Logistics planning for distributions

What is a distribution, and why does planning matter?

The Logistics Cluster's operational guide describes a distribution as the hand-over of commodities to the intended people, fairly and according to specified rations, selection criteria and priorities. It is the moment when control of the goods passes from your organisation to the recipient.

Everything before depends on planning: what you procured, how it was transported and stored, and which households are on the list. A distribution that fails usually fails earlier: wrong quantity, late truck, no list, or no information for the community. This article covers planning. For the wider flow, read supply chain management for humanitarian programmes.

What must be in place before you plan?

A Shelter-CCCM Cluster guideline for shelter and non-food item distributions, hosted on ReliefWeb, assumes that a needs assessment and verification have taken place and that the beneficiary list is set before distribution planning starts. The Logistics Cluster guide adds that no distribution can start without an estimate of the population size, which also shapes the number of distribution points.

Before you plan, confirm:

1. Who gets what. The criteria and the verified list. See fair targeting criteria.
2. What is in stock. Confirm balances with the warehouse officer.
3. What the context allows. Security, access, season, and community leadership structures.

What goes in a distribution plan?

The CARE Emergency Toolkit lists the key content of a distribution plan:

• Warehouse the stock leaves from
• Destination (site, organisation or institution)
• Time period for dispatch
• Type of item
• Shipment number and donor name
• Ration or allocation per person or household
• Total number of recipients, based on the recipient list
• Total quantity to dispatch
• Number and type of vehicles needed

The CRS Emergency Field Operations Manual adds that programme and operations teams should agree standard item names and units of measure, and that kits should have a unique identifier and contents list. If the contents of a kit change, even by one item, change the kit name. This makes counts and loss checks accurate.

A seven-step planning process

1. Check stock. Programme confirms balances with the warehouse officer, and logistics shares constraints early, such as limited trucks, poor roads or incomplete kits.
2. Write the plan. Programme drafts date, location, items, quantities and donor, and sends it to warehouse and logistics.
3. Calculate transport. The CARE toolkit gives three inputs: the ration for each item, the number of recipients, and the length of time the ration must cover.
4. Plan for loss and delay. The CRS manual suggests allowing for possible loss or damage on the way, and requesting slightly more stock per distribution point where donor rules permit.
5. Prepare loading. The warehouse officer uses the plan to prepare loading and the right number of day labourers. Logistics confirms transport.
6. Approve. A supply chain manager or delegate approves the dispatch plan.
7. Inform the community. Announce date, place, entitlement and the complaints route before the day.

When should stock arrive?

The CARE toolkit gives clear timing guidance:

• Schedule deliveries so stock arrives at the site at least two weeks before the site's stock is expected to run out, where it is safe to do so.
• Plan distributions for stock in hand, not stock expected, unless distance and poor communication force you to estimate.
• Account for seasons such as the rainy season, when regular transport may be delayed or stopped. Add extra time, or pre-position stock where storage exists.
• Stagger schedules across regions so that all sites do not run out at the same time.

In Myanmar, the monsoon, road conditions, checkpoints and fuel supply can change plans quickly. Keep a plan B for transport and a backup site. Share changes with communities early, using the channel they trust.

What controls protect the distribution?

• Separate duties. The CARE toolkit says warehouse managers or storekeepers should never decide where stock goes or arrange dispatch on their own. All distributions follow a written plan approved by management.
• Signed records. Waybills at dispatch, goods received at the site, and signed distribution lists.
• Reconcile after. Compare stock out, items given and items returned. Investigate differences.
• Fair, equitable and transparent. The Logistics Cluster says people should know their rations, the method and the schedule. More transparency means fewer chances for abuse.
• Include protection and access. Plan queue management, safe sites and help for people with specific needs, such as older people, small children or people with limited mobility.

What should you do after the distribution?

1. Complete the reconciliation the same day, or the next.
2. Report to the donor in line with the agreement.
3. Hold a feedback and complaints desk, and respond to cases.
4. Plan post-distribution monitoring to check what people received and how they used it.
5. Record lessons: what delayed you, which controls worked.

How EMPO can help

EMPO is a trusted, Yangon-based training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training, with 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations. We offer Supply Chain Management training in English and Burmese, online over Zoom or in person across Myanmar, and can design a session around your own distribution procedures. See our services or contact us.

Sources

• Distribution, Logistics Operational Guide — Logistics Cluster
• 3.8 The distribution plan, CARE Emergency Toolkit — CARE
• Logistics: Dispatching and Receiving Goods, Emergency Field Operations Manual — Catholic Relief Services
• Guidelines for the Distribution of Shelter/NFI Kits — Shelter-CCCM Cluster, hosted on ReliefWeb, 2017