We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » The logistics of feeding the hungry
big picture

The logistics of feeding the hungry

April 18, 2011
Peter Bradley
No Comments

I'm not sure what business professionals can learn from operations like those of the World Food Programme, but I'm convinced that we somehow serve the industry by telling that story and others like it. I hope you agree.

This month's Thought Leader interview features a conversation with Stephen Cahill, head of contracting for ocean services for the World Food Programme. The WFP, an arm of the United Nations, ships more than 4 million tons of food annually to feed more than 100 million people around the globe. Half of that food moves by ocean vessels.

We've written from time to time about the extraordinary efforts of carriers and shippers to move needed relief supplies and foodstuffs to disaster-stricken regions—places like Haiti or New Orleans.

What the World Food Programme does is much more akin to what distribution managers do every day. That is, to move its freight—food for the poor—where it's needed, when it's needed in the most efficient way possible, every day. The agency has adopted its own version of near-sourcing, buying food as close to where it's needed as possible. Its annual shipping budget of $250 million makes it a major international shipper. It has adopted modern visibility tools to help it manage its global supply chain.

But in many ways, its mission is unlike most of those faced by business logistics professionals. It is shipping food to some of the most remote parts of the world, areas notable for their poor infrastructure, political instability, and weak or non-existent security. It has to deal with piracy and political unrest. For example, the agency recently had to scramble to find alternative routes to Chad when its normal route through Libya became impassable after the rebellion broke out there.

And sadly, its work will not end any time soon. Cahill told DCV Senior Editor Mark Solomon that world food prices have spiked sharply since the last peak in 2008, which means WFP can only buy half the amount of wheat for the same money it could one year ago. At the same time, it has seen the number of underfed people worldwide push over the 1 billion mark. Even so, he speaks with some optimism about emerging technological tools that promise to make operations like his more effective and efficient.

Of course, none of us can predict what other events, man-made or natural, will disrupt that supply chain (or others) in the days, weeks, and years to come. Supply chain volatility is a real concern for every logistics manager. But missions like those of the WFP seem especially vulnerable and the consequences especially great.

Transportation Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    Southeastern packages 50,000 meals for the hungry, acknowledging a decade of giving back

    PossibleNOW Donates $20,000 to Feeding America in Honor of the Company’s 20th Year Anniversary

    Hungry like the wolf

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Researchers: Ships can look to Mother Nature for energy-saving ideas

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

Now Playing on DCV-TV

C8c3bc6b a91d 4181 a18f 35f288257630

ACPaQ: Fast and reliable automated mixed case palletizer

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Fully Automated Mixed Case Palletizing ACPaQ is a universally applicable solution for fully automated order picking of mixed case pallets based on customers‘ requirements. Its software allows you to customize the palletizing order to increase efficiency during in-store replenishment. The mixed case palletizer...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing