From the field: The choreographed dance of logistics

Logistics: the management of the flow of things between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet requirements of customers or corporations.

"The trucks are arriving today from Kathmandu with the relief packets for catering to 600 households. We need a place where they can park for the night which is safe and where they can unload," says Ycobus Runtuwene, World Vision Team Leader for Sindhupalchowk Relief Operations.

Immediately Maurice Joseph Jaucian calls the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse to coordinate logistic arrangements for the incoming supplies.

"The main work that we do is to execute the logistics role effectively in order to support the Disaster Response team so that they are able to achieve their mission of distributing the relief materials and information to the right people at the right place at the right time. It is the role of the logistics team to coordinate with land and air transport to support the operations here for the relief response," says Maurice Joseph Jaucian, Logistics Decision Support Officer, World Vision Nepal Earthquake Relief Response.

Confirming the meeting with the WFP warehouse manager, Jaucian and Ycobus head out to secure the warehouse space to accommodate the World Vision relief materials.

"Many of the storage areas and warehouses in Nepal were damaged by the earthquake so finding a safeguarded place is a challenge," he says.

Arriving at the warehouse Jaucian negotiates for space.

"So the trucks will arrive late evening and relief goods will stay at the warehouse overnight and move to the distribution early next morning," says Jaucian.

A quick agreement is struck and intricate details of when, where, and how are exchanged. Finalising the storage space the team heads our again to assess the access route to the distribution point.

Being part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) logistic cluster is integral in guaranteeing a successful delivery drop.

"We are part of the logistic cluster and from there we gather information. This helps us to do the logistics assessment. We go to the field assessing the roads and assessing how we can plan to deliver all the relief supplies to our final distribution camps," he says.

Encountering a roadblock en route to the distribution point Jaucian steps out to locate the GPS location to notify the response team about the unforeseen disruption.

"The logistics process is clearly defined. We have to coordinate with the logistic cluster and with the team in the field so that the information is utilised to chalk out a logistic plan before going to the field," says Jaucian. “We always need our communication lines active so that unexpected diversions can be accessed and reporting can be done instantly. That is why we carry equipment like satellite phones during an emergency so that it’s easy to communicate wherever we are.”

After completing the entire delivery circuit, Jaucian heads to World Vision’s district office to make a detailed logistic plan for the region keeping in mind the complexities of accessibility.

As he maps out the routes accessible by land and air he says, "The support operations includes locating transportation that can deliver relief goods to the final distribution point. My daily routine is to double check the accessibility of the roads, double check the operation sites, coordinate with all stakeholders, and update the team about new logistics related incidents happening outside the community. But if there are problems of accessing the area via road then we opt for air delivery via choppers doing aerial drops of early relief items to the community."

Proclaiming his main motivation to passionately support the emergency in Nepal he says, "When I see and hear about the relief distributions success, it makes me happy. I have this satisfaction that our relief operations are doing well in supporting affected areas. Just seeing the relief reach the people who desperately need it and seeing their smiles makes every effort worthwhile. It makes me feel that we are giving back hope that they can get back on their feet after this disaster. That feeling is very precious and valuable to me."