The ever-changing landscape of WFP operations makes the global supply chain very difficult to analyse: where to send food, where to store it, and how to best use our limited financial resources and maximize food delivery. This upstream planning problem affects not only the countries with an erratic demand of funds but also new emergencies requiring responsive data-driven decision-making, where “applying last time’s decision” is not good enough.
Project overview
SCOUT is a statistical insights tool that supports the global WFP supply chain network to improve decision-making.
The challenge
The solution
SCOUT, previously Global Upstream Planning (GUP), is a system that models WFP's global supply chain network, focusing on upstream operations up to recipient countries. It provides data-driven insights to improve decision-making in sourcing and delivery planning for HQ core units and regional bureaux.
The Impact
In 2023, SCOUT's rapid replanning efforts helped avoid an interruption of nutrition activities for 270,000 beneficiaries over the course of a month. The WFP Regional Bureau for Western Africa saw a 50% reduction in response time for procuring specialized nutritious foods. Pilot and ongoing use of SCOUT indicate potential efficiency gains exceeding 5%, which could translate to over US$50 million in annual savings when fully deployed.
“SCOUT has supported the Western Africa Region in preparing cross-functional sourcing and delivery plans aimed at strengthening timely purchases and prepositioning food for our operations. This initiative is characterized by a comprehensive approach that takes into account cross-functional collaboration between different units, operational challenges, accessibility, market capacity, efficiency and effectiveness.”
Sedric Zamedjo, Supply chain planning officer, WFP Regional Bureau for Western Africa
Last updated:
18/12/2024