In the event of humanitarian disasters, DHL is one of several global organisations that lends its logistics expertise to the relief effort, and when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma) in May this year, one if its disaster response teams was sent in to help.
 Cyclone Nargis was the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar. Originating in the Bay of Bengal, it made landfall on 2 May, causing immense destruction and killing an estimated 90,000 people. The United Nations estimated that 1.5 million people were “severely affected”.
Relief efforts were hampered by political interference, with the country’s military rulers initially resisting aid from outside organisations, and it was only after several days that they officially asked the United Nations (UN) for help.
Training for disaster deployment
DHL maintains three dedicated disaster response teams (DRTs) around the world, composed of volunteers who are experts in the areas of goods handling, warehouse management, inventory and customs. The teams have been involved in a number of global disasters, including the May 2006 earthquake in Jogyakarta and Central Java, the Asian tsunami in 2004, the Pakistan earthquake and Hurricane Katrina in October 2005, and the earthquake in Peru in August 2007.
Prior to any deployment, the DRT volunteers undergo training to ensure they are prepared when called upon. Training encompasses simulation exercises which recreate the role DHL typically undertakes in the event of a disaster. In these sessions, participants are equipped with practical operational procedures, leadership and communication skills; teamwork is encouraged.
Team members are selected so that the skill base of the team as a whole is varied, with experts chosen from warehouse operations, couriers, IT, administration, security and communications, along with those who have prior experience in the military and police and who have first aid training.
 Initial impressions
DHL signed an official memorandum of understanding with the UN to provide logistics assistance in the distribution of international aid in Myanmar. Under the terms of the memorandum, DHL was assigned the task of managing the common humanitarian warehouse, located south-west of the main city of Yangon, 25 minutes from its airport, for a period of three weeks.
Tim Allan, head of resource and vendor management for the Asia-Pacific DHL IT Services Centre in Malaysia, has been with DHL for over 13 years and was the team leader of the DRT deployment in Myanmar. He arrived in the country on 9 May. “On leaving the airport in Yangon, the most noticeable impact of the cyclone was the uprooted trees and building roof damage,” Tim says. “Yangon used to be a very green city, with large parks and tree-lined streets. The cyclone destroyed much of that.”
The DRT was initially delayed because of the time it took team members to get visas approved for entry into the country, which also meant the size of the team varied over time. “In all we had a dozen DHL team members deployed on the ground and supplemented their role with support from local volunteers,” Tim says. “That was another thing that struck me about the country – the passion of the local volunteers. They were extraordinarily hard-working, and went out of their way to help in anyway they could. It was truly remarkable.”
Logistics experience
The 3050 sq m warehouse facility was a central consolidation point for supplies directed through various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Myanmar, and DHL’s team was tasked with organising and managing the goods intended for communities affected by the cyclone.
“The key to providing support is to focus on the skills you bring,” Tim says, “and for the DHL team our focus is logistics handling. This includes warehouse services, inventory control and load management. We go into every deployment looking to do the best job we can within our scope of responsibility.”
In the case of Myanmar, it was to manage the warehouse, including receiving and sorting cargo so that it could be re-loaded onto trucks or aircraft, engaging local workers for assistance, setting up communications for the site, and restoring power at the facility so that staff could work into the night in shifts to distribute aid as swiftly as possible.
 Staying focused
Even though the team weren’t working in the ‘last mile’ of distribution to the end recipients of the aid, which was the purview of the NGOs, it was still at times a distressing job. “Knowing we had a job to do, and focusing on doing our job to the best of our ability, helped keep reality in check. We helped in the best way we know how,” Tim says.
“People ask what was the biggest personal moment taken from going to Myanmar and being part of the DRT. I find it difficult to put into words, with so many situations and people coming to mind, other than just to say, as a human being, how can you turn away when another is in so much need, and we as an organisation have a way to help?”
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