Agility, TNT and UPS hold joint training program

Logistics Emergency Teams prepared to support
humanitarian operations under the auspices of the
World Economic Forum

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

Over twenty 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) come together to better understand the complex issues faced by teams on the ground in relief operations. 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.” said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Logistics Officer.

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.

- Ends-

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 organisations. 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 they developed a joint operating structure – today’s LETs – to lend a collective hand to humanitarian organisations.

The Logistics Emergency Teams add to the member companies’ respective humanitarian partnerships. Agility's 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, delivering critical life support materials to 500 displaced families in Iraq with International Medical Corps, financing a primary health care center to serve 13,000 refugees in Darfur, and conducting nation-wide blood drives for the American Red Cross in Agility offices in the United States.

TNT has worked with the World Food Programme for six years, supporting WFP with knowledge, means and staff, helping over 1 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 has 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 agencies to ensure greater efficiency in the delivery of goods to emergency relief sites. In addition to supporting the LETs efforts in Myanmar, UPS donated $200,000 to CARE, and flew 71 tons of relief supplies to Bangkok.


About Agility

Agility is a leading emerging market multinational with more than 32,000 employees, and over 550 offices in 100 countries around the world. A publicly traded company, with over $6 billion in annual revenue, we have three key business groups - Global Integrated Logistics (GIL), Defense & Government Services (DGS) and Investments. Agility GIL is our commercial division, providing integrated logistics solutions to customers spanning a range of industries from technology and retail to defense and government and oil and gas. The Agility DGS business group provides comprehensive logistics solutions to various government entities and non governmental organizations on a global basis. With three business divisions - Real Estate, Private Equity and Trade Facilitators, Agility Investments utilizes the local insights from our global network to invest in specialized opportunities in the emerging markets.