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Assessing the Supply Chain
Software for Procurement Planning

Assessing the Supply Chain

This checklist helps assess how the supply chain functions.It suggests the main questions to ask about the various components of a supply chain.

More comprehensive, qualitative information about a supply chain can be obtained using an instrument such as the Logistics System Assessment Tool. Quantitative information on stock levels, storage conditions, and LMIS data can be obtained using the Logistics Indicators Assessment Tool. Both instruments, which are detailed, categorized lists of questions, are available from the DELIVER Project at John Snow, Inc., 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209, USA.

Client-Focused Service

__ Has the program identified a list of products that it is committed to keeping available at all times, to all clients?

__ Does the program track how well clients are being supplied with the contraceptives they want?

__ Are the satisfaction of clients and compliance with service delivery standards measured regularly?

__ How often do clients leave service delivery points without the product they came for?

__ How often are facilities at any level out of stock?

Logistics Management Information System

__ Does the LMIS cover, for every reporting period, the beginning inventory balance, supplies received, supplies issued, ending inventory balance, and system losses?

__ Do workers throughout the system keep records for all contraceptives, by brand?

__ Does the LMIS gather, aggregate, and report dispensed-to-user data?

__ Is there a procedures manual for staff working with the LMIS?

__ What percentage of facilities accurately report LMIS data regularly?

__ Is LMIS information used for continuous monitoring of supplies, orders, and forecasts?

__ Is feedback provided to all reporting facilities?

__ Do stockouts trigger immediate supervisory action and placement of an emergency order?

__ Do policy-makers and senior managers receive and use logistics reports?

__ Is a clear, easy-to-understand LMIS report, showing trends in contraceptive consumption and stock levels, regularly prepared and circulated to all stakeholders?

__ Are logistics data periodically cross-checked against service statistics, survey data, and physical audits?

Supply Chain Staff

__ Does the organization have a logistics unit with adequate staff and budget?

__ Are logistics staff performing appropriate activities?

__ Does a senior logistics manager with sufficient decision-making authority have overall responsibility for managing supplies to meet program objectives?

__ Are supply chain staff trained in contraceptive logistics?

__ At all levels are job expectations, performance, and supervisory relationships based on clear written procedures and policies, and are these criteria made known to staff?

__ Do staff members in the supply chain, including service providers, have adequate logistics management skills to play their roles in forecasting, requisitioning, storekeeping, inventory control, distribution, supervision, and LMIS reporting?

__ Is there a permanent program to maintain and improve the performance of supply chain staff at all levels?

__ How frequent is logistics staff turnover, and how is turnover handled?

Forecasting and Procurement

__ Are periodic short-term and medium-term consumption forecasts prepared, updated, and validated for every program, commodity, and brand?

__ Do procurement plans take into account inventory levels, shipment and handling schedules, and anticipated changes in program activity?

__ Do program managers know and comply with procedures and schedules for ordering commodities from suppliers and donors, including trade, regulatory, and currency guidelines?

__ Does the program actively monitor and manage coordination of donors and suppliers to ensure continuous supply?

__ Are program managers aware of when funding decisions are made?

__ Is any outside funding tied to specific brands, thus limiting contraceptive selection?

__ Are projections of the cost of goods, warehousing, and transport included in program cost analyses and budgeting?

__ Which claims on budget resources will receive priority if funding is less than required?

__ Has a working relationship been developed with customs officials so that notice of customs problems comes early?

Warehousing and Storage

__ Is storage capacity large enough to meet current needs, and does the program have plans to meet future needs?

__ Do storage conditions meet acceptable standards, including guidelines for cleanliness, orderliness, arrangement and labeling of supplies, security, ventilation, light, temperature, fire safety, pest and water precautions, and use of pallets and shelves where appropriate?

__ At least once a year does each storage facility clear out all obsolete, expired, and unusable items?

__ Are physical inventories conducted at least annually at all storage sites?

__ Does the program have and comply with procedures for assuring product quality, including verifying that received products meet procurement specifications, visually inspecting goods, sampling and testing as required, destroying unusable products, and recording client complaints about product quality?

__ Are all contraceptives inventoried according to FEFO stock management procedures?

Distribution and Transport

__ Are the push and pull links between levels in the distribution system working effectively?

__ Does the distribution system have regular procedures to restock each level, such as maximum/minimum or topping up?

__ Does every level maintain inventories according to these procedures?

__ Have stockouts occurred during the previous year? If so, what products and brands were stocked out? How often did the stockouts occur, at what levels or locations, and how long did they last?

__ Does the logistics system track and document commodity losses and investigate if large quantities of supplies are unaccounted for?

__ Are transportation resources adequate, maintained, and used effectively?

__ Has the distribution system suffered any serious transport-related disruptions?

Policy and Adaptability

__ Is logistics information provided to appropriate policy-makers both inside and outside the organization including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, and donors?

__ Does the program rely on donors to supply contraceptives and to provide logistics technical assistance? If so, is there a long-term plan for local funding of contraceptive purchases and related logistics services?

__ Can the logistics system obtain the financial resources, either internally or externally, to meet growing demand with adequate, regular supplies?

Sources: Family Planning Logistics Management, 1995 (42), Family Planning Logistics Management, 2000 (49), United Nations Population Fund, 1995 (145), Wolff, 1991 (152).

James Phillips/Population Council This warehouse storage shelf is stocked with an ample supply of contraceptives. Products are labeled clearly, easily accessible, and organized for efficient management.

Software for Procurement Planning

The requirement estimation formula (see Figure 4) has been applied in various computer software programs for reproductive health programs. One such software program is PipeLine, designed to assist program and logistics managers with forecasting, pipeline management, and procurement planning. PipeLine is currently used by program logistics staff and managers in 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Designed by JSI, the PipeLine software program can be used to monitor total quantities of contraceptives consumed (actual and forecast), shipments of new products (planned, ordered, shipped, or received, and their value), inventory levels, and changes in inventory. From this information the software program can calculate procurement quantities and let the user know what actions to take for each shipment and when to take actions.

The program also predicts problems in the supply chain (for example, shortfalls, stockouts, or surpluses); calculates the procurement quantities needed and their estimated costs; and calculates consumption trends for up to 10 years to assist in forecasting. It can generate reports helpful to policy-makers, donors, and suppliers of contraceptives (46).

PipeLine is available from the Information Systems Manager, DELIVER/John Snow, Inc., 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th floor, Arlington, VA 22209, USA; by phone at (703) 528-7474; or on the Internet at http://deliver.jsi.com/software/software.html.