Prisma

Risk-informed, data-driven supply chain planning decisions require analysing large amounts of data scattered across different sources and systems. This can be a challenge for WFP operations, which often rely on complicated and partial manual analyses that do not provide the complete foresight needed to make optimal planning decisions. This can cause the incorrect allocation of food supplies, operational inefficiencies, risk of expiries or under-delivery. It also incurs additional costs that could be avoided to deliver more food assistance.

Prisma is a supply chain control tower empowering WFP operations with key descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics to support upstream and downstream supply planning and forward-looking risk anticipation. Prisma improves the efficiency of operations by enabling faster and improved planning decisions and action to avoid predictable operational issues, such as supply-related pipeline breaks, sub-optimal sourcing or transport solutions, or stock losses due to expiration.

WFP operations in each country are unique but share core processes, structures, roles and objectives. Therefore, Prisma’s modular system is designed as a standard corporate solution that is configurable and flexible to the individual contexts of WFP operations. 

Prisma automates complex analyses and reconciliations across units and systems that would otherwise require a high workload and be subject to human errors. This enables better time management of key staff, allowing them more time to focus on other tasks with greater impact for beneficiaries. The tool also promotes cross-functional alignment and reduces siloed work, increasing transparency and robustness in operations management.

Prisma has saved an estimated 10,000 work hours in 2024 by reducing 90 percent of the time spent formatting and analysing data. It has generated US$622,000 in cost savings through better long-term supply chain planning. WFP countries using Prisma were also 58 percent less likely to distribute food with less than 90 days of shelf life remaining, reducing the risk of food expiring.

After rolling out Prisma, WFP Nigeria reduced food loss by 159 MT (US$84,000) to 0 MT of loss in 15 months.

WFP Afghanistan reduced their production timeline from 15 days to two days of their bi-weekly operational food supply pipeline, freeing up time for supply chain planners and ensuring a more updated overview of food operations for all stakeholders.

In Pakistan, a better planning horizon thanks to Prisma enabled WFP Pakistan to make smarter and more informed decisions with more confidence around transport terms, leading to more cost-effective delivery options. By the end of 2024, this strategy helped avoid US$57,000 in costs by reducing unnecessary transport steps thanks to optimized supply routes. Additionally, improvements in planning and automation saved 448 staff hours, which translated into an estimated $88,000 in time savings alone. When combined with the $57,000 in cost avoidance, this amounted to an overall operational efficiency gain of $145,000 in just one country in less than three months of use.