Agility, TNT and UPS help set up supply chains for humanitarian organizations
Logistics leaders Agility, TNT and UPS are providing vital warehousing, transport and logistics support in the current Pakistan emergency to ensure critical relief supplies reach the people affected by the disastrous rains and flooding. The three companies comprise the Logistics Emergency Teams (LETs) unit, a cross-company partnership to support humanitarian relief efforts during natural disasters.
The LETs are working closely with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which as well as being the frontline agency fighting hunger is also the lead of the Logistics Cluster, which coordinates the logistical response of the humanitarian community at times of disaster.
The heavy rains and flooding in Pakistan have left millions stranded with no access to food and basic necessities. In the first month, WFP reached three million people with lifesaving food supplies, and in September is seeking to reach double that number, said Martin Ohlsen, WFP logistics director. "The LETs are an important component in our overall response strategy and their generous contribution of logistics assets and personnel has significantly boosted the speed and effectiveness of our response," Ohlsen added.
The LETs, from Agility, TNT and UPS, have provided warehousing facilities totalling 8,000 square meters in Multan, Peshawar and Islamabad, along with support staff in several locations.
Agility and TNT have also supplied refrigerated containers for storage of temperature sensitive cargo such as medicines.
Agility, TNT and UPS have provided light trucks for transporting relief material between airports, helipads and consolidation warehouses.
"In the face of such devastation, it is critical for relief operations to be set up quickly and efficiently. Logistics play a key role in helping to reach affected families, especially in remote areas - a very real challenge in the current situation," said Tarek Sultan, Agility's chairman and managing director. "Agility, together with our LETs partners TNT and UPS, has a strong local network and on-the-ground expertise that helps speed up relief operations."
As well as warehousing and transport assets, the LET partners provide expertise and local knowledge, to support the response of the entire humanitarian community in getting food, shelter, health and water sanitation items to the most affected communities.
"It is essential that the LETs team is again stepping in to help the Pakistani people by offering local resources and expertise in conjunction with our partners," said Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT. TNT Pakistan is providing warehouse space in Multan and Islamabad, along with operations and security personnel and fork lift capacity.
"Given the complexity and urgency of the efforts required in times of disaster, critical links are needed in the supply chain between donors, relief agencies and communities in need," said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International. "As well as providing financial and transport support, UPS has worked with WFP to provide critical logistics, through LETs staff and facilities, to help the most vulnerable."
The LETs initiative is the first multi-company commitment to the humanitarian sector and was launched in 2008 at the World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Central to the LETs model is the partnership of otherwise competing companies to utilize their corporate expertise, local resources and relationships in support of humanitarian relief efforts in response to natural disasters.
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About Logistics Emergency Teams:
In the wake of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, three companies, Agility, TNT and UPS, decided to look into a coordinated, industry-wide emergency support to humanitarian organizations. Under the auspices of the World Economic Forum and initiated by TNT CEO Peter Bakker, the companies started sharing best practices from their bilateral humanitarian partnerships. They developed a joint operating structure - today's LETs - to lend a collective hand to humanitarian organizations.
The Logistics Emergency Teams add to the member companies' respective humanitarian partnerships. The LET humanitarian assistance program has supported operations in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, West Sumatra, Haiti and Pakistan.
About UPS
UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. UPS promotes community involvement through its ongoing volunteerism and grant programs, environmental sustainability and corporate philanthropy. In 2009, UPS's charitable contributions totaled nearly $100 million and UPS employees and their families contributed more than 1.2 million hours of volunteer service.
The company can be found on the web at UPS.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
About Agility
Agility maintains a strong humanitarian assistance program and has formal partnerships with International Medical Corps and the World Food Programme. Agility has responded to many humanitarian disasters around the world. Since 2006, Agility has been able to positively affect more than 500,000 people in over 500 community volunteer or humanitarian assistance projects. Agility is one of the world's leading providers of integrated logistics to businesses and governments. It is a publicly traded company with close to $6 billion in annual revenue and 32,000 employees in over 550 offices and 120 countries. Agility's commercial division, Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL), is headquartered in Switzerland and provides supply chain solutions to customers in technology, retail, chemicals, and other industries. Agility Defense & Government Services (DGS) offers logistics services to governments, relief agencies and international institutions worldwide.
For more information on Agility, please visit www.agilitylogistics.com
About TNT
TNT provides businesses and consumers worldwide with an extensive range of services for their mail and express delivery needs. Headquartered in the Netherlands, TNT offers efficient network infrastructures in Europe and Asia, serves more than 200 countries and employs about 160,000 people. Over 2009, TNT reported €10.4 billion in revenues and an operating income of €648 million. TNT is officially quoted on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. TNT recognises its social responsibility and has formed partnerships with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and in 2009 TNT again reached the highest score of all companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. To date TNT has invested €46 million in the partnership with WFP in the form of hands-on support in emergencies, knowledge transfer projects to help WFP to be more efficient and effective, and advocacy and fundraising activities. On top of this, TNT employees have raised an additional €9 million for WFP's School Feeding Projects.
More information about TNT can be found on its website http://group.tnt.com.
About WFP
As the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against hunger, WFP is continually responding to emergencies. We save lives by getting food to the hungry fast. A key element in this response is the WFP-managed network of UN Humanitarian Response Depots. These are hubs, positioned near disaster-prone areas around the world, where emergency supplies are stored in readiness. WFP's expertise in logistics meant that in 2005 the agency was mandated to lead logistics operations whenever a humanitarian emergency requires a joint response from UN agencies and the humanitarian community. But WFP also works to help prevent hunger in the future, through programmes that use food as a means to build assets, spread knowledge and nurture stronger, more dynamic communities. WFP has developed expertise in a range of areas including Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics to ensure the best solutions for the world's hungry. In 2010, WFP aims to bring food assistance to more than 90 million people in 73 countries.
For more about WFP's work:http://www.wfp.org/ http://www.wfp.org. For more on Logistics Cluster: http://www.logcluster.org/.
For more information please contact:
WFP Media Contact:
Frances Kennedy
Tel: +39 06 6513 3725
(office)/ 39 346 7600806
Email: Frances.Kennedy@wfp.org
Agility Media Contact:
Nita Bhatkar
Tel: +965-2498-1154
(office) /+965-97223703 (cell)
Email: nbhatkar@agilitylogistics.com
TNT Media Relations:
Marc Potma
Tel: +31 20 500 6138
(office) / +31 613 733 783 (cell)
Email: marc.potma@tnt.com
UPS Media Contact:
Ronna Charles Branch
Tel: + 404.828.4393 (office)
Email: rcbranch@ups.com
© Press Release 2010
