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creation Date:

Oct 13, 2009

The Logistics Cluster supports the broader humanitarian community (including WFP, UN agencies and recognised NGOs) during an emergency by providing logistical services, covering the coordination and transportation of supplies (usually Non-Food Items) from various Entry Points to Extended Points of delivery.

This is known as the Logistics Common Service.

Commodity Tracking is necessary to ensure that goods moved by the Logistics Common Services can be planned for (being aware of shipments due to arrive); tracked (locating the position of a shipment); and audited (total amounts moved per operation).

Managing this information is complex and time-consuming. Although the basic cargo-tracking need is the same across all operations, the underlying specific requirements can often differ widely. This has lead to the development of a variety of computerised tools, ranging from spreadsheets to databases.

The internet-enabled tool, Relief Item Tracking Application is currently under development, and an early release is expected in the second half of 2010.