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Fabrice Perrot: Logistics plays an essential role to the smooth running of our projects

Published on Friday 10 June 2016

Fabrice Perrot has been working at the head office of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL for over three years. As Logistics Manager, he reviews the responsibilities linked to this position and the main logistic challenges to come.

What is your background?

I graduated as a social worker. Before getting involved in the humanitarian field, I directed sociocultural associations in rural and urban areas (neighborhood houses, sociocultural centers, childcare facilities). In parallel, I took courses on coordinating and evaluating international solidarity projects. One of my internships, as part of these studies, was a mission in the field as base manager / logistician / administrator for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010. I have been at SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL since then.

Fabrice-Perrot

What are your responsibilities today?

I have been working at the head office for three years. My first position led me to coordinate logistics on our missions in West Africa and in Haiti. A year ago, I changed to become Logistics Manager for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, meaning I am in charge of all our logistics activities, whether at head office or on the field. With the logistics teams here and in our missions, we manage the buy-and-supply of the humanitarian equipment, vehicles, IT, communication equipment, buildings, etc., that is, everything that enables our teams to carry out our humanitarian projects.

What are the challenges regarding logistics for 2016?

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL currently has 20 humanitarian missions across the world, in which logistics plays an essential role for the successful running of these projects. In 2016, we want to strengthen our support to the missions by optimizing the supply chain for an ever faster rate of response, reinforcing the training of teams, using more efficient tools and keeping in mind that logistics costs linked to operations have to be rationalized to bring the best aid possible to our beneficiaries. Furthermore, the association wishes to be able to intervene better and faster on humanitarian crises in 2016; to achieve this, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is equipping itself with the appropriate means (human resources, emergency stocks, etc.).

Why emergency stocks?

In order to be the most efficient possible when a humanitarian crisis happens, it is critical to prepare our response in advance. When a crisis hits, equipment is the most important assistance we bring in the first hours. To respond quickly, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has to have humanitarian equipment on hand, ready to go. Our specialists in water, hygiene and sanitation identified a list of priority products to send our teams, enabling them to provide the vital needs of the populations that are the victims of a crisis. Thanks to its emergency stock designed to respond to the needs of 18,000 people, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is capable of distributing emergency kits that provide beneficiaries with drinking water and shelter for the first 24 hours after a humanitarian crisis hits. This equipment will be stocked at the head office of the NGO in Clichy and in Dubai, enabling rapid intervention worldwide. Worth close to 200,000€, financing this stock is a major challenge. Transporting this stock towards our areas of intervention by air represents a very substantial cost (between 100,000 and 200,000 €). We have to take this into account in our ability to be present as soon as possible for the affected populations. Setting up and deploying this stock is therefore crucial.

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