IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Operations Is Sexy; Logistics Is What Makes it all Happen

We need to refocus our efforts.

If I could live my life all over again, I would pay more attention to the topic of logistics. Being an operations type of guy with many years of experience with the title "operations" (13 to be exact) it has taken me a while to wake up and understand the reality of logistics.

While we might not be fighting battles as emergency managers, the lessons of logistics and the supply chain that come from military history can inform us. The bottom line is that with no supplies you quickly lose the war.

The activated emergency operations center is all about coordination and information. This is where I have spent the majority of my efforts. However, in every large-scale disaster it is resource management that will win the day. We need to be able to identify resource needs, match the need with a resource and then coordinate the delivery of those resources to the right place at the right time, to the right person, and document every step of the process.

I recommend you go back and review your logistics procedures to ensure they work and then do some training and drills on just this topic. Otherwise, you will find that when needed there are fatal flaws in the system.

My favorite quote on this topic is: "Logistics, if it was easy it would be called taxes."

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
Sign up for GovTech Today

Delivered daily to your inbox to stay on top of the latest state & local government technology trends.