Food & Non-Food Commodities

Currently, DRMFSS primarily transports four types of food – three dry items (Cereal, Pulses and CSB); and one wet product - cooking oil (palm oil, transported in tins or jerry-cans inside cardboard cartons). During the workshop held on 10-11 November, the decision was made to require the tracking system to also record non-food items.

Note: The ability to record both food and non-food items has been implemented as part of Phase 1. However, as NDRMC rarely transports non-food items, this aspect has yet to be fully tested.

Measurement of quantities

There are two ways to measure commodities:

• The first is by weight – for example, 200 metric tonnes (MT) or 2,000 Quintal of wheat
• The second is by unit – for example, 1,000 bags of wheat at 50Kg each.

The current requirement of DRMFSS and WFP is to track food – Wheat, pulses, oil, etc. – with quantities being calculated on the basis of weight alone. Although wheat comes in bags, oil in tins, etc., the units are not recorded. WFP is currently exploring the possibility of transporting food in bulk – having grains imported and placed into silos, and then bagged and trucked as required. This will have no impact on the current method of recording stock by weight. During the workshop held on 10-11 November, the decision was made to require the tracking system to also record unit. During the completion of Phase I development, the system allows the entry of both weight and units. Most Addis-level functionality is likely to focus more on weight rather than units, and so a decision will need to be taken on a case-by-case basis as to how quantities are recorded. Any Logistics-based functions, for example, may require both weight and units.

Humanitarian Aid Programs (Relief & PSNP)

The three operation programs, namely Relief, PSNP and IDPS (Fast-on-set) should be supported in CATS. Assuming no significant differences in the types of figures recorded, or the processes followed, there should be no restriction of the later recording of other projects. Unlike hub-based operations, Relief and PSNP requirements at the Addis level are significantly different and due consideration should be given for investigation into these two programs.

Commodity Identifiers

Commodities are identified in two separate ways:

• Project Code: This is a code used within DRMFSS, and is allocated either by the individual hub, or by DRMFSS Logistics in Addis, depending upon the particular process (whether normal allocation, loan repayment, etc.). The term Project Code here should not be confused with a WFP term with the same name. The DRMFSS Project Code (referred to in this document only as ‘Project Code’) relates to a particular shipment received at a specific hub. The WFP Project Code (always referred to with the prefix ‘WFP’) is not relevant to this project, and refers to a type of commodity being recorded by WFP. There is an issue with this code, in that over time there is no guarantee it will be unique. When being recorded manually, this is less of an issue, as the individual recording the code can use their judgment as to which is the correct version). However, when using an electronic system such as the CTS, either business rules need to be developed or a system of unique codes needs to be enforced. As CATS integrates the hubs and central logistics to a greater degree, it may be possible for the CATS to suggest a unique number, reducing confusion.

• Shipping Instruction (SI): This is a code used by WFP to report back to donors. This code is intended to relate each physical bag of wheat, jerrycan of oil, etc. back to the original donor, expiry date and entry date into the country.