Supply chain community unites to assist in Hurricane Isaac relief

On Tuesday afternoon, tropical storm Isaac became Hurricane Isaac and made landfall in Louisiana. With rainfall estimates potentially in excess of those seen during Hurricane Katrina, aid and relief groups have sprung into action. Among them is the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN), which is dedicated to engaging the supply chain community to support the humanitarian relief needs of individuals, communities and other relief organizations.

ALAN is now acting as a hub for requests for assistance and offers of support in the supply chain community, and is participating in emergency management conference calls for both public and private entities. ALAN urges impacted businesses and individuals to monitor official information sources for the most up-to-date- information, but it is also offering its own updates at http://www.alanaid.com and at the Warehouse Education and Research Council Website at http://www.werc.org.

As of mid-day on Wednesday, ALAN had issued a support request for warehouse and office space in the Baton Rouge, La., area, and had received unsolicited commercial offers for mobile generators available for rent. In addition to facilitating these service exchanges, ALAN has listed links to online tools where businesses can submit damage assessments, individuals can sign up for local FEMA RSS feeds and operations briefings, and businesses can pledge to join the National Preparedness Coalition.

ALAN president Jock Menzies thanked participating companies and individuals for their efforts in recent years to position ALAN to be effective in responding to events like Hurricane Isaac.

“Over the past few years ALAN has become an integral part of the emergency response framework by using its network to help nonprofit and government relief efforts connect with supply chain input and resources,” Menzies said. “We all have a stake in this and it has happened because of the generous support, financial and otherwise, of our industry community.”