"World Vision is the world's largest international children's charity.
Every day we bring real hope to millions of children in the world's
hardest places as a sign of God's unconditional love.
In 2013 donations from the UK transformed the lives of nearly 4 million children.”
From http://www.worldvision.org.uk/child-sponsorship
Mr. George Fenton, Director, Humanitarian Operations Services at World Vision International, based in UK, kindly agreed to a telephone interview in which he painted a picture of his role and that of the organization in general. We also discussed the role of the “Humanitarian Logistics Association” (HLA), an organization he helped create which aims to professionalize humanitarian logistics.
Mr. Fenton began his life in the International Aid / Humanitarian sector 30+ years ago as a volunteer. He worked for 25 years in Africa and for the past 7 years in Europe, still on a global basis. His role as Head of Humanitarian Operations Services includes emergency logistics, disaster management, information systems and telecommunications. He is also working on emergency preparedness initiatives that look at supporting programs in new ways. “This is a new area of work which I am also responsible for and it covers providing or supplementing ‘in kind’ assistance with cash by means of electronic transfers or mobile money.” he told us. “Cash as a means of assistance is increasingly being used, instead of providing or supplementing food aid or non-food items.”
World Vision International is a huge organization comparable to The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It employs some 45,000 staff, working in 100 countries with a global budget of about 2.7 billion USD. International headquarters are located in UK with 20 support offices around the world in such places as Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and the UK. 
The team managed by Mr. Fenton is based in different countries and is responsible for emergency and operational preparedness, and operational response, both including logistics.
World Vision International works very closely with other agencies. They have non-food items stored in strategically located warehouses which the Red Cross and various UN agencies use. “The warehouses are actually provided through the UN humanitarian response system” Mr. Fenton informed us. “We also collaborate with the Red Cross on various areas such as emergency preparedness and response operations.”
Primarily, World Vision International uses procurement services provided by the Global Supply Chain team. “We utilize their services to obtain emergency relief items for use during emergencies, and they also help us to obtain items to pre-position or store in global warehouses and in regional and national locations.” Mr. Fenton explained. The global procurement office based in California is part of the World Vision International organization. It provides umbrella support to all of the different components of World Vision.
According to Mr. Fenton the biggest challenges for their country programs is procurement, and currently the global procurement office is looking into and analyzing the following aspects for and on behalf of World Vision:
- Improving on strategic sourcing.
- Ensuring they have best possible relationship with suppliers at local, regional and global levels.
- Ensuring that systems are as efficient as possible.
- Obtaining the best prices and best value.
- Critically, ensuring that the necessary services procured support effective outcome of programs.
- Ensuring they have best and most complete visibility over the supply chains and pipelines for the different commodities which are used by development programs.
On a global level World Vision International have 2 groups who deal with international shipping. One group manages GIK’s (Gifts In Kind) which incorporates donated products such as Pharmaceuticals, Clothing, and Building supplies from the USA, Canada, Australia and other countries. These goods have to be shipped globally which involves negotiating rates and handling with transporters, freight forwarders and shipping lines. The other group involved in shipping is based in South Africa and deals with food assistance. They work with the World Food Program (WFP) in shipping, handling, and distributing food aid.
Difficulties and challenges of dealing with 3rd party service providers during emergencies, includes an often untimely shortage of, and abrupt price inflation for, various modes of transport. Mr. Fenton discussed how they rely on using Air Charter or Air Freight when transporting urgently required goods for “rapid response” situations. He noted they had to contend with fact that, especially during big emergencies, they suffered precipitous hikes in Air Charter costs, possibly as a result of price manipulation.
“We don’t do it on our own.” Mr. Fenton replied when asked how he and his organization manage and control costs when faced, for example, with fluctuating fuel prices or fuel shortages. In those situations, World Vision International coordinates very closely with other agencies, particularly the UN and The Global Logistics Cluster. “Whenever possible,” Mr. Fenton continued “we would not get directly involved in handling fuel. It is very specialized operation, complex and expensive. We generally would use fuel supplies made available through the UN system.”
Measuring performance of external service providers typically centers on pricing and timing, “…but increasingly we need to be better at measuring quality”, Mr. Fenton said. “We have an inter-agency initiative looking at the whole issue of performance indicators in order to come up with a common set of standards”, he added. Different agencies have different criteria for measuring such performances. Right now, it tends to vary with little or no common approach across the board.
Measuring internal performance and capabilities at World Vision International focuses on 3 key areas, according to Mr. Fenton.
- Meeting budget targets.
- Meeting problematic deadlines in terms of delivery of goods and services.
- Quality, in terms of serving the wellbeing of children.
Does World Vision International have global systems linking all resources, people and supplies? “We’re working on it.” Mr. Fenton revealed. He advised that they do have a Global Surge Capacity roster for human resources. Essentially, World Vision is an organization built on three ministries, relief, advocacy, development, and would like to have the capability of linking every aspect of aid, but it is difficult to have visibility across the board at that level. He mentioned that the Global Procurement Office is currently engaged in how to ensure that there is more effective coordination in countries related to issues of procurement of goods and services. The goal is to have better visibility in order to improve sourcing capabilities.
Regarding the challenges related to utilizing people resources, Mr. Fenton explained that the humanitarian aid sector and NGOs in particular, have not invested enough in training logisticians. “They have not placed enough value or importance on logistics and operations”. he said. In his view the level of investment in training local staff is insufficient, which results in limited availability of skilled personnel. The sector, more broadly, has inadequate capacity and capabilities in the field when compared to the private sector. Mr. Fenton also discussed the critical importance and relevance of employing local staff in key positions. The benefits of their contacts, their knowledge and understanding of the community and of the realities on the ground, cannot be underestimated. Combined with their keen ability to recognize and negotiate best prices and value for money, all are essential components for the success and sustainability of projects.
The steps required to encourage and motivate local people in the field to contribute actively to logistics success, or even to take a leadership role, is something that is close to Mr. Fenton’s heart. 10 years ago, together with a like-minded group of people, he established the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA), of which he is currently the Chairman. This is a separate entity to World Vision. The purpose of HLA is to professionalize and build-up the profile of humanitarian logistics. Training includes on-line seminars for local logistics staff. Mr. Fenton volunteers his personal time to lead and participate in advancing this cause, thereby speeding up the process of achieving their goals. It is his opinion that while aid organizations are generally paying more attention to this issue, and there has been some progress, it is still not enough. Some organizations such as Red Cross and MSF for example are better than others at promoting locally-recruited logisticians and providing them with a career path.
Identifying the most useful logistics skills transferable from the Private sector to the humanitarian/aid sector is part of the agenda to professionalize humanitarian logistics, which Mr. Fenton and HLA are working on. Such skills include cost efficiency, commercial standards, commercial acumen, and technical abilities. There are quite a number of logisticians transferring from the private to the humanitarian sector, and Mr. Fenton is involved in recruiting and advising them.
According to Mr. Fenton “soft” skills are very important, even essential. They include but are not limited to:
- Ability to work under extreme pressure in difficult circumstances
- Ability to work with different cultures
- Ability to work in situations of armed conflict
- Ability to communicate and negotiate
- Ability to remain neutral
- Personality
- Dedication
“Very often the soft skills are even more important than technical skill when trying to negotiate certain things or situations in conflict areas.” Mr. Fenton stated. He also related how critical and productive it is to cultivate relationships and contacts, which can result in receiving efficient and cost effective service from all providers, especially in times of emergency.
Even with all the above mentioned skills and abilities, Mr. Fenton advised it is difficult to enter the aid / humanitarian world without relevant experience. Despite having “the right mix” of knowledge, experience and transferable skills from another sector the route to joining the humanitarian field is not easy. However, Mr. Fenton does not consider it impossible. Through the HLA, Mr. Fenton is focused on the definition of a career pathway which covers an “entry” point to humanitarian logistics, whereby people from the private, public, military, or academic sectors can have their transferable skills recognized and utilized.
“One route we are currently supporting is the European Volunteer Program. Internships are increasingly becoming more common”, he added.
World Vision International is an organization focused on improving the lives of children and families suffering from poverty and neglect and those living in locations where conflicts and natural disasters are part of daily life.
A large part of their fundraising is in the form of programs whereby members of the public are able to sponsor individual children or families. The funds raised in this way are used to make a difference, not just in the life of one child or one family, but in the entire community. Such programs aim to cover the most critical aspects and essentials of life including:
- Child Protection
- Food Security
- Clean and Safe Water
- Healthcare
- Education
- Care for people suffering from HIV, AIDS or Disabilities
In conclusion, as we are confronted on a daily, often hourly basis, not just by the devastating effects of natural disasters, but also by new horrors, violence and abject misery inflicted by human beings against their fellow men, women and children; it is clear that all aid / humanitarian organizations have an ever-increasing and difficult role to play. They need the best of the best to help them achieve their goals. An efficient logistics service, using competent and dedicated staff, is an essential part of the response that humanitarian organisations can offer.
Photo credits:
www.logcluster.org
www.wvi.org
www.graymatter.co.uk/category/digital
With permission from World Vision International
In a series of three very complete articles, Caroline Tully has been examining logistics, and looking into two key aid organisations, the ICRC, World Vision. Logistics is above about "getting the job done" in an accurate and timely manner, and I would like to thanks Caroline for bringing this attitude with her to Geneva Business News.