you may be stopped several
times to be held in stock. For example in the global, regional and local warehouses.
If we add all these times together, moving time plus processing time plus storing time it gives us
the overall time to travel through the supply chain. This is called the supply chain response time.
In a supply chain there is also a second type of time that is important. This is the time from when
it is identified that a beneficiary needs a product until they receive it. Let’s call this the
beneficiary delivery time. This time will in fact consist of some information time and some
movement time. When the request is made it will have to be processed, possibly the goods will
need to be ordered from a supplier and when they are received be moved to the beneficiary.
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The movement time that is contained within the Beneficiary Delivery Time is the final part of the
Supply Chain Response Time. The information time however is not part of the supply chain
response time and can be undertaken whilst the product is being stored, moved or being
processed.
There is an important relationship between the supply chain response time and the beneficiary
delivery time. If the beneficiary delivery time is equal to or greater than the supply chain
response time we can wait for the request for the product, order it from the supplier, move it
through the supply chain and deliver it without having to hold stock at any point. This is shown in
the diagram below as Situation 1.
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Of course it is likely that the beneficiary delivery time would be long in this case and
consequently could cause problems. The level of uncertainty in this situation is low. We know
what is required in sufficient time to be able to operate our supply chain to deliver it on time.
The second situation in the diagram shows the position when the Beneficiary Delivery Time is
shorter than the Supply Chain Response Time. In this situation we would not be able to wait for
the request for goods for the beneficiary and then process it and move it through the supply
chain quickly enough for the goods to arrive by the desired time. Clearly, we have a problem!
The solution to this situation is to hold stock at a point in the supply chain that enables us to
deliver the goods within the delivery time. In order to have the stock available we will have to
forecast the requirement, or anticipate it. Sometimes the difference between the supply chain
response time and the beneficiary delivery time is called the uncertainty gap and we have to
produce forecasts for the duration of this time. In many cases this uncertainty gap could be quite
long creating difficulties in producing a forecast that is accurate.
If our forecast is wrong then the result will either be:
Excess stock as a result of the forecast being greater than the actual requirement
Shortages as a result of the forecast being lower than the actual requirement.
The stock point is often referred to as the decoupling point because it decouples the supply part
of the supply chain for the demand part.
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PUSH AND PULL ACTIVITY
Now that we have explored the impact of time and uncertainty on the supply chain we can relate
this to how we operate humanitarian supply chains.
When a disaster occurs there is a requirement to get specific goods to beneficiaries as quickly as
possible. The beneficiary requirements will not be known and hence we need to be able to
forecast them. If we were to wait for an assessment to be made on the ground in the impacted
area and then order the goods from the supplier and deliver them once we had received them,
the response time would be too long and many lives could be lost. Consequently, emergency
stocks are held in stockpiles in anticipation of a disaster occurring. When the disaster occurs we
push the goods through the supply chain to reach the beneficiaries as quickly as possible. This
push activity requires careful thought as to the type of goods that should be held and the location
that they should be held in.
In the early stages of a disaster the whole supply chain consists of push activity. Products may
have been obtained from suppliers and placed into emergency stocks based upon forecasted
requirements. They will then be pushed into the impacted areas and onwards to the
beneficiaries. The risk in this situation is that we push the wrong goods or wrong quantities
down the supply chain with resultant shortages or blockages.
At this stage the logistician’s job is to manage this push activity effectively so that goods reach
beneficiaries at the required time. This will require that good communication lines are established
with the programme managers. The communication will inform them what goods are currently
available and which ones will become available in the near future, so that they can decide the
best locations to move them to.
As the disaster response progresses we will begin to get more information about what is
required. The assessment teams will generate a further push of products into the receiving
warehouse. This assessment is a type of forecast, so again it is possible that the goods being
pushed may not be the required ones. Gradually the logistician will be able to support the
programme decision to move the supply chain into a new structure consisting of push and pull
activity.
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The push activity comes from the supply side, but if we can establish effective communication
the movement out of the receiving warehouse can be based upon pull. This stage of operations
is named call forward. Programme managers call forward goods from stock to satisfy the
beneficiary needs.
As the operation progresses further and more reliable information becomes available it will be
possible to convert the supply chain completely to pull. At this stage the request for goods is
based upon specific requirements which are then processed through the supply chain and once
the goods are received they are moved straight through to where they are required without
holding them in stock.
The task of the logistician becomes to manage the initial push operation and to support the
transition to a pull operation as soon as sensible through the call forward interim stage. The
decision to move from one configuration to another is a programme one and the critical lever is
available information. The logistician has an important role in providing information to enable the
decision to be made and of course in managing activities to make the transition a reality.
Our managing flow diagram now appears like this.
The transition from push to pull relates very well with the response time and management of
uncertainty.
The diagram below demonstrates the relationship between response time on the vertical axis
and uncertainty on the horizontal axis.
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STAGES OF RESPONSE
So far we have explained how the task of managing the flow changes depending on the level of
uncertainty and the length of the response time. This led to the definition of the supply chain
configurations:
Preparedness
Push
Call Forward
Pull
We will now examine the characteristics of each configuration.
PREPAREDNESS
You will recall from the first unit of the course that much pre-planning goes into considering the
“what-ifs” for areas and regions of the world where a humanitarian situation can be expected.
There will often be previous history of this type of occurrence happening in a region. There may
even be existing preparedness plans. All of this can be drawn upon to do the initial planning
required to meet a particular emerging situation.
Although disasters can occur anywhere in the world, there are certain parts of the world where it
is more likely that disasters, both man made and natural, will occur. Natural disasters will mainly
happen in areas with certain climatic weather conditions, e.g. hurricanes. Or they will occur in
countries where there are volcanoes or natural faults.
There are also certain parts of the world where man made disasters are most likely to occur. In
these cases it is possible that governments and humanitarian aid organisations could anticipate
future disasters.
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Plans can therefore be made for specific countries or regions, which can be put into effect,
should a disaster then occur. These plans, if they already exist, can be used as the basis for
further plans.
Key to these plans is an analysis of the infrastructure in relation to the risk and vulnerability in a
certain country/area. This analysis will include things such as:
Port and airport location, access and capacities.
Transport options.
Sites that could be used for Warehouses.
Availability of supplies and suppliers.
Communication infrastructure.
Availability of means of transport.
From these outline plans we can start to develop our plan of how the supply chain can be set up
and managed for the humanitarian situation if it should occur.
When a disaster does happen, the appropriate preparedness plan will be selected and
deployment commenced quickly. It is the logistician’s job to deploy this plan.
PUSH CONFIGURATION
Initially the configuration that will be used is push. The logistician’s job is to deploy this
configuration, but then to try and convert it into a pull configuration as soon as it becomes
sensible to do so. Sometimes this transfer from push to pull can be quick, but there will be other
times when it makes sense to maintain the supply chain in a push configuration, because the
level of uncertainty is very high.
In the early stages the push will move a selection of appropriate goods to a specified location,
usually a port or an airport. The logistician’s first task is to clear these goods from this port
location into some form of staging warehouse that might already exist or that may have to be
created. This task is crucial both to start the goods on their journey to beneficiaries but also to
ensure that such ports do not become congested blocking further receipt of goods. Of course
removing goods from ports also reduces the accompanying charges for using the facilities.
Having cleared the goods into the staging post the logistician now needs to be proactive in
obtaining information about where they should ultimately be sent. There will be considerable
pressure to deploy these goods into the field so that people can benefit, but sending them to the
wrong place will create delay and unnecessary cost. It will also tie up scarce resources.
The key to this proactive activity is the knowledge of the inventory levels of each type of product.
If this is available and accurate it can be communicated to the programme, so that it can be
deployed as early as possible.
Whilst the initial push activity is occurring the rapid needs assessment will be undertaken by the
programme staff. This will include a supply chain assessment. The supply chain assessment will
form a key element of the actual supply chain plan that we create to manage the current
situation. There are two different important parts that this assessment will address:
The immediate and potential future needs of the beneficiaries.

A review of the supply chain plans developed as part of supply chain preparedness,
and/or a supply chain assessment.
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NEEDS OF BENEFICIARIES
The supply chain is going to be managing the flow of goods to meet the needs of the
beneficiaries. Information on what type of goods the beneficiaries will be wanting, when they will
want them and in what quantities is therefore vital information.
This information in the early part of the relief phase may not be very accurate, since it is based
upon a forecast, but it is information that can enable the people setting up and managing the
supply chain to have some initial idea of the resources they need to put in place to manage the
expected flow of goods from suppliers to the beneficiaries. These resources will include people,
warehouses, equipment, and vehicles.
SUPPLY CHAIN PLANS AND SUPPLY CHAIN ASSESSMENT
If, as part of supply chain preparedness, a supply chain plan has been developed for the country
or region where the actual disaster has occurred, then part of the supply chain assessment is to
review whether this plan can be implemented or whether new plans need developing.
In particular, this will involve assessing the current state of the infrastructure, facilities and
resources in the country.
This will include:

Condition and capacity of facilities, e.g. airports and ports.
Conditions of potential warehouse facilities.
Condition of road, rail, and river networks.
Availability of usable vehicles.
Condition of power supplies.
Security situation.
This information will enable you to develop a better understanding of what the situation is. Some
of this information will come through formally, for example pre-deployment briefs should be given
that cover the current situation and requirements. For this part, you should be aware of any
supply chain assessment report, have a general overview of the emerging situation, and your
own organisation’s capabilities, structures and in-country support requirements. You might
consider the following information essential:
The political sensitivities relating to the affected country, security situation and any
potential evacuation strategy;
The response to the emergency from the affected country and in the local region.
The international response both from countries and other humanitarian actors.
What lessons have been learned from previous emergencies in the affected
country/region and from other emergencies of this type.
Besides the formal information that is coming through your own organisation, there will also be
other forms of intelligence, for example through the media.
For all of the information that you gather before you get into the area, you will need to consider
the degree of confidence that you can have in each source being factual and therefore its
relevancy to your operation.
You should also at this stage be clear about your objectives and the objectives that you intend to
set others within your team.
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You should ensure that the briefings attended give you as much information about the mission as
possible, including:
The state of the supply chain and logistics in the country

The availability of resources already in the country and also resources available to you
outside of the immediate theatre of operations.
The in-country processes and procedures for sourcing and the local availability of goods
and services.
A realistic estimate on lead-times both internally within your organisation and from external
suppliers.
A thorough understanding of the beneficiary requirements so that the proper supply chain
priorities can be set.
Remember that information is an asset for decision-making and a commodity that you can trade;
information that does not circulate is not being used. Exchange your data for more information or
other forms of collaboration. In order to do this though, you will need to start working with others.
The assessment activity will start the second wave of push. Frequently, this may involve
volumes much higher than the first wave and hence it is possible for existing facilities to become
overwhelmed. Further systems and operating procedures may be stretched to their limit creating
challenging operating conditions.
Another potential feature of this second push wave is that it stops the need for products that have
already been received. The consequence of this is that facilities could become blocked up
preventing the needed goods from being processed quickly. Finally it is possible that you will
also find out that the infrastructure is in a worse state than you had planned.
The push configuration is likely to present challenging circumstances for obtaining scarce
resources and for the security of assets, goods and people.
CALL FORWARD CONFIGURATION
As we start to get control of the push configuration we can begin to plan the transition to the pull
configuration. The call forward configuration provides a stepping stone to pull.
Once the initial push activity has been completed, so that the early distress can be relieved, we
may be able to hold the release of goods until we have a specific instruction from the
programme. The ability to communicate accurate and timely information, about the products you
have available now and in the near future, will encourage the programme to issue release
instructions. This information on what is and will be available, when and where is the critical
lever to enable us to move to the call forward configuration.
This will help to reduce or eliminate duplication of activity tying up valuable resources.
Whilst the inbound activity will still be driven by push you can start to convert the outbound
activity to pull. This is an important step for the logistician to control since it will dictate the
overall speed at which the transition from push to pull can be made.
In this configuration there are opportunities to start to anticipate rather than just react. You
should be looking at obtaining information about:
The state of your pipeline of supply

The other actors that are present in the field
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Security issues
The market for resources and local supply of goods
Availability of resources
The front lines, geographical areas of need and any constraints that may prevent the
movement of goods through sensitive areas
This information will be the result of your relationship building activity and your ability to build
information lines with the local community.
The operational demands of the push may have constrained the amount of time that could be
spent on developing options for how the supply chain could run. Now in this configuration we
can begin to explore better options. You might look at:
Resources that can be provided from other actors in theatre.

The remaining transportation infrastructure in the country/region. Emphasis must be put
on ports of entry and access routes to emergency sites.
Changes to customs procedures for bringing goods into the country, including costs and
the possibility of delays.
The storage and distribution systems that will be available to you, including logistics
capabilities of other organisations that your organisation could make use of.
Your plan for the humanitarian aid supply chain operation will contain actions or processes that
need to be sequenced. The timing of these decisions will therefore be important. For example
the acquisition of transport will be critical in the distribution of goods but it may take some time for
this to be available and will determine when the operation can commence. You will need to
regularly review these important items to check they are on schedule.
PULL CONFIGURATION
Eventually, when a sufficient level of presence and contact with the affected population is
established activity can become more tailored to specific needs. In this situation the logistician
can support the transition from the call forward configuration to pull. In this configuration
emphasis is placed on finding out precisely what beneficiaries need and then obtaining them in a
timely manner that allows rapid transit through the supply chain. A cautionary note is important at
this stage. Whilst we have explored the benefits of moving to a pull configuration, if this is
undertaken too soon it is likely to be counterproductive. Only when the circumstances are right
can the programme make this decision. The logistician has an important role in providing input to
the decision and supporting the smooth transition.
The pull configuration requires a short supply chain response time, so it is likely that more goods
will be sourced locally to reduce transit times. This will of course alter the configuration of your
supply pipeline.
As we progress more into the pull configuration greater emphasis could be placed on the need to
examine the costs of the operation. This will particularly be the case if it continues for some time
and new sources of funding have to be found.
Even though we may have a pull configuration working smoothly there are occasions when we
have to overlay a new push activity. This is caused by a change in the operating environment,
perhaps created by a further disaster or escalation of conflict. This requires that logisticians
remain adaptable and alert to the possible changes by constructing contingency plans that can
be implemented once things actually do change.
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Whilst we have presented a cycle of development from push to pull there can be circumstances
when a supply chain can begin in a pull configuration. Such circumstances are often linked to
development projects, such as building wells, where the requirement can be planned for and the
materials obtained without the use of forecasts.
GUIDELINES THAT HELP YOU MANAGE

As we have seen the logistics manager has a significant role in managing flow within the supply
chain. Further we have seen that a manager has a core role of getting things done through
people working together. This implies that you have some clearly defined responsibilities, and
the necessary authority to fulfil these. You may feel that there is an imbalance between the
responsibilities you carry and the level of authority you have to act.
In addition, your own manager or those in other departments may be reluctant to give you
authority because they may feel that this threatens their own position.
As a manager you will need to know your :
Sources of authority
How to develop your authority
The definition of accountability
SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
In your team in the field, you are likely to have people who are very sensitive to the idea of
authority, for example people from different nationalities and cultures will have different
expectations of “authority”. In short, a variety of prejudices based on age, gender, culture or
disability may serve to undermine the formal authority given to you as a manager.
The good news is that there is more than one source of authority, and that it is both possible and
desirable to develop your own, to enhance your management position. The sources of authority
are:
Formal authority
Knowledge based authority
Personal authority
FORMAL AUTHORITY
This authority is conferred by the organisation, or by society, and signs of it include the traffic
warden's armband, the sergeant's stripes, or the supervisor's white coat. For most managers this
authority is included in their job description or terms of reference. It should allow for formal
delegations and the limits of those delegations. Usually this authority is exercised by consent,
but ultimately can be imposed through the use of sanctions.
KNOWLEDGE BASED AUTHORITY

This authority comes from what you know. This is nothing to do with age. For example, when
there has been an accident, and somebody who has been trained in first aid gives an order, most
people will do as they say because they know what they are talking about. At work, knowledge
authority can overcome formal authority – so that a junior member of the team will be listened to
and taken seriously because it is acknowledged that they have some specialist knowledge.
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PERSONAL AUTHORITY
This authority arises from your interpersonal skills and your personality. You might hear people
say “We'd follow them to the ends of the earth” or, less dramatically, “Joe's alright”. Developing
your interpersonal authority leads to greater influence across all functions in your organisation,
this has a significant effect on your ability to perform effectively as a manager. Interestingly it is
the degree of your personal authority that will largely determine your skills as a leader.
DEVELOPING YOUR AUTHORITY
You should be aware of the limits of your formal authority, and where these limits impinge on
your ability to do your job.
FORMAL AUTHORITY
Formal authority may be defined in terms including:
Spending limits
Access to information (e.g., computer access codes)
Limits on disciplinary action
Authorisations (e.g., holiday booking, overtime)
If the limits on your authority are preventing you from doing your job effectively, you should
discover the mechanism for raising the limits within your organisation and develop the allies you
will need to achieve the change.
KNOWLEDGE AUTHORITY
This is derived from:
Experience
Training
Information
Experience may or may not be related to length of service. It is a mistake to think that a person
with only a year's service in an organisation has necessarily less experience than one with ten
years. What matters is the quality of the experience you have acquired, not the number of years
it took to acquire it. You need to be constantly alert to opportunities for training yourself. Read,
discuss, attend courses and conferences, ask for explanations, learn from experienced
colleagues, and accept job rotation as an opportunity to learn new tasks. Ideally, organisations
should provide time for training, however in reality, circumstances and live events may not allow
for this and you should take every opportunity for self-development.
Develop your information base by becoming inquisitive and developing useful contacts. Don't
wait to be spoon-fed with information. If you could not attend a meeting, find out from someone
who did attend whether anything important arose from it. Ask questions if you've read about a
new development. Follow up notices on the notice board and obtain more information if it may be
relevant to your section. If a rumour is being circulated find out from the management whether
there is any truth in it.
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PERSONAL AUTHORITY
Your personal authority can constantly be developed through training and being aware of the
people and opportunities around you. The skills you may need to develop include:
Getting along well with other people

Being approachable
Winning co-operation
Becoming a good listener
Organising yourself and others
Keeping calm under pressure
Withstanding or accepting criticism without taking it to heart
Questioning, consulting and explaining
Demonstrating reliability
Being tactful
Being discreet
ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability is the ultimate responsibility, it cannot be delegated. As a manager, you are

accountable for the performance of your team. In order to achieve the results you need, you
may choose to delegate responsibility for certain tasks, and if these are to be carried out
successfully, you must also delegate the authority for that person to act. Whether that task is
carried out successfully or not, you, as the manager, are still accountable for the quality of the
results.
As we have seen, whilst some of your authority is conferred by the organisation, you have the
scope to develop and grow your authority through developing your knowledge and interpersonal
skills.
In each supply chain configuration there are all kinds of procedures and regulations that exist
that define how things must be done. They provide the rules by which managers must conduct
operations. It is important that managers are familiar with these rules and that they understand
what they are accountable for and how they can use their authority to achieve the desired
results.
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
In this module we have explored how supply chain flows can be managed. We also linked this
management of flow to a number of core activity areas that the next series of modules will
address in detail. Remember the diagram that we constructed at the start of the module.
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As you progress through the following modules you will be introduced to a number of key
management activities. For easy reference the table below lists these.
Recruiting And Selecting People

Planning Organising And Leading Teams And Individuals
Managing People
Appraising Performance, Training And Developing
Knowledge And Skills
Health And Safety Requirements In Supply Chain
Activities
Managing the Working Environment
Security Factors And Risks That Can Affect Supply Chain
Operations
Transparency And Auditability
Budget Types And Their Uses
Financial Information Used For Planning And Budgeting
Managing the financial impact of activities
Financial Indicators Of Performance
Financial Records
Claims Management
Actors And Stakeholders In The Humanitarian Supply
Chain
Building Trust
Working with others What Can Be Shared
How Can We Share
Relationship Building Skills/Influencing For A Win-Win
Working With Others In A Dysfunctional Situation
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MODULE 3 : MANAGING PEOPLE
Managing the supply chain to enable it to respond to the humanitarian situation requires not only
the physical resources to be in place, but also the people to operate and manage the supply
chain. Without these people in the right numbers, with the appropriate skills and who perform to
the standards required by the operational plan, success will not be achieved.
In the, often frenetic, activity of a push situation we may not necessarily formally use all of the
techniques described in this module for managing our people. However, it is important to
understand the basic principles of how people are managed and to follow the same steps and
procedures as we move to an ongoing situation.
As we move from the initial stages of “push” to a more settled state and “pull”, time will allow for a
more stringent application of the principles and techniques used in managing people. However
these pressures should not distract from our aim of managing operations in a professional
manner. Whether in a push or pull situation we should be endeavouring to apply the following
principles of managing people.
To achieve this success we will need to consider the following areas :
Recruiting and selecting people.

Planning, organising and leading teams and individuals.
Training and developing knowledge and skills.
RECRUITING AND SELECTING PEOPLE
From our supply chain plan, we will have a good understanding of the goods our supply chain is
going to be required to acquire/move/store, the physical resources we will have (warehouses,
vehicles) and the time frame for the operation. Now it is important that we identify what people
we will need to recruit to operate the supply chain. This can be particularly important as there are
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likely to be other organisations that will also be looking to recruit people. A shortage of the right
people will have a significant effect on the operation of the supply chain. For example, if we can’t
recruit enough drivers.
The number of people we recruit may also be influenced by the organisations policy to use local
labour and to use labour rather than equipment (as covered in the Warehouse Unit).
It is important that we recruit the right people, supervise the individuals and teams, and develop
the people through providing training that will improve their skills and ability. This applies to full
time and part time employees, as well as local volunteers.
In many organisations the Human Resources (HR) department will be responsible for many of
the managing people activities, including recruitment and selection. It such cases your role may
only be to provide support to the Human Resources (HR) department to recruit people to help in
running the Humanitarian Supply Chain. The process below shows the steps that would be
followed and the contribution that you can make in each area.
The recruitment process is often the first experience an individual has of your aid agency. It is
important that the experience is as positive as possible, so that :
Unsuccessful candidates leave with a positive impression and a feeling that the process
has been fair.
Those who are successful gain an accurate impression of the organisation and the job
they are going into.
We are as certain as possible that we have made the right selection.
We have encouraged the right calibre of candidates.
In the first stages of an operation where goods are being pushed into the programme the process
followed may not be as stringent as it will be when we are in a position to “pull” the requirements
through. It may be that we take staff on a temporary basis and that time will allow for little in the
way of formal training. In such situations time pressures mean we will only recruit people who
can do the job adequately, immediately without any training. However, the general principles
apply in all recruiting situations.
There are six key stages to the recruitment process that we need to follow :
What work do we have that we need people to do?

What do we need the people to do?
What type of people do we need (skills, knowledge, physical attributes)?
How will we find the people we need?
How will we select the right people?
What action do we need to take after selection?
WHAT WORK DO WE HAVE THAT WE NEED PEOPLE TO DO?
Before embarking on the procedure for selection, we need to ask ourselves the question “Have
we really got a vacancy?” What is the job that we require the person to do? Can it be done
another way? For example, if the job is to unload trucks, do we need 20 people physically to
move the goods, or do we have a Forklift truck available that will mean we can cut our
requirement to 5 people.
If there is a genuine vacancy and we have work that we need people to do, then we can move on
with the next stage of the process.
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WHAT DO WE NEED THE PEOPLE TO DO?
In any situation we will need to consider the work that is actually required. In an emergency relief
situation, time may not permit us to produce a full job specification and we may be hiring quickly
to meet immediate needs.
In an ongoing situation we will have the ability to follow the principles shown below more
formally.
In preparing to recruit people, we will need to consider :
What is the job.

Specifying the job description.
WHAT IS THE JOB
This is the foundation stone of the operation. It is essential to describe the job for which we are
recruiting. This job description is the basis of the recruitment process. Where possible, it is good
practice to give employees the title and up-to-date detailed description of the job they are
employed to do.
However formal or informal the Job Description, we cannot recruit unless we have some
specification of what the person is to do.
We have decided that it is necessary to recruit and we need to take the opportunity to take a
fresh look at the job and decide what really needs doing and what kind of person should be doing
it.
In “Recruiting, Interviewing and Selecting”, Matthew Jackson says that when you have a vacancy
and start looking at the job description, you usually find there are three versions already in
operation: what management thought the employee was doing, what the employee thought he
was supposed to be doing, and what was actually going on.
SPECIFYING THE JOB DESCRIPTION
The job description will need to include two main areas :
The duties and responsibilities.

Working conditions and reward.
Duties and responsibilities
Main routine duties.

Special responsibilities for other people, equipment or material.
Most common difficulties in the duties and responsibilities.
Working conditions and reward
Nature of the work place (damp, dirty, noisy, etc).
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Nature of the work (heavy, dirty, unvaried, solitary, etc.).
Social opportunities of the work (companionship, prestige, team-work, etc.).
What workers say they like most and like least about the work (this information might
come from exit interviews)?
Anything else worth noting, e.g., scope or lack of it, opportunities for development within
the job or promotion.
EXAMPLE OF A JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title Storekeeper Responsible to Logistics Officer
Duties & Responsibilities Supervises

Supervise stores staff. 2 storemen, 2 labourers.
Issue store items against
departmental orders.
Maintain stock levels, re-ordering
when necessary.
Stock-taking.
Keep records of stock usage.
Local purchase.
Other Relationships
Return defective equipment and
Internal:
materials to suppliers.
Keep store tidy. All in-country staff.
Operate fork lift truck when required.
Key Objectives: Internal External:
Minimise time and cost. Suppliers.
Maximise quality and utilisation of Contractors
resources. Other NGO representatives.
WHAT TYPE OF PEOPLE DO WE NEED?
The person specification describes our ideal candidate. When we have a clear picture of the
ideal, we are in a position to assess applicants on the basis of how they compare with the ideal,
not how they compare with the other applicants or with the population at large. HR may require
your professional input in some of the areas in drawing up the person specification.
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The person specification identifies the essential characteristics and the desirable characteristics
for the job. If we decide to identify a requirement as essential, we are effectively saying we will
not employ a person without it. Desirable characteristics are the wider considerations you would
like to have, but where you would be prepared to consider alternatives. When putting the job
description together, we will need to think about the following factors, though not all of these will
be relevant in all recruitment situations.
EXAMPLE OF A PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Desirable
Physical Good health.
Good hearing.
Attainments Some previous Storekeeping experience in

storekeeping experience. this industry.
Good primary education . Some experience of
successful supervision.
Intelligence Average common sense.
Special aptitudes Good at simple arithmetic.

Clear handwriting.
Orderly way of working.
Disposition Helpful and co-operative
attitude.
Tactful in supervising staff.
Honest.
Circumstances No home circumstances - Not live too far from the facility
requiring much time off. so that bad weather etc., will
not impose unacceptable
delays.
HOW WILL WE FIND THE PEOPLE WE NEED?
HR will be normally take the responsibility for identifying the sources of candidates, but if you
have contacts that may be useful it will be worth passing these onto them.
HOW WILL WE SELECT THE RIGHT CANDIDATE?
The HR process for selecting the right candidates will normally follow the steps of:
Sorting the application forms.

Conducting the selection interview.
Make the selection.
Obtaining references (where necessary).
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Notifying the candidates.
Reviewing the procedure to ensure that you have not discriminated against any candidate.
It is likely that you will be involved in the some of these areas, particularly in the interview and
selection procedure, assisting HR to make the right choice of candidate.
PARTICIPATING IN THE SELECTION INTERVIEW
Following the initial selection procedure, HR will produce a short-list of prospective candidates.
And it should be a short list! In planning the interviews, we should aim to interview a maximum of
six to eight people and not attempt more than six interviews in one day. Quite apart from the
delays caused by late arrivals and other administrative problems, interviewing is very demanding
and we need to be fresh, to be fair to each candidate.
HR should allow about 30 minutes for a front line vacancy interview, and make sure that we
schedule a 15 minute gap between candidates to write up notes and prepare for the next
interview.
An interview is a conversation within a specific context and having a specific purpose, the pattern
of which is directed by the interviewer, who should be listening more than they are talking.
There are three stages to the process :
Preparation.
The Interview.
The follow up.
Preparation
Plan the interview:
HR should lead the interview, introducing the panel members and giving an easy lead in
for the candidate and to break the ice. This should include an introduction to the
organisation and the job, including salary details.
We will need to make notes on the application form to remind ourselves to ask about
areas of concern, or where we would like to know more.
Plan the questions that you want to ask, and the order in which they will be asked.
Physical arrangements:
The physical arrangements that HR should make to conduct the interview should include:
Choosing a place, which will make a good impression.

Preparing comfortable seating.
Trying to find a room arrangement that will avoid you sitting directly opposite the
candidate, with a desk between you, as this creates a barrier to free and open
communication. Consider sitting across the corner of a desk, or using a clipboard for
writing notes and have no desk at all.
Putting a notice on the door to deter personal interruptions, and divert telephone calls.
Paperwork:
HR should ensure that we have available the following:

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Application form.
Job description.
Person specification.
Information about your organisation.
Interview record form, or paper for taking notes.
The interview itself
Remember that the purpose of the interview is to find out whether or not this candidate would be
suitable for the job. Therefore, they need to be relaxed enough to answer the questions
confidently and we need to be listening for more of the time than we are talking (about 70% of
the interview) so that we can take in all they are telling us.
Structure of the interview
You should agree the structure of the interview with HR beforehand, so that you know who is
going to ask what and when. Some useful hints on running an interview are attached below.
While not all of these may be relevant to the interviews that are being conducted for the work you
have available, it is worth reviewing this list to ensure we know which apply :
Establish a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Start with an opening remark to get the candidate talking.
Explain how we plan to run the interview, and when the candidate will have the opportunity
to ask their own questions.
Encourage people to talk by using open questions (those beginning with Who, What, Why,
When, Where or How).
Talk about the past first (their job history or education, and experience), then the present
(their current role and plans) and then the future (career aspirations, expectations from the
new job).
Simply ask the questions and listen to the answers, we should not respond with our own
thoughts or opinions, or reveal our own biases.
Be aware of our own prejudices, and be particularly careful about judging people on their
appearance or mode of speech.
As the interview develops, use more probing questions to try to uncover attitudes and
opinions, and to question areas of the application form where there are concerns.
Follow up unsatisfactory answers with more questions.
If a candidate seems very reluctant to discuss an area that we are concerned about, put
our concerns directly to the candidate and invite them to respond.
You will need to summarise from time to time, to ensure that we have correctly noted and
interpreted all the relevant facts and feelings.
When we have completed our questions, change the tone and pace by giving a brief run-
down of the organisation, its mission within the country and the basic conditions.
Invite the candidate to ask any further questions.
Close by thanking the candidate, and telling them when and how they will hear the result.
Follow-up
As soon as the applicant leaves the room it is essential that we write up our notes and a
summary of our conclusions. It is sometimes helpful to mark each applicant under several
headings (experience, knowledge, qualifications, etc.) weighting marks by varying the top rating.
If experience is more significant than any other factor, you might mark out of 20 for this, and out
of 10 for other attributes.
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If further information or validation of the outcome is required, a second round of interviews may
need to be conducted.
MAKING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SELECTION
Following the interviews, HR will seek your recommendations on the suitability of the candidates
seen. The following will help you in coming to a suitable recommendation. We need to be sure
that we are measuring the applicants against the standard for the job - not against each other.
That is why we prepare for the interview and drew up a person specification. It gives us a
yardstick to measure them all against.
Think carefully about what we are looking for. We need to appoint someone to the vacant post
who will perform well in the job, but who will also fit in with the team and the organisation.
Consider the two aspects of eligibility and suitability.
The right person for the job is one who is both eligible and suitable. Eligible candidates are those
who have all the technical abilities and the right skills, experience and qualifications. Suitable
candidates are those who will fit in the best and who have the right personality and attitude for
the work that we need them to carry out. We can map four types of candidates you may be
choosing from :
2 3
High eligibility High eligibility
Low suitability High suitability
1 4
Low eligibility Low eligibility
Low suitability High suitability
In Case 1, the candidate would be a bad appointment, having neither the technical qualifications
nor the right personality. Case 2 would not be a good choice either, having all the right skills but
not being the right person to fit into the team.
Case 3 appears to be the ideal candidate – all the right skills and a personality to fit in with the
job, the team and the organisation. However, we should think twice before appointing this
person. If they are already highly capable, will they get the job satisfaction they are seeking?
How long will it be before they are seeking promotion, or looking outside for another job? It may
be essential to the role that we recruit somebody highly capable, and if so this is the right person,
but don’t automatically dismiss Case 4.
In Case 4 the candidate does not have all the technical skills and abilities, but is the right type of
person. Do we have time to train and develop them? If so, this might be a better appointment,
and may stay for longer than the Case 3 candidate. You probably will not appoint someone with
none of the technical abilities, but consider the candidate who is barely eligible – they may be a
very sound appointment.
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2 3
High eligibility High eligibility
Low suitability
High suitability
POOR FIT IDEAL FIT
1 4
Low eligibility Barely eligible
Low suitability Highly suitable
UNFIT SURPRISE FIT
WHAT ACTION DO WE NEED TO TAKE AFTER SELECTION?
Once we have completed the interview process and made our recommendations to HR, it will be
for them to take all necessary action to complete the recruitment process.
PLANNING, ORGANISING AND LEADING TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS
If the humanitarian aid programme requirements are to be met, and be met efficiently, the
individuals and teams need to work together in a co-ordinated manner. They need to know what
to do, when to do it and how well they are doing it. The manager’s role is to plan the work,
organise the individuals and teams who are to perform the tasks, and to lead them in the right
direction.
In this element, we will consider the following :
Planning the work of individuals and teams.

Motivating teams and individuals.
Appraising Performance, Training and developing teams and individuals.
PLANNING THE WORK OF INDIVIDUALS AND TEAMS
Planning the work of individuals and teams will follow the steps below :
Nature and definition of planning.

Setting work objectives.
Define objectives/responsibilities.
Set performance standards.
Agree targets.
Controlling work.
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NATURE AND DEFINITION OF PLANNING
how, when, where and who will do it, and then developing procedures and a plan of action to put
it all into practice.
Objectives may be set for you, or your team may be free to set its own objectives. It is a key
responsibility of team leaders at all levels in an organisation to ensure that everyone understands
the objectives, and how these contribute to the overall aims of the organisation. People need to
have the objective clearly defined at the beginning of a task, and they need regular reminders as
they progress through the task to completion.
SETTING WORK OBJECTIVES
Effective managers manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the
organisation and the people gain from their presence. Results are obtained through the people
working in the organisation. People and results go hand in hand.
People, who feel good about themselves, produce good results. So helping people feel good
about themselves is a key to getting more done. However, it must be remembered that
productivity is more than just the quantity of work done. It is also about the quality.
The three steps, which help in making people feel good through having effective goals are :
Define objectives/responsibilities.
Set standards of performance.
Agree targets.
By so doing, people are clear on their work direction and uncertainty is minimised, whilst
motivation is greatly encouraged.
Define objectives/responsibilities
In most organisations when you ask people “What are you here for?” and then ask their boss you
will frequently get different answers. As a result of this, disagreements occur and people get in
trouble for not doing something when they hadn't realised that it was part of their job.
Clearly, then it is necessary to resolve the differences and agree an objective for each job type.
The objective should be short, say no more than 30 words.
Set Performance Standards
Each role within an organisation is designed, through the job specification, to achieve certain key
results. These results can be measured in terms of :
Quality – how well the result is produced or performed.

Quantity – usually expressed as the amount completed in a certain time.
Cost – what did it cost to carry out the activity.
Timeliness – when time is important for delivering results.
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For each area we will need to set up a measurable standard, which we will expect to be
maintained. These standards could change depending on the phase of the operation that we are
in, whether we are in push or pull. For example, during the push phase of a programme, we will
be less concerned about cost, but timeliness will be of crucial importance. As we move to a pull
situation, this could reverse and will look to deliver timely solutions but in a cost effective way.
Performance standards will :
Help the employees to assess their own strengths and weaknesses.

Ensure that they are working in conformity with organisation standards.
Help to develop job satisfaction, and sense of fulfilment.
A performance standard is a statement of the conditions, which will exist when the required result
is being satisfactorily achieved. A standard is not perfection, but simply a statement of what
constitutes an acceptable performance. Perfection is not the standard. Standards should be
attainable by the average person and able to be exceeded by superior performance.
Every job can be expressed in measurable terms no matter in which functional area the
individual or team is working.
Since the standards are common to all, some individuals may struggle to reach them, they need
special encouragement. Likewise there will be staff that consistently perform above the
standard. They will require extra praise and perhaps something else to keep them motivated, like
targets which stretch and harness individuals’ capabilities.
It is obviously preferable to use as a standard the end result, or output of the job. For example,
in assessing one of your driver’s performances, you should look at their record of accidents and
motoring convictions and compare this against the standard that you have set for this area.
Standards are of greater value if they are recorded. The piece of paper must not be seen as an
end in itself but used as an instrument in the process of management.
Agree Targets
Finally for those who are capable of exceeding the normal standard, targets are designed to
‘stretch’ people and to harness their individual capabilities. Targets are agreed between the
manager and the individual and are often project based. We should only agree one or two
targets with any individual at one time and they should have different finish dates to avoid
overloading. Targets are a bit like an “optional credit”.
A target isn't a higher standard for a high performing individual.
Standards are common and imposed, standards are on going.

Targets are individual and agreed, targets are often short-term projects.
A target, like a standard will have an agreed review criteria and use the same type of measures.
For staff to know the answer to “What am I here for?” they need their responsibilities clarified in
terms of objectives and key result areas, with measurable, set standards. As part of your role in
motivating them and helping them to achieve a high performance level, we should agree one or
two self-development targets with them.
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CONTROLLING WORK
Having set standards and targets for individuals and teams we now need to measure how well
we are performing. If the correct standards have been set and are being achieved then the
overall objectives in the operating plan should be met. But what happens when they are not met?
Some action needs to be taken either to achieve the standards, or if this is impossible as
circumstances have changed, then this needs to be reported up the management chain so that
decisions can be taken on the operating plan.
To understand how individuals and teams are performing we need to :
Collect data to measure performance.

Compare results with standards.
Take corrective action.
As with so many parts of the management process, control is simple in principle but becomes
complex in application. Even a small department will have many control points with different time
schedules for each. For example in managing a warehouse, we may want to know about goods
despatch rates on a daily basis but we will only need to review the site maintenance costs at the
end of every month. The actual situation in any operating department requires multiple
comparisons of different standards with measurements of results.
On the human level, control often comes down to telling people what to do and criticising them or
applying other pressures if they do not do what they are told. This aspect of controlling
performance is inescapable. It can pose a problem because many people do not like to be
“controlled” or to be corrected for off-standard performance. This has to be balanced though, by
equally praising people for good performance.
Managers’ need to identify whether the failure to meet a performance standard is the result of
people not being able to carry out their roles through a lack of training or guidance, or whether
the failure is because of a refusal on the part of individuals to meet the requirements. For the
former we can identify the training needs to correct this, for the latter we would need to identify
the reasons for refusal and take the appropriate management action.
We build people by concentrating on their strengths, not their weaknesses. However to a certain
extent, the “criticism” difficulty must simply be endured. Part of the unique challenge of
management is having to exert this control over subordinates and to accept and deal with any
negative effects as expressed in anger, resentment, complaints, or temporarily lowered morale.
Knowing how to motivate teams and individuals is an important management skill.
MOTIVATING TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS
Over many years sociologists and psychologists have been investigating human behaviour
through interviews and the study of situations which arise at work. They have produced a body
of knowledge, which tries to explain why people behave as they do, and goes into how to
influence behaviour.
These studies are particularly useful for present day managers who have much less authority
than those of previous years.
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Managing people involves motivating and supporting people. In humanitarian situations this can
be particularly relevant – e.g. people whose relatives and friends have been affected by the
disaster, feeling that they are not able to do enough to help people affected by the disaster,
seeing people dying. You may have to motivate people who are stressed and traumatised.
It is also important to recognise that it can be difficult to motivate and support people if you are
feeling down, affected by your circumstances and are tired.
To identify the way to motivate teams and individuals we need to consider :
Human needs.
Needs and motivation.
Praising, criticising, and feedback.
HUMAN NEEDS
We are motivated by our needs.
Everyone has a set of needs, which they spend most of their lives trying to satisfy. All through
our lives we are motivated by needs.
These needs may be either physical needs or social needs.
Motivation, in a job context, is getting people to do things willingly and well. A manager therefore
helps people to motivate themselves by providing appropriate incentives. These incentives
encourage people to change/amend their behaviour. This behaviour is directed toward satisfying
needs.
We need to accept three basic concepts from behavioural science, though even these need to be
considered in the context of the humanitarian situation.
That people can actually enjoy work.

That people are capable of and want to make decisions about their work and want to
contribute to success.
That job satisfaction comes from being able to exercise control, to perform meaningful
tasks and to achieve tasks.
From these, we can see people have the following requirements:
Need to contribute to assist others.

Need to be in control (and take decisions).
Need for achievement.
Our challenge is to provide all these needs at work and to make them a part of the “incentive
package”.
NEEDS AND MOTIVATION
The basis for motivation is having our needs satisfied. As individuals we have varying needs. In
managing our people we need to unlock these needs and generate them at work. A simple
guideline is provided below :
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Tell people what you expect. Give clear direction and set goals/objectives.
Uncertainty is a stress factor. Remove it! Share information.
Make work valuable - Give valuable benefits. Any changes to the benefits within a
particular job will need to follow the laid down HR procedures .
Give work to people which they enjoy doing/do well.
Make work "do-able " - Give the resources needed (e.g. train, coach), encourage and
support them.
When working, give "feedback" - Give praise and reinforce success (i.e. continually, not
just once per year).
If correcting weaknesses, then criticise behaviour not attitudes/personality.
When they have done what you want, give rewards - Give "internal rewards" (e.g. what
each individual wants, thanks, praise, positive feedback).
In some cases it may be possible to give "external rewards" (e.g. promotion, money,
praise, achievement, growth, responsibility, interesting work etc.) (Evidence suggests
though that the effects of “external rewards” are not as long lasting as giving “internal
rewards”). As above, any external recognition here will need to follow the laid HR
procedures for your organisation.
Set a good example - Be the right role model, through your own behaviour, remember the
attributes required to establish your “personal authority”.
Listen to your people and learn from them. Generate a "showing interest" climate.
PRAISING AND CRITICISING
We have said that it is important that we give teams and individuals feedback on how they are
performing. If this feedback is solely negative and in the form of a “telling off”, it is de-motivating.
Positive feedback, with constructive suggestions, will give encouragement towards improving
future performance.
We need to be able to criticise constructively. Recall you build people (and performance) by
concentrating on their strengths, not their weaknesses.
Praising
To help people reach their full potential we need to catch them doing something right. When we
do approach them and praise them, briefly say what they have done. It must be immediate; it is
no good storing them up.
Praising will motivate people to reach their goals and objectives. Praising aims to make people
feel good. It will work when :
We tell people right from the start that you are going to let them know how they are doing.
Praise them immediately when they do something right.
Tell people what they did right - be specific.
Tell people how it helps the organisation and the other people working there.
Stop for a moment of silence to allow it to sink in.
Encourage them to do more of the same.
Let them know in a way that makes it clear, you support their success.
Criticising
When people have been doing a job for some while, they know how to do it well, but when they
make a mistake, it is necessary to respond to the mistake.
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Firstly, you need to gather the facts and then see the person concerned. Tell them precisely
what they have done wrong in only about 30 seconds. Let it sink in. Finish the critique with
praise so that the individual does not remember the way you treated him, but focuses on their
mistake.
The critique works well when you :
Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no
uncertain terms.
Do it immediately.
Tell people what they did wrong - be specific.
Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong - be specific.
Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel.
Reach them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side.
Remind them how much you value them and how well they normally work.
Reaffirm that you think well of them, but not of their performance in this situation.
Realise that when the critique is over, it's over.
Remember you are criticising the behaviour, not the person.
APPRAISING PERFORMANCE, TRAINING TO DEVELOP KNOWLEDGE

AND SKILLS
Performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff.
Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organisational performance, and feed into
organisational planning. Formal performance appraisals are generally conducted annually for all
staff in the organisation. Each staff member is appraised by their line manager. Annual
performance appraisals enable management and monitoring of standards, agreeing expectations
and objectives, and delegation of responsibilities and tasks. Staff performance appraisals also
establish individual training needs and enable organisational training needs analysis and
planning.
Performance appraisal information can also feed into organisational annual pay and grading
reviews, and coincides with the organisational planning for the next year. Performance appraisals
generally review each individual's performance against objectives and standards agreed at the
previous appraisal meeting. Performance appraisals are also essential for career and succession
planning.
Performance appraisals are important for staff motivation, attitude and behaviour development,
communicating organisational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management
and staff. Performance appraisals provide a formal, recorded, regular review of an individual's
performance, and a plan for future development.
In short, performance and job appraisals are vital for managing the performance of people and
organisations.
One of your duties is making these detailed judgements about the quality of performance of
subordinates. In the humanitarian situation we will want people to become competent in as short
a time as possible. This will mean developing a mentality of assessing people’s skills and
knowledge at an early stage of their employment. We will need to monitor how they carry out
their job; can they do it safely, following the procedures that we have set down for the task. For
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example, can they lift sacks in a safe manner that will prevent injury, do they follow the correct
procurement procedures, and do they complete all necessary paperwork at the required time.
One result of making these appraisals is to discover weaknesses in performance and areas
where work or results are unsatisfactory. These negative discoveries provide critical information
for the early stages of the training cycle. They point out a range of performance areas where
training might help. It is critical that these needs are recognised and from there the action taken
to identify the actual training need.
Whether you are training a permanent junior manager for future development or a locally
employed warehouse operative starting out in the warehouse, there will be a training need. To
minimise the impact on your operations, this training needs to be properly planned, organised,
directed and controlled.
When we are working with locally employed personnel, we will also need to ensure that we take
proper notice of local customs and procedures.
In completing appraisals, some other considerations would be:
Definition of skills and knowledge.

Coaching.
Identifying and Managing Stress
DEFINITIONS OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
There can be some confusion over the two words skill and knowledge :
Skill is the ability to do something.

Knowledge is about having the underlying understanding of it.
However it is quite possible to have the knowledge but not the skill to put it into practice.
Some individuals may have the skill to achieve something but do it simply because they have
been shown how and they have no underlying knowledge of it.
In most humanitarian situations we will want to ensure that we are working with competent
people. Competence is having both the knowledge and the skills required to do this. Our
approach to training should identify whether there is a gap in a person’s skill, knowledge, or both,
and then be tailored to fill the gap. This requires a systematic approach to training.
COACHING
As individuals move along a development path they will at times need assistance to ensure that
they keep on the right track and also progress at an appropriate rate. Managers can assist in this
area by coaching individuals in their development, particularly for other managers or supervisors
who may be working with you.
Coaching can be defined as being a process that enables someone to do something better than
they would have done had the coach not been there.
In broad terms coaching should be directed at all of the following objectives :
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Amplifying an individual’s own knowledge and thought processes.
Improving the individual’s self-awareness and facilitating the winning of detailed insight
into how the individual may be perceived by others.
Creating a supportive, helpful yet demanding environment in which the individual’s crucial
thinking skills, ideas and behaviours, are challenged and developed.
When you decide to undertake coaching of colleagues, you should be aware that, if carried out
correctly, it will at times result in the uncovering of attitudes and personal facts that the person
being coached would not want to have made public. Therefore a key element of coaching is that
of trust, and the creation of this is a key to successful coaching. In many instances those being
coached find it more comfortable to be coached from someone not in their direct management
chain.
To improve, two basic factors need to feature within an individual's attitude towards performance;
A willingness to change and

A willingness to find out what you need to do in order to change for the better.
Fortunately willingness to change is a diminishing obstacle in today’s world. Coaching is

maturing as a concept and people are getting accustomed to the idea that coaching is not just a
remedial intervention for people who aren’t doing well, but rather a means of helping people who
are already doing well to do even better.
Add those two factors together and you have a formula for being more successful in the future.
For the truth is that whatever level of performance we reach, there is always going to be an
"increment of improvement" available to us.
There are four basic styles of coaching, two of which fit together, supporting, encouraging,
directing and guiding. Supporting and encouraging are concerned with helping the person being
coached to feel good about their progress and to look for more opportunities to improve.
Directing is concerned with pointing out the direction to be followed or even saying what should
be done. Guiding is about assisting the person being coached to find their own direction and
identify what they need to do.
A good coach will use all four styles as appropriate to the person being coached and the
circumstances at the time. For example, an individual who has no idea of what they need to do
may well require in the initial stages a lot of directing but as they move forward this will be
changed to guidance.
IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING STRESS
Most aid organisations have recognised the need to identify, treat, manage and minimise stress.
There are excellent sections in the field manuals of several organisations that can be reached
through the UNJLC website at www.unjlc.org. They provide a detailed examination of the issues
concerned and how they can be dealt with.
The main issues concerning stress are :
Identifying Stress Symptoms.

Dealing With Stress.
Preventing and Minimising Harmful Stress.
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We have to recognise that once in the field, especially during the early phases of an emergency
relief programme, we will be working in some of the most stressful situations people encounter.
You may personally be affected but, as a manager, we need to recognise that those working for
us are likely to be more affected, as it is their relatives, friends, associates who are the most
likely to have been caught up in the situation.
We will need to develop a process that :
Identifies the early signs of stress.

Encourages a culture of monitoring stress.
Encourages employees to feedback to management in a confidential way.
A whole industry has grown up in the area of stress management, and it is not expected that part
of your role in managing the humanitarian supply chain, will also be to act as the stress
management expert. However, you should recognise the onset of stress, and then seek
guidance on the best way to approach this when it is detected.
Where those affected by stress are having a negative impact on your ability to deliver your
programme, these people will need to be managed out of the team, albeit in a sympathetic
manner and with dignity.
Some of the signs of stress amongst your team would include :
Restlessness.
Anxiety.
Irritability.
Emotional emptiness.
Aggressiveness, hatred.
Problems concentrating.
Physical complaints.
A useful guide to stress management in the field can be found at :
http://www.idealist.org/psychosocial/resources/field_aid_stressmgt.html
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MODULE 4 : MANAGING THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
In a “push” situation, you will be thinking more about delivery to the needs of the beneficiaries,
than your own working environment. However, it is important to remember that providing a safe
and secure working environment will safeguard our resources and cause fewer problems in the
longer term.
As a manager you have a responsibility for the safe and secure operation through all areas of
activity. From the outset we need to consider putting the right procedures in place to ensure that
things are done safely and securely and that we have the right people nominated to be
responsible for safety.
In the early stages of the “push” phase, the working environment is likely to be quite chaotic and
disorganised. There may not be permanent facilities available and working practices initially
could be makeshift. Even in these circumstances we will need to ensure that the people working
with us can do so in a safe and secure environment. The danger of shrinkage (through waste
and theft) will be strong and we will need to put in place robust procedures and processes to
ensure that we safeguard the agencies own property and donations so that we can deliver to the
beneficiaries needs. As we move to the pull phases of the operation, we will be able to establish
a more robust approach to our own agencies procedures and practices, following the
management guidelines contained in this module.
Many countries have some Health and Safety legislation or regulations in place but this is not
universal, and deployment on Humanitarian Projects could mean that operations take place
without any legal requirements from the host nation. However, where local regulations exist
these must be adhered to and you should ensure that you follow your own organisation’s rules
for providing a safe working environment.
There are two critical areas to consider when thinking about the working environment:
Health and Safety requirements in supply chain activities.

Security factors and risks that can affect supply chain operations.
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HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS IN SUPPLY CHAIN
ACTIVITIES
Awareness of Health and Safety is important in all of the activities carried out in supply chain
operations and it needs to be considered in all the areas of operation, be it in the warehouse, in
offices, or transporting goods.
Warehouses in the humanitarian supply chain can be a dangerous environment, where accidents
will happen if everyone is not alert to the dangers or understands their responsibilities in this
area. On the road, driving is a tiring job that requires concentration and conscientiousness. If we
do not consider safe driving practices, accident rates will increase and this will add cost to our
supply chain operation. Successful management of health and safety can yield specific returns of
benefit by inclusion of:
Increased employee awareness of health, safety and security issues.

Improved relationships with our employees
Improved morale and operator performance.
Reduced incidents, accidents and damage levels.
Reduced defects or error rates.
Reduced absenteeism.
Reduced staff losses.
Reduced training costs.
Reduced equipment costs.
When and where health and safety are managed effectively, these increases and reductions will
reflect in improved productivity and efficiency for the organisation. To ensure we can manage
this aspect we need to look at the following areas:
Best Practice in Health and Safety.

Management of Health and Safety in Supply Chain operations.
Humanitarian Organisations’ own procedures and policies.
Injury and Sickness in the workplace.
BEST PRACTICE IN HEALTH AND SAFETY
In any circumstances, employers have a particular responsibility to ensure that they provide a
safe working environment for the people that they employ.
For employees, there is also a responsibility to their employer to ensure that they maintain this
safe working environment through the use of laid down procedures and practices.
These responsibilities ensure that protection is provided for the health and safety of all who may
be affected by work activity.
In some countries this responsibility can extend to the keeping and use of any dangerous or
harmful substances (for example, medicines, narcotics, etc) including emissions of such
substances or of noxious and /or offensive fumes or particles from work premises.
The following areas need to be considered:
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Duty of employers.
Duties of employees at work.
Specific local regulations.
DUTY OF EMPLOYERS
As stated earlier, there is a duty upon us, as an employer, that we will:
“Ensure in so far as is reasonably practicable employees’

health, safety and welfare at work”
This should be done by ensuring and maintaining a safe working environment through the
provision of :
Safe plant and machinery.

Safe systems of work.
Information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to perform their
tasks safely.
Safety and the absence of risk in the use, the handling, storage and transportation of
articles and substances.
A written health and safety policy statement – this should follow the policy laid down by
your own agency, adapted where necessary for local purposes.
A process by which the employees can be consulted and provide feedback on Health and
Safety issues.
In support of best practice, employers should ensure that, wherever possible and allowed by the
circumstances of the supply chain operation at the time :
Adequate security, warning signs and visitor registration are in operation.

All persons must report to reception before proceeding on a site.
All persons invited on site must be adequately supervised.
All persons invited on site are provided with adequate information to enable them to avoid
hazards and exposure to risk.
All persons invited on site will be adequately equipped and provided with PPE (Personal
Protective Equipment) where necessary and where required.
DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES AT WORK
Employees also have duties whilst at work :
Duty to take reasonable care of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by
their acts or omissions at work.
Duty to co-operate with you as the manager so that any legal requirements can be
performed or complied with.
Not to intentionally or recklessly interfere with, or misuse, anything provided in the
interests of health, safety and/or welfare.
MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SUPPLY CHAIN

OPERATIONS
While in the field, this may not seem to be your first priority, but the good manager will
understand the principles of Health and Safety in the work place and we should always seek to
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establish best practice in the working environment. Best practice may include some or all of the
following :
Assessment of health and safety risk exposure whilst at work arising out of the working
practices employed.
Arrangements for planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventative
and protective measures in the work place and working practices.
Monitoring of the health risks to staff.
Managers should themselves be competent in health and safety issues and should assist
their employees to have a similar competence (you will recall that we defined competence
as having the knowledge and the skills to apply best practice and the knowing of one’s
own limitations).
Procedures of restricted access to serious, imminent danger and danger areas.
Sharing information with employees on the risks, preventative measures, procedures, etc.
Adequate (not just sufficient) health and safety training – for new employees or for existing
employees where new issues that require special attention are introduced into the working
environment. For example, new Mechanical Handling Equipment in the Warehouse, or
goods that require special handling or transportation arrangements.
Procedures for employees to report unsafe conditions or lack of information and/or
training.
Temporary workers, temporary or locally employed staff must be provided with information
by the employer.
Best practice would include all of the following where appropriate. It should be noted that these
are only outlines of possible risk areas :
Workplace – both within the warehouses and in the use of vehicles.

Personal protective equipment (PPE).
Provision and use of work equipment.
Manual handling operations.
Substances hazardous to health.
Driver’s regulations.
WORKPLACE
While not all of the issues below will apply in the humanitarian supply chain situation, for
example, where you have tented warehouses, these are general guidelines and in those areas
where you can apply these they should be applied to provide a safe and comfortable working
environment.
Working environment - Including; temperature, ventilation, lighting including emergency
lighting, room dimensions, suitability of workstations and seating, and outdoor
workstations (e.g., weather protection).
Safety - Including; safe passage of pedestrians and vehicles, windows and skylights (safe
opening, closing and cleaning), glazed doors and partitions (use of safe material and
marking), doors, gates and escalators (safety devices), floors (their construction),
obstructions and slipping and tripping hazards, falls from heights and into dangerous
substances, and falling objects.
Facilities - Including; toilets, washing, eating and changing facilities, clothing storage,
seating and appropriate staff rest areas.
Housekeeping - Including; maintenance of the workplace, equipment and facilities,
cleanliness, and removal of waste materials.
In practice, what does this mean - some general guidelines on managing your workplace are
given below.
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You will need to review these guidelines and identify those that can sensibly be applied in your
working environment. As the manager, you will need to make that decision. You should not
assume that your local staff are used to working in certain conditions and that the points below
do not need to be considered.
Ventilation
Workplaces need to be adequately ventilated. Fresh, clean air should be drawn from a source
outside the workplace, uncontaminated by discharges from flues, chimneys or other outlets, and
be circulated through the working areas.
Ventilation should also remove and dilute warm, humid air and provide air movement which gives
a sense of freshness without causing a draught. If the workplace contains process or heating
equipment or other sources of dust, fumes or vapours, more fresh air will be needed to provide
adequate ventilation.
Windows or other openings may provide sufficient ventilation but, where necessary, mechanical
ventilation systems should be provided and regularly maintained.
Temperatures in indoor workplaces
Comfort depends on air temperature, radiant heat, air movement and humidity. Individual
personal preference makes it difficult to specify a thermal environment which satisfies everyone.
For workplaces where the activity is mainly sedentary, for example, offices, the temperature
should normally be at least 20C. If work involves physical effort, it should be at least 10C (unless
local laws require differently).
Assessment of the risk to your employees’ health, from working in either a hot or cold
environment, needs to consider two sets of factors - personal and environmental. Personal
factors include body activity, the amount and type of clothing, and duration of exposure.
Environmental factors include ambient temperature, and radiant heat; and if the work is outside,
sunlight, wind velocity and the presence of rain or snow. Therefore, we also need to consider the
extremes of temperature :
Working in hot environments.

Working in cold environments.
Work in hot environments
The risk to the health of your employees increases as conditions move further away from those
generally accepted as comfortable.
Risk of heat stress arises, for example, from working in high air temperatures, exposure to high
thermal radiation or high levels of humidity, such as those found in many of the environments
and countries where humanitarian operations are taking place.
Any risk assessment needs to consider: measures to control the workplace environment, in
particular heat from any source. Minimising the risk of heat stress may mean insulating plant
which acts as a source of radiant heat, using local cooling by increasing ventilation rates and
maintaining the appropriate level of humidity. If work rates cause sweating, employees may need
frequent rest pauses for changing into dry clothing.
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Work in cold environments
Cold stress may arise, for example, from working in cold stores, food preparation areas and in
the open air during winter, for example, in tented areas in Pakistan and India during the
emergency relief phase following the 2005 earthquake.
If it is not reasonably practicable to avoid workers being exposed to cold environments, you
should consider using local environmental controls, for example, cab heaters in fork-lift trucks
used in cold stores; restriction of exposure by, for example, re-organising tasks to build in rest
periods or other breaks from work.
This will allow workers to rest in an area where the environment is comfortable and, if necessary,
to replace bodily fluids to combat dehydration or cold.
You may also need to consider use of suitable clothing (which may need to be heat resistant or
insulating, depending on whether the risk is from heat or cold); acclimatisation of workers to the
environment in which they work; training in the precautions to be taken; and supervision, to
ensure that the precautions identified by the assessment are taken. You may also need to
consider the medical pre-selection of employees to ensure that they are fit to work in these
environments, through the person specification.
Lighting
Lighting should be sufficient to enable people to work and move about safely. If necessary, local
lighting should be provided at individual workstations, and at places of particular risk such as
crossing points on traffic routes. Lighting and light fittings should not create any hazard.
Cleanliness and waste materials
Every workplace and the furniture, furnishings and fittings, should be kept clean and it should be
possible to keep the surfaces of floors, walls and ceilings clean. Cleaning and the removal of
waste should be carried out as necessary by an effective method. Waste should be stored in
suitable receptacles.
Floors and traffic routes
‘Traffic route’ means a route for pedestrian traffic, vehicles, or both, and include any stairs, fixed
ladder, doorway, and gateway, loading bay or ramp. There should be sufficient traffic routes, of
sufficient width and headroom, to allow people and vehicles to circulate safely with ease. Floors
and traffic routes should be sound and strong enough for the loads placed on them and the traffic
expected to use them.
The surfaces should not have holes, be uneven or slippery, and should be kept free of
obstructions.
Restrictions should be clearly indicated.
Where sharp or blind bends are unavoidable or vehicles need to reverse, measures such
as one-way systems and visibility mirrors should be considered.
Speed limits should be set.
Screens should be provided to protect people who have to work where they would be at
risk from exhaust fumes, or to protect people from materials likely to fall from vehicles.
Additional measures need to be taken where pedestrians have to cross or share vehicle
routes. These may include marking of routes, provision of crossing points, bridges,
subways and barriers.
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Open sides of staircases should be fenced with an upper rail at 900 mm or higher and a
lower rail. A handrail should be provided on at least one side of every staircase and on
both sides if there is a particular risk.
Access between floors should not be by ladders or steep stairs.
Loading bays in warehouses should have at least one exit point from the lower level or a
refuge should be provided to avoid people being struck or crushed by vehicles.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
PPE means all equipment designed to be worn or held by a person at work to protect them
against one or more risks, and any addition or accessory designed to meet this objective. This
will include the provision of Boots, Hard Hats, and Heavy Duty Gloves.
There is in effect a hierarchy of control measures that should always be considered in order of
priority. These are :
Eliminate the hazard.

Reduce the hazard.
Isolate the hazard.
Control the extent of exposure/contact with the hazard.
Personal Protective Equipment.
Discipline.
Engineering controls and safe systems of work should always be considered first. It should
therefore be considered that PPE is considered as a last resort in consideration of Risk
Management.
Risk means any risk to health and safety, including wet or extreme temperatures caused by
adverse weather or otherwise - in fact, most of the conditions that you will encounter during the
operations.
PROVISION AND USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT
Work equipment is referred to as: any machinery, appliance apparatus or tool and any assembly
of components, which in order to achieve a common end, are arranged and controlled so that
they function as a whole. Or more simply “an assembly of parts of which one moves”.
Use includes starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing, modifying,

maintaining, servicing, and cleaning, etc. of work equipment. In this context, transporting
includes, for example, using a lift truck to carry goods around a warehouse, as well as the actual
transport operation.
All work equipment should be inspected to ensure that it is working in the way that it is intended
and that all required safety aspects are fitted.
There should be clear instructions, not only made available to the workforce, but which are
brought to their attention regularly.
You will need to ensure that the instructions for the safe operation of all equipment within your
functional area are understood by all of the users and that they have received the appropriate
level of training to operate the equipment safely. You will also need to ensure that you have in
place a system to monitor the use of work equipment to ensure that only trained operators are
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using the equipment and that they are operating it in the right way. Where equipment is not
being used correctly, the employee should not be permitted to use the equipment until re-training
has been given. Keeping records of who is qualified to do what and when they qualified, is an
important part of controlling the safe use of work equipment.
MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
Before undertaking manual handling operations there are three measures that can be
considered. These are:
Avoidance – so far as is reasonably practicable (eliminate or do differently or can it be

automated or mechanised?).
Assess – assess the operation that cannot be avoided.
Reduce – reduce the risk of injury in so far as is reasonably practicable.
Where it is not possible to avoid a manual handling task, we must make suitable and sufficient
assessment of manual handling activities ensuring consideration of the following factors :
The task.
The load.
The working environment.
Individual capability.
For example, some common risk factors in warehouse and transport operations that will apply in
your environment would be :
Description Risk Factors

Load being Too heavy or too large.
handled
Posture Twisting of the body, repetitive bending, load has to be handled away from the
body, unstable posture, load has to be handled at an unsafe height.
Environment There is not enough room, variations in the level of the floor, the floor is uneven or
slippery.
These risk factors can be avoided or reduced through careful management and, in particular, by
using mechanical equipment wherever possible.
The aim of looking at these is to reduce the risk by providing the correct training in manual
handling techniques, laid down procedures and, wherever possible, using personal handling
equipment.
For examples of this, the website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg398.pdf will help.
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SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH
A substance is regarded as hazardous to health if it is hazardous in the form in which it occurs in

the work activity. The hazard can be because the substance is :
Toxic.
Corrosive.
Harmful.
Irritant.
This will include narcotics and medical products being stored in the warehouse or transported
through the supply chain.
If best practice is to be implemented you will need to consider:
Assessing health risks created by work involving substances hazardous to health.

Preventing or adequately controlling the exposure of employees to substances hazardous
to health.
Taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the correct procedures are used by employees
in handling these substances.
Conducting on-going monitoring of exposure where risk has been identified.
Conducting health surveillance of employees who are regularly exposed to hazardous
material.
Providing information, instruction and training for persons who may be exposed to
substances hazardous to health.
DRIVERS’ REGULATIONS
There are a number of areas which can be regarded as providing best practice for regulating the
safety of driving operations. In the transport unit we covered all of them but as a reminder the
following are important.
Driver’s hours should be limited – the recommendation is no more that four and a half hours
before a break of 45 minutes. The daily driving requirement should not exceed nine hours, with
occasional extensions to ten hours.
You should ensure that drivers have a substantial daily rest period of eleven hours between
driving duties, though this can be reduced to ten if the driver of a vehicle is involved in the
loading or unloading of goods, then manual handling training should be provided.
For employed drivers, records should be kept of their :
Driving qualification and dates of qualifying and retraining.

Any accidents on the road.
Where the activity involves movement in, for example, an earthquake zone, appropriate
information on the occurrence of aftershocks, should be gathered before initiating the
movement activity.
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HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS OWN PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Each organisation will have its own policies and processes in the area of Health and Safety, and
the following sections are intended as a prompt for you to consider your own organisation’s
practices in this area.
PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Each organisation will have its own health and safety procedures and policies, probably based
on their country of origin or main location. The organisation should have a policy as to where and
when their own regulations are applied and when the host nation legislation is to be applied.
These documents should also include detailed procedures for the areas above, namely :
Workplace – both within the warehouses and in the use of vehicles.

Display screen equipment in use in the warehouse.
Personal protective equipment (PPE).
Provision and use of work equipment.
Manual handling operations.
Substances hazardous to health.
Driver’s regulations.
We will need to ensure that we are familiar with our own organisation’s policies and guidelines in
each of these areas. Generic information that you may find useful to apply in your situation can
be found in various publications on the UK Health and Safety Executive web site at
www.hse.gov.uk.
We will also need to ensure that local employees of the organisation are aware of the policies
and procedures, as individuals cannot follow them if they are unaware of the contents. One way
of making sure that they are read, is to maintain a register signed by the individuals when they
have read the required documents.
Since the policies and procedures may have to change as a result of amendments to the
legislation on which they are based, or the introduction of new laws, the register can be updated
at regular intervals and all personnel required to re-read the documents. Staff may also need to
be briefed in detail on any changes to practice required by the change.
INJURY AND SICKNESS IN THE WORKPLACE
People at work can suffer injury or sudden illness. It is important that you have made
arrangements to ensure employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at
work. In the event of injury or sudden illness, failure to provide first aid could result in that
person’s death.
THE MANAGER’S DUTIES
The organisation should provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to
enable first aid to be given to employees if they are injured or become ill at work. What is
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adequate will depend on the circumstances in the workplace. This includes whether trained first
aiders are needed, what should be included in a first aid box and if a first aid room is needed.
On setting up the operations, you will need to carry out an assessment of likely first aid needs to
determine this. The assessment should include consideration of workplace hazards and risks,
the size of the organisation, and other relevant factors and should determine what first aid
equipment, facilities and personnel should be provided.
SECURITY FACTORS AND RISKS THAT CAN AFFECT SUPPLY CHAIN

OPERATIONS
Security issues that can affect the supply chain can be considered as coming under three
headings:
Security of the Individuals working in the supply chain.
Security issues concerned with threats to the operation itself.
Security of the goods passing through the supply chain.
SECURITY OF INDIVIDUALS
The threats to individuals are many and come from different sources. They can include a range
of threats from murder through to intimidation, but all must be treated seriously. Even when not
written down in any form of contract, there is always an understanding that if threats are felt to be
too high, the organisation will provide either a higher level of security than is currently in place, or
in the last instance withdrawal from the operation in progress.
Within Humanitarian aid programmes it is very often the Logistician who has the responsibility to
implement the organisation’s procedures in this area and you should ensure that you are familiar
with these, in detail.
You should be aware of issues surrounding local customs and cultures that could develop into
security issues if not addressed correctly. This could manifest itself through threats and
intimidation of staff with the aim of gaining an advantage and can chiefly occur where you are
employing local staff in the warehouse, transport and procurement areas.
There are many guides to security that can be accessed through the UNJLC website at
www.unjlc.org. All of them pay much attention to individuals being aware of circumstances and at
all times avoiding risk where it is practicable to do so. These are the key points in any individual
security plan.
Another useful publication that supports this area is the booklet “Staying Alive”, which is available
as a download from the ICRC website www.icrc.org.
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THREATS TO THE OPERATION ITSELF
When looking at threats to the operation we need to consider the following points :
What sources of knowledge are there on local security issues? These might well include
police, other aid agencies, local staff, and local military organisations.
What are the security risks to the operation?
How can these risks be assessed to identify how serious they are and what are the
potential risks to the operation ?
How can the different risks be managed?
Threats to the whole operation or functional parts of it are dealt with in more detail in the Working
with Others module of this Unit, Working with Others in a Dysfunctional Situation.
SECURITY OF THE GOODS PASSING THROUGH THE SUPPLY CHAIN
The main threat to the goods passing through the operation is that of theft. Whilst it may seem
that this might predominantly happen during the Emergency Relief phase of the operation, it can
occur at any time or any stage of the operation. A culture of poor management control can lead
to losses through error and waste. Indeed, a tolerance of error can lead to an expectation of
loss. This can build to a climate of waste and, where waste and error go un-challenged by
management, will lead to a culture where theft can be expected.
ERROR
Mistakes will happen, but to what degree and are they institutionalised? They can occur in the
following areas :
Stock
Losses may occur through incorrect delivery or stock counts. Adjustments to stock will then
cover the mistake.
This can be overcome by regular and accurate stocktaking and a full comparison of the results
against stock records carried out. It should be known amongst the whole team that variances of
stock against the stock records are rigorously investigated and explained before any stock
adjustment is carried out.
Paperwork
Incorrect paperwork, particularly when concerned with the raising and input of computer
documents, can cause major loss. Incorrect invoices or confusion of debit and credit notes can
cause substantial financial discrepancies.
Again, this can be overcome by regular management checks and controls on the paperwork. We
should check that physical receipts match those recorded in the stock records and that issues
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have also correctly been accounted for. Where management is known to be diligent in carrying
out their own audit, loss through poor paperwork can be minimised.
Systems
Finally, if systems are poor or non-existent, major error can occur. Poor training will result in all
the errors above, so will computer error. As they say "a computer is a device for transforming a
clerical error into a corporate disaster". If a systematic fault exists, it will need to be resolved,
fast.
If you identify failings in this area, you will need to ensure that issues around systems are
reported back up the supply chain and that you follow this up to ensure that you can have the
proper confidence in the system provided to support the supply chain operation.
It is important to consider also, that none of these areas for loss exist in isolation. Each feeds on,
and adds to each other. For example, if error is not detected and stopped, it will become
deliberate and used as a cover for theft. If systems are known to be weak, they will soon be
manipulated to cause fraud, a type of theft that can reach massive proportions. Similarly
damage can be used, if control of damaged goods and their disposal are not carefully
supervised, to become an area for theft. Consider a warehouse containing drugs and medicines,
where cases are split into individual doses during order picking. Supposed damage can quite
easily become theft, and amount to a quite large financial loss as well as creating an illegal trade
in highly valuable and desirable products.
Prevention of errors
Prevention of errors is a fundamental task of management and requires good training and
effective systems to make sure those operations are carried out right, first time. All managers
should be aware of the costs of errors being made and the negative effect this can have on the
organisations ability to deliver on its work with the beneficiaries.
WASTE
Waste is an area caused almost exclusively by lack of management or managerial control. It can
be split into several areas :
Stock.
Resources.
Time.
Transport.
Stock
Wastage of stock may occur due to :
Damage - Poor unloading, handling and storage, will cause stock loss. Poor packing and
breakages may have occurred before delivery but, if unchecked or recorded, they become
your loss.
Storage - Poor stock rotation will result in out of date stock of no value. Poor conditions
may result in deterioration until items are unsaleable.
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Administration - Poor stock ordering and control will result in old stock causing
markdowns and write offs.
Resources
These can be a waste of people, material or machinery. Poor staff planning or training will result
in the wrong people for the job. Fuel, heat and light are often wasted. Machinery may lie idle if
staff is unavailable or untrained.
Time
Bad planning results in wasted time; of people, or machines through bottlenecks or idleness due
to lack of management.
Transport
Wastage can be particularly high in transport where poor planning of manpower, maintenance,
loads or routes, leads to reduced utilisation.
Prevention of Waste
Prevention of waste relies on managers ensuring that correct systems are in place to :
Prevent damage to stock.

Ensure that the correct storage methods are used appropriate to the product.
Have good stock administration procedures.
Make efficient use of resources.
Use time effectively.
Ensure that transport is correctly utilised.
Diligent and observant management by walking about (MWBA) is an essential element of
preventing losses by waste.
THEFT
Theft can be broken down into :

Internal theft (carried out by those inside the operation).
External theft (by those coming from outside).
Internal Theft
Internal theft is that undertaken by employees. It is the major theft area, accounting for around
80% of all theft in the commercial world, and is mainly carried out by "trusted" employees.
Much theft can be prevented, if staff selection at the recruitment stage is rigorous. However, in a
humanitarian operation this checking may be almost impossible at the operative level, particularly
in the early stages of the emergency relief phase.
Good management will prevent much theft, but there will also be people who chance their luck,
sometimes for reasons with which you might have some empathy considering the nature of the
emergency.
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However, theft can never be condoned, and if suspected you may need to take early action to
prevent the problem from escalating.
One method of prevention is to instigate a policy of staff searches. Before introducing such a
policy you will need to ensure that it has been agreed up your chain of management.
Staff searches are a good preventative aid. They indicate your general toughness and
determination to stop theft. The search policy spills over into other areas and helps to bring a
general awareness to all. The main points are as follows:
It needs to be a stated and clear policy.

Searches must be random, and be known not to reflect on the honesty of the individual(s)
searched.
Searches must be carried out on a regular basis. That means that having the policy and
not using it is a waste of time.
Searches should be for all, including managers.
External theft
External theft is that which is perpetrated by a person outside the organisation. It accounts for
around 15% of all theft in the commercial world.. That person may act in collusion with a
member of staff however, and this should be watched for. External theft can either be your
warehouse or from vehicles carrying the goods in transit from one location to another.
Theft from premises can be prevented by physical security measures, including perimeter
fencing, security patrols, access controls to the site, use of monitoring equipment (for example,
CCTV cameras).
We looked at the security of goods in transit in the transport module but, as a reminder, the theft
of goods in transit can be deterred by using physical security measures on the vehicles to protect
the goods (locks, etc), through using different routes when possible, although this may be very
limited in aid operations, and ensuring that the vehicle is not left unattended.
There will be occasions when the prevention of external theft becomes very difficult, particularly
where the situation has moved from the normal state to one where the normal rule of law or
conventions of society have broken down. In this type of dysfunctional situation, the security of
the individuals will be of a higher consideration than the security of the goods in the supply.
Goods can be replaced - trained, competent people are more difficult.
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MODULE 5 : MANAGING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF
ACTIVITIES
Every part of the Humanitarian aid programme will incur costs. A major element of these will be
those incurred by the supply chain activity. In some cases we will be able to plan for the ongoing
expenditure, in which case we will be able to produce a budget for it. In others situations, costs
will be occurred in way that prior planning is not possible, most probably at the push phase of the
operation. As managers, we need to be conscious of the costs, of how we control cost and how
we investigate variances of cost against that planned for. To do this we will cover the following
areas in this module:
Transparency leads to auditability and accountability

Budget types and their uses.
Financial information used for planning and budgeting.
Financial indicators of performance.
Financial records.
Claims Management
The main accountability for financial planning and control activity obviously lies with the financial
function in any organisation. However, input to the financial plan and measurement against the
plan, as part of the control activity, is part of the responsibility at any level of management and at
whatever stage of the emergency we are currently in. Quick purchases made during the push
phase will need to be accounted for in exactly the same way as purchases for which the full
procedures have been followed during the call-forward and pull phases of the aid mission.
TRANSPARENCY LEADS TO AUDITABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

All kinds of procedures and regulations exist that specify the rules that must be followed to
ensure that the organisation is financially accountable. These rules will impact operations
throughout the supply chain transition from push to pull.
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It is important that managers are familiar with these rules and that they are able to create
transparency about how they were followed. This transparency enables actions to be audited
which, in turn, will allow the organisation to demonstrate accountability.
BUDGETS TYPES AND THEIR USES

In order to form a part of the overall programme budget, we will need to think about the budget
that we will need for managing the supply chain. This might be another area that has seemingly
less importance when we start the emergency relief phase of an operation and resources are
being pushed to us at a fast rate. However control of costs should never be far from our thinking.
As we start to work in the later phases of a programme we will need to think in more detail about
the way that this resource is managed. It is certainly an area where donors will take more of an
interest to ensure that their contribution has been used effectively and in the way that they
intended. In thinking about preparing a budget, we need to consider several factors from
considering why we need to budget at all, the types of budget and how they are put together.
The steps are, therefore:
Why we budget.
How budgets are produced.
WHY WE BUDGET
For a budget to be accepted and for the above benefits to be achieved, the budget system must
exhibit three features:
Realism.
Achievability.
Commitment.
An example of realism would be a budget that accurately models the operation that it represents.
A budget that has too much “slack” does not allow robust control and financial management. It
must also be achievable. A budget that is not achievable will demotivate its managers and may
encourage them to give up from the start. It must however show a commitment from its designers
to deliver the objectives.
The attainment of these features will often depend on who has produced the budget and how the
budget has actually been constructed.
There are a variety of benefits that can be gained from using budgets at all levels:
Coordination – the budget helps to co–ordinate all the areas within an organisation and
guides them towards the common overall objectives.
Responsibility – the budget can help to clarify areas of responsibility within the
organisation so making people more aware of their role and how much resource is
available to them in each period. Once they are aware of the budget parameters, and
effective reporting systems are in place, the managers should be given autonomy to run
their own area.
Utilisation – the budget can help to maximise the use of resources. The production of the
budget can indicate where capital is required in the operation as a whole, as opposed to
allocating cash on an ad hoc basis throughout the year.
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Motivation – the actual production of the budget can be a motivating task if done
effectively, and the budget system itself will generate targets and reports on a regular
basis, which can prove motivating.
Planning – the budget will be used as a planning tool, and the production of the budget will
be a time when managers will look at their own areas, assess the weaknesses and
strengths, look at the operating environment and try to forecast into the future.
Evaluation – the budget can be used as an evaluation tool for two reasons. Firstly, as an
early warning system that things might not be going as planned. Secondly, the budget can
be used as an early warning system of the individual managing those figures. Therefore
budget figures are useful for building development plans at appraisal time.
Telling – the budget can be used as a means of communication. Targets and ways to
meet those targets are shared throughout the organisation both horizontally and vertically.
Budgets developed for humanitarian operations will be based on a number of “known” costs and
also some assumptions. For example wage costs for permanent staff are “known”, but the
assumed costs for local labour might be based on information available before the humanitarian
response was required and the dynamics of this may have changed after the situation has arisen
and we find ourselves in a competitive situation for labour.
HOW BUDGETS ARE PRODUCED
We can now look at how budgets are actually constructed, both in a broad sense and then in
more detail. The process for preparing a budget follows a number of steps :
Programme guidelines and assumptions.

Constraining factors.
Production of the first draft.
Integration and review.
Acceptance and commitment.
PROGRAMME GUIDELINES AND ASSUMPTIONS
Your aid organisation will set the overall strategy for the programme and communicate the likely
resources that will be available to you for your element. They also clarify any assumptions about
the external environment in which the programme will be run which should be used by all
involved in the budget setting process. This prevents individual managers from establishing their
own assumptions and enables budgets from different operational areas to be compared and
consolidated.
CONSTRAINING FACTORS
It is important to identify the key constraining factors that will limit the level of activity within the
operations. It is usually the level of supply chain activity but could be other factors, for example
labour availability. Whatever the constraining factors, they need to be accommodated within the
budget.
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PRODUCTION OF FIRST DRAFT BUDGETS AND ASSUMPTIONS
Once we know the programme guidelines and assumptions and the constraining factors and
expected levels of activity communicated, the budget setting process can start. Managers start
by calculating their first draft estimates.
It is key at this stage that you talk to other managers as one programme area can easily
influence another area and any conflicts/incompatibility should be dealt with as soon as possible.
In this stage managers should be aware of the following ;
Not to just focus on the numbers themselves but must also think about the overall
operation.
Confirm that the budget meets the objectives of the organisation.
Assess whether the assumptions they have used in preparing their draft estimates are
realistic.
INTEGRATION AND REVIEW
Where necessary several operational budgets may be integrated into a single in country budget,
or be retained as separate ones. They are then presented for review, which will allow the senior
managers to assess whether :
The programmes top level aims will be met.

The budget is achievable given the overall organisation’s resource constraints.
The individual budgets are realistic, achievable and at the same time ‘stretching’ enough
for the management team.
ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT
The budget should be formally accepted and signed off so we know what is to be expected in the
coming budget period.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION USED FOR PLANNING AND BUDGETING

To be able to control our costs, we need to understand the cost elements in the supply chain and
how these are made up and we will look at the following:
How financial information can improve performance.

How costs are made up.
HOW FINANCIAL INFORMATION CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
Successful management within supply chains is impossible without a constant flow of

information. This information may include items such as volumes of goods handled through the
warehouse and the number of transport operations performed. For this information to be
translated into a manner in which true performance can be measured, the financial implications
must be calculated and presented to financial managers in a meaningful way.
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It is necessary for management to be able to identify the different functions and apply a financial
measure. This in turn leads to the means of controlling costs and improving efficiency. It is
necessary to be able to view the costs together with the various activities.
As logistics managers, the types of information that we will be required to produce will include
such areas as:
The volume of goods handled.

The value of the stock held, the cost of any reductions in stock (shrinkage).
The volume of goods delivered by our transport.
The costs of administration and specialist areas such as computer services, training, etc.
Specific finance information might include:
Warehouse.
Rent and rates.
Heating, lighting, phones.
Staff wages and other costs.
Transport.
Rental of vehicles and trailers.
Fuel, maintenance.
Licences, insurances.
Wages.
Inventory.
Administrative wages.
Interest on stock.
Value of losses from the warehouse and/or transport.
This information will be presented alongside the activities, which may be shown as numbers of
cases, pallets, cubic metre of goods, items or units. Ratios will be prepared which will illustrate
performance trends.
The Financial Manager/Accounting Officer will be responsible for the preparation of an overall
budget and updating relevant management on how the operational areas are performing against
this budget. However, he will not be able to do this, or review the performance against the
planned budget without the specific input on the logistics activity.
Once we start moving from the push phase of the operation to the pull phase, we will need to
introduce performance measures and to ensure we are getting the best productivity from our
operations. From the financial information provided, performance targets may be realistically set
to encourage improved productivity. For instance, as the logistics manager, you may be warned
that costs per product are too high and a target figure set. This should stimulate you into finding
ways of reducing your costs wherever you buy, for example, reducing temporary staff, cutting
down waste or improving the working schedules.
HOW COSTS ARE MADE UP
Costs can be divided into several categories and also there are several terms that apply to costs
that it is useful to understand. We will investigate:
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Fixed costs.
Variable costs.
Other cost terminology.
Categories of costs in logistics.
Costing supply chain activities.
FIXED COSTS
Fixed costs are costs which do not change as a result of the level of activity. Over a long period
fixed costs will have to be changed if activity and volumes alter radically. However, in the short
term, management can do little about the level of fixed costs.
Examples of fixed costs in Warehousing would typically be:
The rent and rates.

Insurance premiums.
Heat, light, phone rentals.
The basic wages of the staff (sometimes these are identified as "semi-variable").
In all these, short-term measures to reduce costs are extremely limited.
In the case of Transport operations there is a much closer balance between fixed and variable.
Transport fixed costs are often called Standing Costs and would typically be :
Licences and vehicle insurance.

Garage rent and rates.
Driver basic wages (sometimes classified as "semi-variable").
VARIABLE COSTS
As the name implies, variable costs can vary with the level of activity.
Variable costs in warehousing would typically be:
Staff overtime.
Temporary labour.
Short-term hire of equipment.
Requirements of extra pallets, cages strapping etc.
Maintenance of equipment.
Short-term action can generally be taken to deal with these costs, if volumes are decreased.
However, in the case of warehousing, these variable costs can be relatively small in relation to
the fixed costs and, therefore, accurate careful long term planning for warehousing is vital.
Transport Variable Costs are often called Running Costs and unlike Fixed Costs, will change,
sometimes quite significantly, in line with the level of activity. For the larger vehicle - e.g. 38
tonnes gross - fixed and variable will normally be around 50% of total costs each. The smaller
the vehicle, there will normally be a higher proportion of fixed costs because variables such as
fuel and maintenance are much lower.
A common way of being able to reduce costs by adding only to the variable costs would be to
bring third party work into an operation.
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Variable costs in transport would normally include the following:
Drivers' expenses.
Maintenance and tyres.
Fuel and oil.
Tolls, ferry charges etc.
Relief vehicle hire.
Breakdown costs.
If there is a change to the supply chain plan that necessitates you reviewing your level of activity,
you will need to make a judgement on whether to increase the fixed costs or whether you are
able to able to incur the costs of extra work within the variable costs area only.
Examples of this situation would be if:
The vehicles are poorly utilised and the extra work could be accommodated within the
present fleet and within the normal work cycle.
The opportunity is there to utilise runs when the vehicle is empty, e.g., returning from a
delivery run.
Whether the vehicle could be used at additional times within the work cycle, for example if
the vehicles are only used during the day, would the situation allow you to run vehicles at
night - the only extra costs would be variable ones.
Being aware of the fixed costs, and adding to the level of activity, so that we fully utilise the
assets giving rise to these fixed costs, is an important responsibility of management. Remember
that fixed costs have to be paid for, irrespective of the level of activity. Adding to the activity,
therefore, will generally, add only to the variable costs.
OTHER COST TERMINOLOGY
You may also come across other financial expressions and it is useful to understand these.
Some of the best known ones are as follows:
Controllable - A cost, which you directly control. This can apply to both fixed and variable
but, generally, certainly for short-term action, the cost will be variable.
Uncontrollable - A cost, which you do not directly control but which is imposed upon you.
In a humanitarian context this might be the costs of electricity in the warehouse.
Semi-Variable Costs - A cost, which varies but not directly in line with the level of activity.
Wages are sometimes defined as semi-variable, with the basic pay being fixed and
overtime variable.
Cost Centre - A location, person, or item of equipment in respect of which costs may be
directly established and related to units of cost. In order to improve the control of
organisations, management frequently break operations down into small cost centres and
you may find the logistics operations designated as a Cost Centre.
Cost Unit - A unit, representing a relevant item or activity, in which costs may be
expressed. For example, the cost of a blanket or drum of cooking oil.
Direct Cost - This is a cost, which can be directly charged to a cost unit - an activity or
item. It is also a cost, which can be charged to a particular operating area or cost centre.
Indirect Cost - A cost, which is incurred but cannot be identified with a specific cost centre
or unit.
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CATEGORIES OF COST IN LOGISTICS
Whilst recognising there are many types of cost, it is important to be able to identify the main
categories of cost within a supply chain in the principal operating functions:
Transport.
Warehousing.
Inventory.
Sourcing
In supply chain operations the following broad categories of cost should be the basis of the
management accounts.
Transport
Driver costs.
Vehicle fixed costs.
Vehicle variable costs.
Warehousing
Storage, building occupancy costs.

Equipment operating costs.
Handling, direct labour costs.
Inventory
Interest charges.
Contents insurance where this applicable.
Stock losses.
Stock taking labour costs.
Sourcing
Cost of making a purchase.

Costs of monitoring suppliers.
COSTING SUPPLY CHAIN ACTIVITIES
In order to provide meaningful information for the financial plan, we need to establish the costs of
each of the components within our element of the supply chain. This will be centred on the
delivery component of the supply chain and will need to include the cost of managing returns
back through the supply chain.
Costs which relate directly to a specific area of the supply chain must be identified.
Overhead costs cover all the other supply chain costs which are not directly attributable to a
specific activity.
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Costs can be aggregated by distribution channel, to give an overall cost to meet the programme
requirements, for a particular product or category of products through a specific channel.
We will need to establish:
Fixed Costs.
Variable Costs.
Direct Costs.
Indirect Costs.
Establishing Fixed Costs
We can express fixed cost in terms of a unit cost per day, per hour, per m2 etc.
The greater the level of throughput which is handled by a resource, the lower will be the unit fixed
cost.
For example if the annual fixed cost of a piece of machinery is $100,000 and it is used for
16 hours per day for 6 days each week, this would equate to a fixed cost of $20.03 per
hour.
If it handled 50000 units per year, the fixed cost per unit would be $2.00. If it handled
100000 units per year, the fixed cost per unit would be $1.00.
We can minimise fixed costs by operating the resource to capacity at all times.
Establishing Variable Costs
With transport, for example, variable costs will often be expressed in terms of cost per kilometre
travelled. In general terms this figure would be the same whether the equipment travelled 100 km
or 1000 km.
As with fixed costs, variable costs can be expressed in terms of unit throughput. As the number
of units handled by a resource increases, the variable cost per unit decreases.
Establishing Direct Costs
Direct costs are costs which can be directly attributable to a specific area of the supply chain.
Direct distribution costs are costs such as labour employed in the warehouse or in the transport
operation and maintenance of the Mechanical Handling Equipment or vehicles.
The more of the cost base that is directly attributable to a particular area, the more accountable
management can be made for its share of supply chain costs.
Direct costs can be both fixed and variable in nature.
Once we have established our costs at unit level, then we can translate this into quantities and
values. Only once we have established that the overall unit cost of receiving, storing and moving
a tent from the donor to the beneficiary is, can we then establish the costs of handling different
volumes or capacities of the goods. Then as the programme requirements change, we can
make informed decisions on the effects of these changes on the overall supply chain operation.
It is also at this stage that we can start to address the needs of the budget requirement.
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FINANCIAL INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE
Once our budget has been agreed, we will need to set in place control mechanisms to ensure
that we monitor our costs against this budget. The steps here are :
The control process.

Variance analysis.
THE CONTROL PROCESS
The control process is a vital mechanism in managing the organisation as it allows review of
performance and provides a means of communication between managers at different points
within the organisation :
Senior managers are likely to want reports on a periodic basis, which give them
reassurance that the operation is meeting or surpassing its objectives, or which show what
managers are doing when the operation is not in line with these targets. These reports will
form an important part of the audit that donors will want to be aware of to ensure their
requirements have been reflected.
Operating managers require more detailed reports that show comparisons between actual
results and expected results. These reports show the numeric impact of the everyday
activities within the supply chain.
Managers at all levels will use these comparisons or variances to help monitor and control the
costs of the programme.
VARIANCE ANALYSIS
A variance is literally the difference between two figures, usually the budget or expected figure
and the actual result. It is a number generated by an operational decision and could be positive
(favourable) or negative (adverse). It is important when reviewing variances to understand
exactly how the analysis has been structured; some organisations put a bracket around adverse
variances others may not.
A typical variance analysis will show the following information and under this, a detailed
breakdown for the revenues or costs within the area of the business being reviewed:
Actual this month, budget this month and variance (difference).

Cumulative actual for the year, cumulative budget for the year and variance (difference)
Original budget for the year and latest estimate.
The latest estimate column gives an indication of the likeliest outcome for the rest of the year,
given what has happened so far and what is likely to happen before the next year end. It is this
column which gives the forward looking perspective to the budgeting process, and allows senior
managers to assess whether their original targets are likely to be hit or whether they need to
think about revising them.
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Having an analysis is not the solution to our management needs. We need to understand how
variances are calculated, what they mean and how they are interlinked, so that we can effectively
use them in our decision making process. As we have previously discussed about other resource
management, good management practice says that we need to analyse variances and be able to
provide an explanation of what has happened, both good and bad.
FINANCIAL RECORDS
In support of the organisation’s formal accounts each operational area will need to maintain
financial records.
The following records should be maintained :
Copies of all orders placed on suppliers and the invoices associated with them.
Copies of any Lease and Hire agreements entered into by the operation.
An asset register maintaining a record of all physical assets but not including operating
stocks.
Records of all wages and payments made.
Any taxes paid or due to be paid, including any sales, value added or local income taxes.
Copies of any estimates, quotations or tenders submitted in respect of contracts that either
have been or are going to be placed. This should include all tenders etc. not just the
successful ones.
Copies of proof of delivery/receipt documents for all goods received and also all goods
delivered.
Any other records required for audit purposes.
CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
A claim is a request for compensation in case of damages or losses to goods, assets or services.
For example, it may happen that goods do not arrive at all, only partially or arrive damaged. The
financial impact of such damages can be enormous. It is therefore important to properly manage
a claim to be able to minimise the potential financial loss.
Each organisation will have its own rules and procedures, but underpinning these is a set of good
management principles. Most organisations will arrange insurance through an insurance
company to cover such losses or damages. Following the principles will ensure that, in an event
where loss is incurred, a successful claim will be able to be made.
There are a number of instances where claims need to be made all along the supply chain. In
previous units (Procurement, warehouse, transport, fleet, import-export), we have learnt how to
minimise the risk. Logistics operations may involve large financial transactions. If operations are
not carefully managed, substantial (financial) losses could occur.
Firstly, the risk factor must be kept to a minimum throughout the supply chain. Prevention is
better than pursuing recompense through a claim. As managers there are things which we can
do to ensure we minimise the risk. For example in:
Purchasing - selecting reliable suppliers, choosing quality products, having goods

professionally inspected
Warehousing - ensuring proper security, safe and clean storage, documenting all incoming
and outgoing goods, having an up-to-date stock position, performing periodic stocks
counts
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Transport - using reliable transportation, monitoring closely the progress of shipments,
having a proper contract
Fleet management - performing regular preventative maintenance, provide good training
for drivers, respect rules and regulations especially in security.
Following the above mentioned principles in a proactive way, will limit damages and losses.
Unfortunately, in some circumstances despite following these it will not be possible to prevent
occurrence of damages or loss. When an incident occurs, it is important to react as quickly as
possible.
The first important action is to document the incident fully recording dates and times, people
involved and an accurate description of the resultant loss.
Second, it is important to follow proper procedures and inform the relevant department
(administration, finance, legal) so that steps can be taken to investigate whether:
Proper proof exists to document the incident in case of legal proceedings

The damages are recoverable by a claim against a supplier, transport company, handling
agent or against the insurance policy in force
Appropriate incident reports, claims reports or statements issued by the local authorities
have been completed accurately.
Below are some basic rules to manage claims properly:
FLEET
Irrespective of the type of vehicle insurance the organisation has, it is important to get all
necessary documents sent to the relevant department for action ( preferably within 48 hours).
Most organisations have their own specific documents. These documents should contain:
Accident report
Declaration of damages
Police report (when applicable)
Pictures of the vehicle and the scene
All related invoices linked to the accident need to be promptly sent for reimbursement.
TRANSPORT
It is important to preserve the rights of recovery against third parties who may be held
responsible for the loss or damage. In particular, the following steps shall be taken:
Outward apparent loss or damage must be notified to the carrier in writing at the time of
delivery and prior to the acceptance of the goods.
For damages that are only noticed after receipt, a claim letter, called a Letter of Reserve,
has to be sent to the company who has delivered the goods. The letter of reserve should
preferably be sent by hand and its receipt acknowledged. The letter of reserve has to hold
the carrier duly responsible for the loss or damage and invite the carrier to attend a joint
survey and inspection conducted by a claim or average agent. (Once again follow the
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procedures of your organisation. It is usually important to call an average (claim) agent,
but it will depend on different organisations and the level of losses)
Guidance time limits for filing a claim are:
Air transport - 7 days

Sea transport - 3 days
Rail transport - 7 days
Road transport - 7 days
The time limit starts once the damages or losses are noticed or at the latest when the goods are
delivered. Beyond this limit, claims are not receivable. A claim should be filed in case of doubt in
the good condition of goods.
PROCUREMENT
In the case of loss or damage noticed on receipt of internationally purchased goods (including
transport) Incoterms apply. This is why it is important to control the quality of the goods by an
inspection company at the moment of the transfer of “costs” and “risks”. (See details in
Import/Export unit).
A good contract will prevent any losses when receiving goods which are not in conformity of what
has been agreed between the buyer and the seller. The purchasing department should be
informed immediately of any problem (quality, quantity) at the receiving end.
WAREHOUSE
The warehouse links with transport at the receiving point and hence the guidelines contained
above in transport are also applicable here.
In all warehouses, there is a risk of goods becoming lost or stolen. Putting maximum effort into
prevention and managing the operation professionally will reduce the risk.
If the warehouse has been broken into, inform the relevant department as well as the local
police. A claim report should be filled out as soon as possible and include at least:
A list of what has been stolen and its value

A description of the break-in including the police report
Of course, the stock cards and reports should be corrected accordingly.
An official claim is always a long and administrative process. It is always advisable to try to find
an agreement with the third party concerned, mainly when small amounts of money are involved
in the loss or damage.
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MODULE 6 : WORKING WITH OTHERS
With all of the organisations or individuals that we are going to work with, we will need to identify
the level within the organisation that we need to develop the relationship with, the closeness of
the relationship and the types of information and communication that we will need to share. We
will also want to think about how to make the most of the relationship by collaborating with them
on a win-win basis. Formally, this process can be called creating a relationship map.
We need to understand this map and the interactions within it. Within this module, we will look
at:
Actors and stakeholders in the humanitarian supply chain.

Building trust.
What can be shared.
How we can share.
Relationship building skills/influencing for a Win-Win.
Working together in a Dysfunctional Situation
While we are preparing the deployment of people to a humanitarian aid operation, we may find
the opportunities to work with others outside of our own organisation quite limited. We will be too
busy looking at what we need to do to get into the country to be too concerned at what other
agencies might be doing. However, once into the country, we will need to start working with
others very quickly and to start building trust with the other organisations involved. It is the
emergency response, built on trust developed in the emergency relief phase between the
different actors that will succeed in delivering to the beneficiries.
Not all of the actors will be present in the field when we first arrive and we will need to ensure
that, as new actors join and as we move to the ongoing phases of the operation, they become a
part of our network and we start to develop trust and relationships with all of the organisations
with whom we will need to work.
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ACTORS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE HUMANITARIAN SUPPLY
CHAIN
As we discovered in the first unit of this course, there are a number of different types of
organisations who are involved in different ways, and who play different roles in humanitarian
aid. The main types we are likely to interact with are:
Civilian and Military authorities.

UN Agencies.
Non Government Organisations.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Institutional Donors.
Private sector stakeholders.
Media.
Head Office and Regional Office of our own Organisation.
Programme Staff.
In order to set up our own element of the humanitarian response we will need to interact and
obtain information from all of these actors and from other stakeholders, such as the beneficiaries’
own representatives. For example, we might be looking to provide transport from local sources
but so might other agencies. Rather than competing and perhaps not fully utilising the resources
individually a joint operation to share transport could be much more efficient and important if
there are limited resources available.
The other area that should not be ignored is that of local official organisations and companies.
They are more sensitive to the needs of the population, understand issues around local culture,
speak the language and have the necessary contacts to get things done. The usefulness of
these contacts should not be underestimated.
Not only will the channels of communication be essential, but it will also be vitally important to
build trust with these organisations.
A useful exercise at this point is to think about your current position, what is your relationship
map? Who do you have relationships with and at what level are these relationships – formal,
semi-formal, informal?
BUILDING TRUST
An individual’s behaviour and actions will impact on the humanitarian operation, we might find it
beneficial if these can be changed to deliver an overall improvement for the supply chain; rather
than an individual’s gain that is to the detriment of the programme. To reach this area of
improvement requires a building of trust.
Experience has shown on many occasions that humanitarian organisations working in the same
theatre of operations find it hard to share. This leads to the wasting of resources, which very
often we cannot afford to have wasted in this environment. With this type of confrontational
approach, trust was a long way from people’s mind.
We also need to recognise that there may be situations where actors find it difficult to
collaborate, not through any lack of will locally, but because specific donor requirements drive
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them down a particular route. This does not mean that we cannot have a relationship with the
organisation, indeed it is better that we create that working relationship so that we can both
understand where and how we can collaborate and the circumstances that a preventing that
collaboration at this point in time. Having established sound relationships between the
organisations, as we move through “call forward” and “pull”, opportunities for collaboration are
likely to emerge and these can be built from a position of trust.
Some steps that accelerate the building of trust and the building of relationships can be seen
below:
Shared information – we could well hold information on numbers of expected beneficiaries
that will be useful to others, and they may have something that we can use.
Shared resources – where two or more agencies are supplying the same goods we might
want to make agreements so that duplication is removed.
Shared goals – one agency seeking to provide shelter could use resources that would at
this point in time be better used for food deliveries. Agreeing shared goals and priorities
could assist to overcome this.
The results of working together can be :
Shared resources.
Information compatibility – shared systems.
Shared best practices.
Shared benefits.
Although this is not something that can happen overnight, by sharing information, metrics and
even people, organisations are breaking down the old barriers between them and starting to build
collaborative relationships.
Building relationships can be hard work and there is a danger that any teething problems met on
the way will immediately bring back historic blame cultures, barriers will spring up and trust will
be lost.
Before any improvement can be made in the way we interact with others, we need to improve
communication between us, both :
Internally, between organisation teams, activities and functions.

Externally, between supply chain partners, beneficiaries and suppliers.
There are many examples of improving communication and the resulting benefits. If teams within
the individual humanitarian supply chain links do not communicate well, for example the sourcing
function struggles to communicate internally; there is very little chance they will communicate
well with other functions, both internally and externally to the supply chain function. These
scenarios make the business less effective and efficient.
Therefore, the first step is to improve internal communications within the operational team and
raise this to an organisational level. Once this has been achieved then communication with other
actors and stakeholders can be improved. Externally, a powerful example is the sharing of
information such as beneficiary requirements within supply chains.
Once we get into the disaster relief operation there will be a number of different humanitarian aid
organisations involved. These will include UN Agencies, international NGOs and local NGOs. A
number of these organisations, particularly the NGOs, will all be setting up and then managing
their own supply chains to be able to source, move and then distribute goods. Each supply chain
will have the same main objectives to meet the needs of the beneficiaries at the optimum cost.
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There are therefore opportunities for the people setting up and managing their own supply chains
to work together with their counterparts in other aid organisations. Without this co-operation, it is
possible to have supply chains competing with each other.
This co-operation can start at the assessment stage by either doing joint supply chain
assessments or by sharing information from their separate assessments.
WHAT CAN BE SHARED

In the early days of the disaster, when facilities and resources are being set up, they will be
competing for warehouses, vehicles, supplies, suppliers and people. There may be opportunities
to work together and share information particularly when :
Recruiting local people.

Sourcing from the same suppliers.
Identifying suitable warehousing.
As the relief operation gets underway, orders may be placed on the same suppliers and goods
will move through the same ports, airports, and along the same roads. Again, there will be
opportunities to work together so that competition doesn’t lead to individual supply chains not
being able to perform well.
We have mentioned competition between organisations a number of times during this

programme and the potential negative aspects of competition, i.e. duplication, coordination
problems and pushing up prices for goods and services.
It is important when we consider improvements in supply chain to recognise that there is a

positive aspect of competition.
Competition should encourage aid organisations to continually improve their performance, as it

will usually be the most efficient and effective organisations that will get first access to resources.
HOW WE CAN SHARE

As a first step to collaboration with other actors in the field and whether in a general context or
supply chain specific, information can be shared including that on objectives, roles and
responsibilities. Unlike other elements of the Programme, that might have quite diverse
mandates from their equivalents in other agencies in theatre, logisticians will have more goals in
common and the opportunities and practicalities of sharing are greater. In you discussions, you
might want to include the following:
The logistics resources and capabilities you have available.

The type of and how much assistance that you can provide to their logistics effort.
Your specific areas of logistics operations.
Your supply chain priorities.
Future projects and your plans for the supply chain to support those projects.
Sources of data and information.
The second step would be to start working together in the field :
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At assessing supply chain requirements to meet beneficiary needs.
At setting mutual standards of supply chain assistance.
At mobilising external resources to support the logistics operation.
At building local and national capacities within the supply chain.
At joint training of logistics staff.
In the collaborative stage you will find the different actors will start to share plans and resources :
Through joint contingency planning ('what if ?').

Through joint strategic supply chain planning .
Through joint operational supply chain planning.
Through joint logistics planning.
By sharing their experts.
By sharing logistics infrastructure (communication and transport).
By implementing joint logistics operations.
Working through these steps will allow the development of trust and collaboration within all
aspects of the operation, both internally to your humanitarian aid organisation and externally with
other humanitarian actors, especially your logistical counterparts.
A truly collaborative arrangement will result in a win-win situation for both parties.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SKILLS/INFLUENCING FOR A WIN-WIN
To build effective relationships you will need to develop good relationship building skills, built on
the principle of win/win.
Why build relationships?

Preparing for successful discussions.
Communication style.
Successfully conclude discussions.
WHY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS?
Relationship building skills often help you to resolve situations where what you want conflicts with
what someone else wants. The aim of relationship building is to explore the situation to find a
solution that is acceptable to both parties, resulting in a win-win situation.
There are different styles of relationship building, depending on circumstances. Where you do
not expect to deal with people ever again and you do not need their goodwill, then it may be
appropriate to ‘play hardball’, seeking to win while the other person loses out.
This approach is usually wrong for resolving disputes with people you have, or wish to develop,
an ongoing relationship with: if one person plays hardball, then this disadvantages the other
person – this may, quite fairly, lead to reprisal later. Similarly, using tricks and manipulation
during relationship building can severely undermine trust and damage teamwork. While a
manipulative person may not get caught out if negotiation is infrequent, this is not the case when
people work together on a frequent basis. Honesty and openness in discussions are the best
policies in this case.
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PREPARING FOR SUCCESSFUL DISCUSSIONS
Depending on the scale of the discussions, a level of preparation may be appropriate for
conducting them successfully.
For small disagreements, excessive preparation can be counter-productive because it takes time
that is better used elsewhere. It can also be seen as manipulative because just as it strengthens
your position, it can weaken the other person’s.
If a major disagreement needs to be resolved, then it can be worth preparing thoroughly. Think
through the following points before you start discussions :
Goals: what do you want to get out of the relationship? What do you expect the other
person to want?
Trades offs: What do you and the other person have that you can trade? What do you
each have that the other might want? What might you each be prepared to give away?
Alternatives: if you don’t reach agreement with the other person, what alternatives do you
have? Are these good or bad? How much does it matter if you do not reach agreement?
Does failure to reach an agreement cut you out of future opportunities? What alternatives
might the other person have?
‘Expected outcomes’: what outcome will people be expecting from this relationship? What
has the outcome been in the past, and what precedents have been set?
Power: who has what power in the relationship? Who controls resources? Who stands to
lose the most if agreement isn’t reached? What power does the other person have to
deliver what you hope for?
Possible solutions: based on all of the considerations, what possible compromises might
there be?
COMMUNICATION STYLE
For discussions to be 'win-win', both parties should feel positive about the situation when the
discussions are concluded. This helps to maintain a good working relationship afterwards. This
governs the style of the discussion – histrionics and displays of emotion are clearly inappropriate
because they undermine the rational basis of the negotiation and because they bring a
manipulative aspect to them.
Despite this, emotion can be an important subject of discussion because people's emotional
needs must fairly be met. If emotion is not discussed where it needs to be, then the agreement
reached can be unsatisfactory and temporary. Be as detached as possible when discussing your
own emotions – perhaps discuss them as if they belong to someone else.
SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDE DISCUSSIONS
The discussions themselves are a careful exploration of your position and the other person’s
position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much
of what you want as possible. People's positions are rarely as fundamentally opposed as they
may initially appear - the other person may quite often have very different goals from the ones
you expect!
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In an ideal situation, you will find that the other person wants what you are prepared to trade, and
that you are prepared to give what the other person wants.
If this is not the case and one person must give way, then it is fair for this person to try to discuss
some form of compensation for doing so – the scale of this compensation will often depend on
many of the factors we discussed above. Ultimately, both sides should feel comfortable with the
final solution if the relationship is to be considered win-win.
WORKING WITH OTHERS IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL SITUATION

Dysfunctional: “Not behaving or working normally”
When the normal rules, process and status is disrupted we enter into a dysfunctional state. It
should not be believed that this can occur only in the emergency relief phase of a mission but
can actually occur at any phase through to those of reconstruction and redevelopment. A
dysfunctional situation will disrupt the pattern of operations that we have established and all
aspects of the management of the humanitarian supply chain in all of the areas of management
that we have considered so far in this programme. We need to consider :
The indicators of a dysfunctional situation.

The changes in the operating environment.
Who should know?
THE INDICATORS OF A DYSFUNCTIONAL SITUATION
Where there is a breakdown of the normal activities established as part of the provision of
humanitarian aid, then we will typically have a dysfunctional situation. The normal rules and
disciplines of management still apply, but you will need to develop techniques that will quickly
allow you to think through the new issues and to decide on the best course of action.
Frequently a disaster or crisis will trigger this event, and if it did not exist before, a complex
emergency situation might well now exist.
Like the original emergency relief situation, the dysfunctional situation may have come about as
the result of either a natural disaster or be a man made disaster.
The signs that a dysfunctional situation exists will include a breakdown of law and order locally,
including possible looting and sabotage of the humanitarian operations. Whether from a natural
disaster perspective or if the new situation is man made, the signs will most commonly manifest
themselves through:
A breakdown in the infrastructure, it could be the loss of facilities, for example, ports,
roads and warehouses.
The commandeering of vehicles.
It could be through the restrictions imposed by governments or other bodies, lawful and
unlawful, because of the disaster. The effects would be on both the humanitarian aid
operation and also on the civilian population.
The incidences of theft from Humanitarian aid facilities and transport. This could also be
associated with the appearance of humanitarian aid agencies own property and also the
appearance of donor supplies on the local economy.
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Sabotage of the humanitarian operation can be in two forms, either of the facilities and
infrastructure or sabotage of the people managing and running the humanitarian mission.
While sabotage of the physical side of the supply chain is easily recognisable, it is also becoming
common for disaffected parties to target the providers of humanitarian aid, either for the global
publicity that it will produce, or in order to apply political pressure to other parties by deliberately
denying humanitarian aid to those most at need. This puts the providers of such humanitarian aid
at particular risk with less risk to the indigenous population. The example of Iraq is the most
outward manifestation of a dysfunctional situation. Although, arguably no longer in the
emergency relief phase, assassinations, kidnappings and the exploitation of the aid agencies as
a means to gain publicity for the organisation is becoming a well used tool. But there are many
other examples such as Afghanistan and Sudan where the Humanitarian agencies have
themselves become the targets of aggression.
THE CHANGES IN THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
When we have recognised that the situation has become dysfunctional, we will need to consider
the impact that this change will have on our operating environment. We will need to consider :
The factors to be taken into account.

Assessing the impact.
Revised objectives.
THE FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT
The original assessment will need to be re-assessed and evaluated to consider :
The state of the supply chain and logistics in the country.

The availability of resources in the country and also resources available to you outside of
the immediate theatre of operations.
The in country processes and procedures for sourcing and the local availability of goods
and services.
A realistic estimate on lead times both internally within your organisation and from external
suppliers.
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A consideration of the extent to which the beneficiary requirements have changed so that
the proper supply chain priorities can be set.
The security situation and the feasibility of safely maintaining the humanitarian supply
chain in the current circumstances.
ASSESSING THE IMPACT
Having reviewed the factors above we will then need to assess the impact of the changes on our
ability to meet the original objectives set. For each of the areas we would need to produce a
revised supply chain map that would allow us to show against each element the effects of the
situation :
You would need to include details such as :
Availability of infrastructure.
Availability of resources.
Security situation for personnel.
Capacities – of airports, ports, warehouses, different types of transport.
The first decision to be made will be the level of support that can be given to meet the beneficiary
programme – can we still meet the need 100% or do we need to scale down the beneficiary
programme. This is not a decision that can be made by the logistician alone, and will need to be
made in conjunction with the In Country Director. However, the In Country Director will need to
know all of the information about the capability of the supply chain in order to know which of the
objectives can be met.
Once the overall revised mission objective has been agreed, then the revised supply chain
objective can be formulated. We can then start to identify the new objectives within each
functional area of the supply chain that will enable us to deliver the new programme.
Having then identified the revised objectives, these will need to be turned into plans that allocate
resources to actions.
Equally important at this stage is the need to call on the relationships that we have developed
with logisticians in other agencies - building on the trust that we have developed within these
relationships and the mutual respect.
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WHO SHOULD KNOW?
As we saw in the last section, you will not be working in isolation in making these decisions. In
the dysfunctional situation, we will need to work closely with all of the people within your
organisation, both those working locally and those in Regional and Head Offices. Among the
principle barriers to creating an effective supply chain are ineffective communications and
functional thinking. In the dysfunctional situation we can have neither. Lines of communication
have to be clear both up and down the chain but also across the different functions and
organisations operating in the area.
As we discussed earlier in this module, if we have established trust in our dealings with others
then we will have established good communications :
Internally, between company teams, activities and functions.

Externally, between supply chain partners, beneficiaries and suppliers.
No one department or agency will have all of the answers and it is imperative that we work
across both functional and organisational boundaries at all times. The In Country Director will
want to know that when he is looking at what can be achieved in a particular set of
circumstances, it has been agreed with all those concerned and is achievable.
Equally it is important that, up and down the logistics functional areas, the plan is agreed as a
workable solution to the practical circumstances on the ground and that they can be supported.
Once the action plan has been agreed by all parties, the execution of this plan will need to be in
accordance with your own agencies policies and procedures and that all of the necessary
documentation is completed.
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MODULE 7 – MANAGING THE LINKS
We started Module 2 by saying that the supply chain process integrates, coordinates and
controls the movement of materials, goods and related information from suppliers and donors to
meet beneficiary requirements in a timely manner. At the heart of this process is the capability to
manage flow, both of goods and information.
As a manager involved in managing the process we have a fundamental aim of providing a

service to satisfy the beneficiary requirements. Not only must we do this in a timely manner but
we must also do it at an acceptable level of cost. The ability to achieve a level of acceptability will
depend upon how we utilise the resources at our disposal. We therefore described our
management aim as:
Manage the flow to satisfy beneficiary requirements in a timely manner at an acceptable

cost.
In the earlier units we have explored how we can manage the operational activities in a way that
optimises the flow of goods and information. We have shown that the idea of a supply chain
highlights the structure of a chain and that the strength of the chain is only as strong as its
weakest link.
We have looked in detail at managing the operational activities of:
Warehousing and inventory

Transport
Fleet Management
Procurement
Import and Export
In this unit we have examined the common management activities and skills that are needed to
tie these activities together through:
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Managing People
Managing the Working Environment
Managing Finance
Working with Others
Supply chains require that many people work together to achieve the desired results. No one
individual, working alone will be able to satisfy beneficiary requirements in a timely manner at an
acceptable cost.
Think about the number of people involved in supply chain activities, such as procurement,
transport and warehousing. Build on your thoughts by considering the geographical reach of
your supply chain activity requiring synchronised performance over organisation and national
boundaries. Think about all of these people, doing different things, speaking different languages,
working in different cultures attempting to work together to achieve their own goal, their team
goal and may be the supply chain goal.
Now consider that each of these individuals has their own strengths and weaknesses, their own
ways of getting things done and their own values. The people factor now takes on seismic
proportions.
Frequently it will be the people issues that are at the front of our minds. You will hear people
talking about personality conflicts – “Isn’t such a person difficult to get on with or work with”.
Many of these arise from the fact that people do not know what other people are doing and how
they do their work. They don’t understand what other people are concentrating on or what
results they expect. When we ask them why, they don’t know and we usually get met with a
blank expression. Push a little harder and we get the admission that they have never asked.
Now it gets scary. We have a supply chain full of lots of people, all individuals who don’t
understand what each other is trying to do, why they are trying to do it, how they are going to do
it or what results they expect from doing it!
This situation does not bode well for that vital supply chain lubricant – trust. The existence of
trust reduces uncertainty. Reducing uncertainty makes goods available, whilst reducing time and
cost.
Without trust there is no lubricant, so there is just friction. Friction does not lead to acceptable
supply chain performance.
Supply chains are built on trust. To be able to trust someone does not mean you have to like
them. It does mean that you have to understand them. Taking responsibility for relationship
building is therefore a necessity of anyone working in the supply chain. Just imagine what would
happen if each individual, went to people immediately upstream and downstream of them, and
swapped what they do, why they are doing it, how they do it and the results they expect to
achieve.
Investing in relationships builds confidence, motivation and competence, all of which are the vital
components of performance. If an individual improves their performance in a way that is aligned
with other people in the supply chain, you will get a level of supply chain performance that
perhaps you never thought possible.
This human dimension of supply chain performance is one that many organisations neglect,
despite the fact that significant results can be achieved by using just a few simple tools. These
are:
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Supply Chain Activity Excellence.
Good management.
Building trust.
SUPPLY CHAIN ACTIVITY EXCELLENCE

The success of any supply chain depends on individual parts being performed excellently.
Remember we stated that a supply chain is only as strong as the weakest link. It is essential
therefore that the activities we described in the procurement, warehousing, transport, fleet
management and import/export unit are undertaken in a professional, well managed way. The
content of those units have provided a framework to allow you to develop your competence in
each of these areas.
However, supply chain activity excellence alone is not sufficient.
GOOD MANAGEMENT
Good managers have lots of balls to keep juggling. They have to be aware of and understand
the requirements they are being asked to satisfy. They have to understand how they can impact
the management of flow so that the supply chain can be transformed from push to pull as quickly
as possible.
The juggling act will focus on people, the working environment and finance. In each of these
areas it is the elements of management – planning, organising, directing, controlling and, most
crucially, communicating that enables us to integrate everything together.
PLANNING
how, when, where and who will do it. It then involves developing a plan of action to put it all into
practice.
In planning the supply chain to support a humanitarian operation there will be an overall
strategic plan of the supply chain, but it will also need to be supported by component plans for
managing each of the functional activities and how these will be resourced – people, finance and
equipment. While much planning can be prepared before a humanitarian situation develops,
there will always be a need to revise and review the plans reflect the different phases of the
operation and be able to be adapted as the situation evolves.
ORGANISING
Organising means channelling resources - people, finance and equipment - to put the plan into
action. It is about establishing the mechanisms for coordinating human behaviour. This element
involves the activities of delegating and allocating work and jobs.
For each element of the supply chain activity this will involve developing the procedures and
structures required.
92
It will mean identifying the source of the necessary resources, designing and allocating jobs and
roles within the supply chain organisation and within each of the activities shown above.
DIRECTING
Directing means maintaining the level of activity of people; winning their commitment, motivating
them, training and binding together; unifying and harmonising all the actions. The manager’s role
is in informing, supporting and co-ordinating.
Co-ordinating means ensuring that the logistics section group co-operates in the achievement of
the overall task. The objectives of this team will contribute to the programmes objectives, and
thus to the humanitarian organisation’s goals. Therefore, the only way for the supply chain to
achieve its goals is for every element within it to be working effectively. We have also
acknowledged that every individual and group of individuals is different, so one management
style is not sufficient. Good managers are flexible, and able to adapt their style to different
individuals, groups, the situation and the phase of the operation.
CONTROLLING
Controlling means seeing that everything occurs as it should and taking corrective action where
necessary. The emphasis is on:
Measuring,
Monitoring.
Evaluating.
In any supply chain operation, we will need to ensure that we use the resources available to us
efficiently and effectively, reflecting the supply chain priorities at the time. Whatever area of
supply chain activity we are involved in, we will need to measure, monitor and evaluate the
performance to ensure that we are meeting our primary objective, to serve the needs of the
beneficiaries.
COMMUNICATING
As we have shown throughout this programme, none of the above elements will work correctly if
we cannot communicate effectively to those with whom we need to work, both within and outside
of our organisation. We will not be able to deliver our plans, organise the work that needs to be
completed, direct the activities or have the proper controls in place.
When all of these elements and activities come together, we will have a supply chain that will be
able to deliver the needs of the programme team in serving the beneficiaries.
BUILDING TRUST
The final aspect that will make our supply chain truly exceptional is the way we seek to work with
others and in particular how we manage the links between our own focus of activity and others’
focus.
Often the ways to do this can seem to be trivial and very simple, but then it is often the case that
simple things are the most powerful.
93
It may be that taking time to sit down with a supply chain partner to understand their problems
and issues, goals and aspirations will enable you to do things in a slightly different way, that
whilst having little impact on you it does provide significant benefit and help to them. Likewise in
such a mutual exchange they may be able to help you.
Another powerful “link” builder is to invite people to see your operations and during their visit
explain to them in a professional way how and why you do things in particular ways. May be you
can provide them with an information pack to take away. Equally you need to invest time in
visiting others to see how they work. You never know you might just pick up an idea of how to
solve your problem number one, easily, cheaply and effectively.
People often say it is not what you know, but who you know that is important. Building your
network of relationships will undoubtedly reap large rewards in the future.
This is the point that brings us full circle. Earlier in the course we mentioned that an optimised
supply chain consists of sub-optimised parts. The risk of supply chain activity excellence is that
we develop optimised parts that ultimately lead to sub-optimised supply chains and poor service
as a consequence. Through good management and trust building we can manage the links and
perhaps persuade others to do things differently to the overall benefit of the entire supply chain.
At times through the course you might have said to yourself, that you’re doing things already.
Undoubtedly this will be true. Supply chains exist and have existed for many years and many
people have benefited from the service that has been provided. Indeed much distress and
suffering will have been relieved. There is though always a demand for improvement – to do
things better, faster and cheaper than we did them yesterday. To achieve this we must:
Get things done, differently, through people working together.
The word differently really does make the difference!
We hope that you have enjoyed the course and that we have fuelled your enthusiasm to try new
things, do things differently and to work with others in a new way. Apply and practice the ideas
and not only will you be a better manager, but the whole world will benefit too!
94

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MANAGING A HUMANITARIAN

SUPPLY CHAIN RESPONSE

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the Fritz Institute.

People Development Group for providing use of existing training materials.

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Module 1 : Managing the situation

Module 2 : Managing Flow

Module 3 : Managing People.

Module 4 : Managing the Working Environment.

Module 5 : Managing the Financial Impact of Activities.

Module 6 : Working with Others.

Module 7 : Managing the Links

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

The Management Role 13

MODULE 2 Impact of time and uncertainty 20

Push and pull activity 23

Guidelines that help you 30

MODULE 3 Recruiting and selecting people. 34

Planning, organising and leading 42

Appraising performance, training 48

Security factors and risks that

MODULE 5 Transparency leads to

Budget types and their use 68

Financial information used for 70

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

What can be shared 83

How can we share 83

Working with others in a

MODULE 7 Supply Chain Activity Excellence 92

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

HUMANITARIAN AID CONTEXT

What humanitarian aid is

WHAT IS HUMANITARIAN AID?

Throughout this programme we have used the definition of:

Humanitarian aid is assistance provided to save lives, alleviate suffering, and

The assistance can be given by individual citizens, organisations, agencies or governments.

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

THE NEED FOR HUMANITARIAN AID

PHASES OF HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

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THE ROLE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN IN HUMANITARIAN AID

What is the supply chain

WHAT IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN?

A process that integrates, coordinates and controls

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Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Within the supply chain there are two types of flow :

THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN

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Procurement and Order Management.

PROCUREMENT AND ORDER MANAGEMENT

Goods needing to be delivered to beneficiaries may already be held by humanitarian aid

Copyright 2006 © Fritz Institute. All Rights Reserved.

The urgency that goods are required.