All programmes or projects must have a logistics plan where relevant, to address all the logistics issues and actions to be taken in the assessment, start-up, implementation and closure of projects. Country, Programme and Project Managers are responsible for ensuring that logistics plans are made and kept up-to-date.
The logistics plan is normally in two parts: a pre-assessment plan, followed by
a full logistics plan after the assessment has taken place.
4.2.1 Pre-assessment Plan
This is an initial plan of the logistics activities that are likely to be involved in the programme or project. It is based on experience of similar projects and similar locations. Use the contact sources listed in section 4.1 for more information.
The pre-assessment plan covers:
· Feasibility of the logistics activities
· Particular logistics issues that need to be taken into account
· Likely costs of logistics and supply activities
· Areas of logistics risk
· Discrepancies between requirements of potential donors and Oxfam supply procedures[1]
The full logistics plan is intended to detail the specific tasks that need to be undertaken in each of the four phases of the project cycle (assessment, start-up, implementation and closure), relating to the following areas:
§ Capital item tracking
§ Logistics staff
§ Office and staff accommodation
§ Warehouse and inventory management
§ Transport and distribution
§ Purchasing
§ Exceptional procedures re Donor compliance
§ Vehicle management
§ Communications and IT
§ Management information
§ Disposal of equipment and materials
§ Support to security management
Factors to consider in each of these areas include:
§ What tasks are required?
§ What is the timing and sequencing of activities?
§ What is the location of activity?
§ What are the quantities required?
§ What are the cost estimates and constraints?
§
Who needs to be
consulted, who makes decisions, and who carries out the actions?
The logistics plan must be conceived and regularly updated in consultation with line management and programme/ technical staff.
A checklist of tasks to be considered is given in the Logistics, Purchasing and
Supply Procedures Manual Logistics Plan Section.
The author of the logistics plan will produce a short summary of the plan (no more than two pages), to be used by the programme/project manager. This summary includes the following headings:
§ Feasibility of the logistics activities for the programme/project
§ Human resource requirements (including a plan of roles and responsibilities)
§ Logistics resource requirements (e.g. infrastructure, office, warehousing, communications, transport)
§ Materials, goods, services and works to be purchased
§ Estimated costs of the above
§ Critical timings (e.g. product lead-times and transport arrangements)
§ Key assumptions made and critical risks identified (including security risks).
This summary will be the basis of the logistics input into OPAL Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) and Project.