Logistics emergency teams prepared to support humanitarian operations under the auspices of the World Economic Forum

Agility, TNT, and UPS have held a joint training program for the Logistics Emergency Teams (LETs) here to further strengthen their integrated response to large scale disasters.

Over 20 logistics specialists representing the three logistics companies were trained for field deployment. The training included sessions covering the international relief system, safety and security in the field and preparing for deployment, among others. LETs project leaders, who have experience in the field, also shared stories and lessons learned with the delegates.

'This LETs training program in Singapore is a landmark event as three logistics experts, Agility, TNT, and UPS, came together to better understand the complex issues faced by teams on the ground in relief operations,' said Matthew Hollingworth, World Food Program Logistics Officer. 'These sessions will help prepare the team to deal with most eventualities that arise in such challenging circumstances. With the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, having such logistics expertise prepared and ready to deploy at the request of the humanitarian community is critical to helping us save lives.'

The LETs initiative was launched in January 2008 under the auspices of the World Food Program (WFP) at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. The LET's partnership was first demonstrated on the ground in August 2007 in Indonesia during an operational exercise organized and hosted by WFP. In May 2008, the LETs supported humanitarian relief efforts on the ground in Myanmar and Bangkok following the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

LOGISTICS EMERGENCY TEAMS
The very idea of Logistics Emergency Teams dates back from the World Economic Forum's 2005 Davos meeting.

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 auspices of the World Economic Forum and initiated by TNT CEO Peter Bakker they started sharing best practices from their bilateral humanitarian partnerships and 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. For example, Agility's humanitarian projects in the last two years alone include helping with the transport of enough food to feed 43,000 people in Indonesia for the World Food Program after serious flooding in Jakarta, working with the local government in Bangladesh to procure and transport food and bottled water after a cyclone, and delivering critical life support materials to 500 displaced families in Iraq with International Medical Corps. In addition, Agility has financed a primary health care center to serve 13,000 refugees in Darfur and has conducted nation-wide blood drives for the American Red Cross in Agility offices in the United States.

TNT has worked with the World Food Program for six years, supporting WFP with knowledge, means and staff, helping over one million school children and tackling over 30 emergencies. In 2007, TNT supported WFP with emergency relief activities in Mozambique, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua. In addition to the LET's support, TNT carried out a 300 MT shipment of relief materials on behalf of the Thai Government using the TNT Asia Road Network from Bangkok to the Myanmar border.

The UPS Foundation has long been a contributor to disaster relief. The Foundation has contributed funds, logistical expertise and in-kind transportation donations for virtually every major disaster in recent years.

In addition to LETs, just the last year, UPS provided loaned executives to CARE and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to streamline disaster relief supply chains. UPS also is a major sponsor of AidMatrix, an online system that connects donors and aid