W<strong>in</strong>ner <strong>Lynn</strong> C. <strong>Fritz</strong> <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Humanitarian</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> Page 20
W<strong>in</strong>ner <strong>Lynn</strong> C. <strong>Fritz</strong> <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Humanitarian</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> Game Changer Software <strong>International</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Corps</strong> receives the <strong>Lynn</strong> C. <strong>Fritz</strong> <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Humanitarian</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>2023</strong> <strong>for</strong> an <strong>in</strong>novative IT project. Karnak, Luxor Temple, Valley of the K<strong>in</strong>gs: Every year, thousands of tourists take a Nile cruise to visit the famous sights along the northern part of the world’s longest river (6,650 kilometers). As a rule, none of these Africa fans get further than Aswan. They all stay <strong>in</strong> Egypt. Further south, there are no motifs <strong>for</strong> the photo album. South Sudan is not a tourist stop. Conflict and <strong>in</strong>stability do not attract visitors. Rather, the drought-stricken, poor country is a dest<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>for</strong> humanitarian organizations. Some 4,9 million people are <strong>in</strong> need of humanitarian aid. Food, medic<strong>in</strong>e, clean water — everyth<strong>in</strong>g is lack<strong>in</strong>g. One of the humanitarian organizations active <strong>in</strong> this country is <strong>International</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Corps</strong>. Its approximately 8,000 employees have provided disaster relief <strong>in</strong> more than 80 countries s<strong>in</strong>ce its found<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1984. South Sudan is currently a priority country <strong>for</strong> the organization, which is based <strong>in</strong> the USA. And there, where liv<strong>in</strong>g conditions are extremely poor and the <strong>in</strong>frastructure particularly dilapidated, <strong>International</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Corps</strong> has tested an <strong>in</strong>ternally developed software, the Pharmaceutical In<strong>for</strong>mation Management System (PIMS), <strong>for</strong> the last mile of supply-cha<strong>in</strong> management and attracted worldwide attention with the results. The results also attracted the attention of the 16-member jury of the <strong>Lynn</strong> C. <strong>Fritz</strong> <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Humanitarian</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong>. The medal is awarded by the <strong>Logistics</strong> Hall of Fame and sponsored by the San Francisco-based <strong>Fritz</strong> Institute. <strong>International</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Corps</strong> will be the first organization <strong>in</strong> the world to be awarded this medal, which was established <strong>in</strong> <strong>2023</strong>. That’s because it is us<strong>in</strong>g PIMS to solve a key problem <strong>for</strong> all humanitarian organizations: the procurement, track<strong>in</strong>g and dispens<strong>in</strong>g of medic<strong>in</strong>es, steps that until now have been documented and managed primarily on paper. Be<strong>for</strong>e the tool was developed, the last mile of the pharmaceutical supply cha<strong>in</strong> was produc<strong>in</strong>g mounta<strong>in</strong>s of paper. For example, consider a pharmacy that serves 500 patients a day. For each prescription, more than 40 pieces of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation must be recorded. That means that from the time the medication is received at the warehouse to the day it is dispensed to 500 patients, 20,000 pieces of data would be recorded. The mammoth task <strong>for</strong> the pharmacists? All that data must be digitized and <strong>for</strong>warded to a central location <strong>for</strong> analysis and replenishment. “This takes weeks, and it’s impossible to quickly ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>sights from this data to reduce costs or improve per<strong>for</strong>mance,” reports David Alarcon, Vice President of Corporate F<strong>in</strong>ance at <strong>International</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Corps</strong>. “Manag<strong>in</strong>g supply cha<strong>in</strong>s Seite Page 21
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