Jamie thanks for sharing and looking forward to read more on point #8 Indeed strengthening collaborative approach, especially in emergency preparedness can make the difference in term of impact!
Thanks for sharing this! I would also argue that we - on the ground - are not empowered enough to take decisions, everything is a committee of a committee and so on lol .. I know maybe with NGOs it is less, but in the UN system it kills any action!
One thing I could add may be here is NOT to stop using existing ERP systems or NOT to avoid rolling out if it's a new country office setting. I've been observing a 'trend' on this across the organizations I've worked for.
Especially in fast moving emergency context, reliable data becomes very valuable and ERPs are the way to have it. Giving up on the use of ERP because it's complicated ( frankly, it never is), or because it requires long training ( again not really the case) often result in information blackholes in finance and logistics systems. This create heavy stress on the team when it's the time to do reporting to the donor and results in significant loss of time trying to reconcile information from scattered sources.
The organizations that still solely use excel based log/finance systems are usually more careful and better positioned in terms of keeping accurate data. Of course this depends how well support team is staffed and how well they are instructed on the importance of data logging into numerous excel trackers.
Thank you so much for the article, Jamie. It's excellent coverage for our sector.
I especially agree with your focus on " anticipation". Back in 2024, my team in the Philippines and I worked on an emergency response catalog to share with the NGO Hub. Our goal was to tailor specifications to the local context, secure framework agreements with suppliers, share up-to-date price and availability. We even explored group purchasing with other organizations where possible.
However we haven't yet mastered "digitalize to the last mile". I would appreciate your recommendation in how a local team can start, especially in areas with limited internet connection.
Thank you again. I really appreciate your insights.
Thanks so much for your comment / looks like you’ve loads of amazing experience! Digitizing the last mile remains a challenge for even well funded organizations / if was a small org I would look to design something using ms power apps that met my needs - something simple - a document repository linked to a delivery schedule that could report key area
Your suggestion on using simple MS power apps is a practical approach. I will certainly keep this in mind and l look forward to hearing more about your experience in this.
Very interesting read, Jamie. Many thanks! I am certainly taking notes and looking forward to the next one!
Thanks, Jonathan, for reading. I really appreciate it!
Really well laid out explanation and thought provoking ideas for transformation.
Jamie thanks for sharing and looking forward to read more on point #8 Indeed strengthening collaborative approach, especially in emergency preparedness can make the difference in term of impact!
Yes it’s a key point, planning an entire post on it! Thanks a lot for reading
Congratulations on this clear and informative article on the challenges of humanitarian supply chains. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this! I would also argue that we - on the ground - are not empowered enough to take decisions, everything is a committee of a committee and so on lol .. I know maybe with NGOs it is less, but in the UN system it kills any action!
One thing I could add may be here is NOT to stop using existing ERP systems or NOT to avoid rolling out if it's a new country office setting. I've been observing a 'trend' on this across the organizations I've worked for.
Especially in fast moving emergency context, reliable data becomes very valuable and ERPs are the way to have it. Giving up on the use of ERP because it's complicated ( frankly, it never is), or because it requires long training ( again not really the case) often result in information blackholes in finance and logistics systems. This create heavy stress on the team when it's the time to do reporting to the donor and results in significant loss of time trying to reconcile information from scattered sources.
The organizations that still solely use excel based log/finance systems are usually more careful and better positioned in terms of keeping accurate data. Of course this depends how well support team is staffed and how well they are instructed on the importance of data logging into numerous excel trackers.
Thank you so much for the article, Jamie. It's excellent coverage for our sector.
I especially agree with your focus on " anticipation". Back in 2024, my team in the Philippines and I worked on an emergency response catalog to share with the NGO Hub. Our goal was to tailor specifications to the local context, secure framework agreements with suppliers, share up-to-date price and availability. We even explored group purchasing with other organizations where possible.
However we haven't yet mastered "digitalize to the last mile". I would appreciate your recommendation in how a local team can start, especially in areas with limited internet connection.
Thank you again. I really appreciate your insights.
Thanks so much for your comment / looks like you’ve loads of amazing experience! Digitizing the last mile remains a challenge for even well funded organizations / if was a small org I would look to design something using ms power apps that met my needs - something simple - a document repository linked to a delivery schedule that could report key area
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏
Your suggestion on using simple MS power apps is a practical approach. I will certainly keep this in mind and l look forward to hearing more about your experience in this.
Have a wonderful day!
Hi Jamie Thanks for your support for Ukraine, very appreciate. I glad that myself also was be part of this
It was a challenging time but amazing people and amazing country.
Jamie, even though I came from the sector, you got me hooked for more. Well done
very kind of you to say that Christian, hope you are well.