Acción militar entre las FARC y el Ejército, en medio del proceso de paz y

DHL, a global leader in express logistics, launched Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) in order to assist humanitarian operations with logistics expertise, assets, and qualified staff.

The DRTs consist of DHL‟s specially trained employee volunteers who are appointed to strategic airports involved in humanitarian relief operations in order to provide logistical expertise. This includes warehousing and inventory control, customs clearance, road operations, communications, safety, and security (“DHL prepared”, 2006; Perupu & Gupta, 2008) of incoming freight to accelerate the delivery of relief supplies (e.g. food, medicine, hygiene kits) to the disaster-struck regions (Hoffman, 2006; DHL, 2010b).

DHL established three DRTs of as many as 200 DHL volunteers covering primary areas around the world regularly hit by natural catastrophes. These include: DRT Americas in Panama, DRT Middle East/Africa in Dubai, and DRT Asia Pacific in Singapore (Figure 5.1) (DHL, 2010b). Hence, about 80% of the regions at high risk of being struck by a natural disaster are included in DHL‟s disaster preparedness programme (DHL, n.d.).

FIGURE5.1:THE GLOBAL NETWORK OF DHLDISASTER RESPONSE TEAMS (ADAPTED FROM

DHL DRT Asia Pacific was launched in April 2006 and was the first DRT set up by DHL. Its location in Singapore provides a well developed telecommunications and logistics infrastructure and is central to all Asian regions that may be affected by calamities (United Nations Information Service, Vienna, 2007).

The launch of the DHL DRT Americas in Panama in June 2006 guarantees the coverage of the U.S., Caribbean, Central America, and South America in case of an emergency. The DRTs focus on supporting governments with the handling, warehousing, and loading of relief supplies in order to enhance the flow of goods and accelerate their distribution to victims.

Finally, the third team, DHL DRT Middle East/Africa, was set up in November 2007 in Dubai. “Thanks to the third Disaster Response Team, which will be stationed in Dubai, the company can now provide skilled support to humanitarian relief operations around the world. A total of 200 employees are now on call 24 hours a day around the world, ready to quickly create a logistics infrastructure at airports” said Monika Wulf-Mathies (Perupu & Gupta, 2008, p. 10).

The teams are in the line of duty for up to three weeks in the aftermath of a disaster in order to coordinate airport logistics (Binder & Witte, 2007) and are usually ready for operation within 72 hours after being called to service by the UN OCHA (DHL, 2010b).

In the case of an emergency the UN OCHA will request support from DHL DRTs for the handling of relief operations. In order to that the team can benefit from local staff, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has to be signed by local authorities prior to the deployment of the DRT which guarantees unlimited access to the airfield (Figure 5.2).

The three main tasks of the DHL DRTs are:

 Organizing the transfer of incoming relief goods from aircraft pallets to standard wooden pallets

 Setting up and managing a professional warehouse at the airport, including the sorting and inventorying of goods

 Organizing the loading of relief goods onto vehicles for onward transportation

(N. Batkin, personal communication, March 19, 2010)

FIGURE5.3:DHLDISASTER RESPONSE TEAM:SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES (DHL,2010B)

Figure 5.3 provides an overview of the DRTs‟ scope of operations, including the handling and warehousing of incoming relief supplies and the loading of goods onto vehicles for delivery to the areas where the supplies are

needed. In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, the DRT administered a 3,000sq meter warehouse for storing relief goods of aid organisations other than the UN. Additionally, forklifts for unloading and loading goods onto vehicles, as well as trucks of gasoline, and food were provided (business.un.org, 2010).

The teams encompass approximately 80 DHL employees who voluntarily take part in relief operations besides their regular jobs at the organisation. Once the DRTs are deployed at an affected airport, about 18 members are constantly present throughout the operations in twelve-hour shifts. Additionally, they cooperate with local DHL staff whose participation needs to be agreed on in advance (N. Batkin, personal communication, March 19, 2010).

The basic equipment, such as information and communications technology (ICT), workwear, office supplies, and operational supplies necessary to establish the relief operations are on hand. Nevertheless, for the successful coordination of airport logistics, office and warehouse space needs to be provided as well as basic transportation assets, such as forklifts for moving goods.

In the development phase of the DHL DRTs, attention is paid to improving stakeholder relationships, especially with regard to governments and NGOs since they are essential when it comes to providing fast and effective relief support. Standard processes for the accurate deployment of the teams are also developed. Finally, the team building process aims at providing the team members the necessary skills (first aid, airport ramp safety, operational processes, etc.) through training sessions and “developing them into a cohesive unit” (Perupu & Gupta, 2008, p. 9).

Since the establishment of the partnership with the UN OCHA in 2006, and previous involvement of DHL staff in humanitarian aid missions, the organisation has contributed to the management of various disaster response missions. Table 5.13 provides an overview of the active involvement of DHL in the aftermath of natural disasters.

2010

 March: Earthquake, Chile (Santiago de Chile and Concepción), 8 DRT members

 January-February: Haiti (Airports of Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) 36 DRT members handled more than 2,000 tonnes of relief supplies (business.un.org, 2010)

2009

 October: Earthquake, Indonesia (Padang), 10 DRT Members

 October: Tsunami, Samoa, 2 (plus 10 in Padang) DRT Members

 October: Typhoon Ketsana, Phillippines (Manila), 15 DRT Members

2008

 May - June: Typhoon Nargis, Myanmar, 11 DRT Members

2007

 August: Earthquake, Peru (Pisco), 14 DRT Members handled 2,700 tonnes of relief supplies (Van Wassenhove, Tomasini & Stapleton, 2008)

2006

 December: Typhoon Durian, Phillippines (Bicol Region), 5 DRT Members

 June: Earthquake, Indonesia (Java), 14 DRT Members handled over 160 tonnes of relief supplies (Perupu & Gupta, 2008)

2005

 October: Earthquake, South Asia (Chakala Air Base, Pakistan), 30 DRT Members handled 9,000 tonnes of relief supplies (Van Wassenhove, Tomasini & Stapleton, 2008)

2005

 September: Hurricane Katrina, USA (Little Rock, AR), 21 DRT Members handled 2,000 tonnes of relief supplies (Van Wassenhove, Tomasini & Stapleton, 2008)

2004

 December - January 2005: Tsunami, Indian Ocean (Colombo, Sri Lanka), 35 DRT Members handled about 9000 tonnes of relief supplies (DHL, 2009, Podcast)

2003

 December - January 2004: Earthquake, Iran (Bam)

TABLE5.13:LISTING OF MAJOR DEPLOYMENTS OF THE DRTS (ADAPTED FROM N.BATKIN,

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION,MARCH 19,2010)

Regarding the 2006 earthquake in Java, the DHL DRTs were actively involved in relief operations. The volunteers handled over 160 tonnes of relief supplies, working together with army officials and the local air force (Perupu & Gupta, 2008). Their main tasks can be summarised as checking, recording, and allocating incoming relief items by air transport and repacking these for onward distribution to the locations of people in need. In addition, local staff were trained by DHL volunteers with regard to main logistics processes, such as the coordination and handling of cargo, so that a smooth flow of goods could be guaranteed after the DHL DRTs had left the disaster-struck region (Perupu & Gupta, 2008).

DHL DRT Americas provided support in relief operations in the aftermath of the earthquake in Peru in August 2007. The team operated out of the Pisco Airbase, where temporary warehouses for stocking incoming relief supplies were built. Moreover, goods were sorted and loaded onto trucks or helicopters for transport to the affected locations.

5.3.3.3 The partnership as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project

DHL‟s corporate culture is characterised by employee engagement through their participation in local, regional, and global projects addressing community needs. Disaster Management, as one part of DHL‟s CSR programme (alongside Health, Education, and Environment), is expressed in the establishment of the partnership with the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and the UN OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). DHL, therefore, implemented a three-pillar initiative in the area of disaster management, including “Disaster Preparedness”, “Disaster Response”, and “Post-Disaster Reconstruction” (Chong, 2009).

The Disaster Preparedness approach focuses on the exchange of DHL‟s

logistics knowledge with governments and non-governmental organisations in order to assist with emergency logistics preparedness planning and public education and awareness. The GARD (Get Airports Ready for Disasters) project, launched in 2009 by DHL and the UNDP for preparing airports for future disasters, is an exemplar innovation for the disaster preparedness initiative.

The second pillar Disaster Response refers to the DHL DRTs practice of supporting local airport staff with the handling of relief supplies in emergency situations.

Finally, the Post-Disaster Reconstruction initiative consists of long-term projects in the aftermath of a disaster for the purpose of supporting the recovery process of local communities (Chong, 2009).

In 2006, the Institute of Public Relations in Singapore bestowed the Public Relations in the Service of Mankind (PRISM) award for DHL‟s Best Corporate Social Responsibility programme. The award is related to DHL‟s relief operations in the aftermath of the South East Asian tsunami in 2004 (Perupu & Gupta, 2008).

DHL employees who are involved in disaster response actively live the company‟s identity as a “socially corporate citizen first hand” (Chong, 2009, p. 113). Hence, DHL is able to reinforce the employee‟s loyalty to the company and its mission and values. In addition, their actual participation in CSR programmes,

their pride in working for the organisation, and their intrinsic employee satisfaction may be enhanced as well.

According to Susan Meier (Director of CSR Strategy and Policy for Deutsche Post AG) “clients increasingly pay attention to our approach to sustainability – humanitarian commitment underpins enterprise value” (Perupu & Gupta, 2008, p. 11). She further states that employee motivation could be enhanced through DHL‟s DRTs since many employees volunteer to become part of the DRT‟s operations.