By Sarah Leask (JLSO Relationship Manager)
New Zealand Defence Force personnel responded with speed and efficiency to the recent earthquake and tsunami, which shook the Asia Pacific region. So too did the Joint Logistics and Support Organisation (JLSO) and the vendors, coordinated by the JLSO team.
Unloading cargo
A shared Service organisation, JLSO works behind the scenes to provide the NZDF with operational capability support. Many of the suppliers managed by JLSO’s Relationship Management team provide a support function vital to making the logistic supply chain work successfully.
The support offered by JLSO may be out of sight, but it should not be underestimated. In the event of an emergency, vendors are expected to step up and deliver prompt and efficient service, and every company we called on to assist with the September relief effort did just that.
In response to news of the tsunami, NZDF’s travel management company, APX, immediately ran reports identifying any NZDF personnel travelling in the affected South Pacific areas. Their prompt response allowed the early identification of only one potential traveller, who they confirmed had already safely returned to New Zealand. Meanwhile, BP assessed and advised the NZDF of the status of jet fuel supplies in Samoa and American Samoa. Their excellent communication ensured that NZDF experienced no operational impact, despite the potential for large unannounced uplifts against a limited supply.
In Devonport, Navy personnel had all hands on deck preparing the HMNZ CANTERBURY to fulfil its role in the tsunami relief effort. At the same time vendor Blackwoods Paykels sprang into action after being given less than 24 hours notice to source and deliver the urgent influx of orders for supplies required for the vessel.
Blackwoods Paykels staff went above and beyond the call of duty by working overtime, accepting evening deliveries to residential addresses and taking personal responsibility for delivering product to Devonport to ensure CANTERBURY could depart as scheduled.
DHL’s Disaster Response Team (DRT), Asia Pacific, quickly kicked into what they had trained and prepared for—the swift distribution of emergency supplies. In Samoa, two DRT members arrived on the weekend immediately following the tsunami to support the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination and provided logistics advice and surveillance.
Back in New Zealand, JLSO’s Commercial Support Relationship Management team was liaising with NZDF suppliers to conduct stock assessments to make sure all orders could be met. The warehouse team at Yakka Apparal Solutions Ltd (YASL) was manually consolidating prioritised orders to ensure vital goods such as mosquito nets were dispatched on time.
With many of the main roads in the North Island closed due to snow, transport options were restricted, and the team needed some quick thinking to source alternative air freight options. Despite the odds, YASL’s logistics provider, Post Haste, was one of the first vehicles through when the road re-opened, meaning we got the required orders to Linton before the cut off time for departure.
Events such as these, and the consequent demands placed on suppliers, are a good reminder that JLSO exists to support military operations. But, if it wasn’t for the established relationships between the JLSO Commercial Support Relationship Management team and suppliers, and their ability to work well under pressure, personnel deployed to the disaster area at short notice would have been pushed to fulfil their roles as successfully as they did.
Well done to the NZDF suppliers who went the extra mile to ensure the NZDF could meet its operational needs.
For more information on the services offered by JLSO, NZDF staff can visit the intranet site.