History and Mission

The visible catastrophes of the 2005 hurricane season deeply disturbed many people, not directly in harm's way. Many logistics professionals felt that the distribution failures seen in the Katrina aid zone could have been avoided with better planning, communication and execution. A "Call for Action," authored by Mark Richards, president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), was published and the response planning was initiated.

In the fall of 2005, a group of professionals met while attending the CSCMP National Conference to discuss this apparent need. It became clear from their discussion that there was an interest in determining how professional trade associations could help organize the desire of many of their members to help in these times of need.

In the spring of 2006, an even larger group met at the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC) National Conference and the discussions centered on forming a structure by which this could be accomplished. It was agreed that there was not sufficient time to develop this organized response before the 2006 hurricane season. Therefore, a goal was set to have it in place by the beginning of 2007.

Fundamental to the organization of this effort was that participation by members of the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) would be on a strictly voluntary basis with appropriate guidelines being followed.

ALAN is continuing its organizational efforts and expects to be operational by June of 2007.

Tenets of ALAN's approach at this time are:

ALAN Mission Statement      To unite the supply chain community to support and assist humanitarian relief efforts

ALAN participation is on a voluntary basis. ALAN provides access to resources to agencies to allow them to provide solutions. It is a supplement, not an alternative, to existing agencies. The initial focus is on supporting National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) agencies operating in North America. NVOAD coordinates and communicates for member charities and interfaces with FEMA and DHS on the national level. The trigger for ALAN participation will be the declaration of a national disaster. ALAN will seek to assist agencies and volunteers in preparing for and responding to events.