Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics goes to International Medical Corps

Project leaders receive to medal at Logistics Hall of Fame gala reception in Berlin on Nov. 29.

The first winner of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics has been announced: in 2023, the medal awarded by the Logistics Hall of Fame and sponsored by Fritz Institute will go to the US-based humanitarian organisation International Medical Corps. With its internally developed software “Pharmaceutical Information Management System” (PIMS), the Los Angeles-based organization started a revolution in the management of the last mile in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Humanitarian organizations, pharmacies, governments and, most importantly, patients benefit from the IT deployment, which brings great time savings and deep transparency to the supply chain in disaster areas. The system is now successfully in use at 165 sites in 16 countries. Since October 2019, more than 1.7 million prescriptions have been processed in the software and approximately three million items have been dispensed to those in need.

With the software development, International Medical Corps solved a key problem for all humanitarian organizations: documenting and managing procurement, tracking and dispensing ofmedicines on paper. Because existing tools were too expensive or not suitable for use in disaster relief areas, in 2018 an interdisciplinary team developed the digital tool using a bottom-up approach.

Because PIMS enables efficient data collection and timely, flexible reporting, the use of the software increases process transparency for physicians, supply chain managers, health authorities and funders. It gives physicians more time to focus on their core competency of patient care. PIMS also helps users with quantification, pharmacovigilance and utilization review of medicines. Another benefit is the fact that the tool can be easily adapted to any language and requires neither a permanent Internet connection nor a constant power supply.

The 16 members of the jury chose International Medical Corps’ software project from all the entries because it was developed “by the sector for the sector and by practitioners for practitioners,” according to the citation. “The bottom-up approach and the interdisciplinary teams that created a cost-effective system that establishes maximum transparency and efficiency in the pharmaceutical supply chain in disaster areas were particularly impressive,” emphasized Thilo Jörgl, executive chairman of the jury of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal.

Contributing to the judges’ votes were results achieved through software use in Jordan, South Sudan and Yemen:
• PIMS pushed out-of-stocks and overstocks to less than 3 percent.
• Inventory accuracy increased to 99.8 percent in just the first month of use.
• Prescription time dropped from an average of four to five minutes to 41 seconds.
• Waiting time for those in need decreased from an average of 85 minutes to 16 minutes.
• The dynamic, proactive alert system resulted in 100 percent elimination of drug interactions and incorrect dosing.

Representatives from International Medical Corps will accept the medal at the Logistics Hall of Fame Gala Reception in Berlin on November 29. During that evening, Ingvar Hognaland and Jakob Hatteland, the cube storage pioneers, will be inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame. In addition, the Logistics Leader of the Year 2023 Award will be presented. The trophy will go to Axel Frey and Harry Seifert.

On the morning of November 29, representatives of International Medical Corps will present their award-winning project in detail at the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport. On that day, the premiere of ConnectChains – The Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference will take place there, attracting international experts from business, academia, humanitarian organizations and the United Nations.

The Hall of Fame can be accessed free of charge at any time at www.logisticshalloffame.net and offers detailed information and images about the Lynn C. Fritz Medal as well as the logistics milestones and their creators.

Background on International Medical Corps: International Medical Corps is active in some 30 countries worldwide, providing medical aid and training to people affected by conflict, disaster and disease. At the same time, it lays the foundation for sustainable development in crisis regions. The organization’s programs are funded by both public and private sources. Funders include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), and a number of corporations and foundations. The organization is based in Los Angeles and has offices in Washington, D.C., USA, London, UK, and Split, Croatia. International Medical Corps employs more than 8,000 people and has provided more than $4.2 billion worth of aid in some 80 countries since its founding in 1984.

Background on the Logistics Hall of Fame: The Logistics Hall of Fame honors international personalities who have rendered outstanding services to the further development of logistics and supply chain management. The goal of the Logistics Hall of Fame is to serve as a global platform for documenting the milestones of logistics and honoring its movers and shakers, thus underscoring the importance of logistics for business and society. The Logistics Hall of Fame also presents the Logistics Leader of the Year Award to current pacesetters in logistics. In addition, the Logistics Hall of Fame recognizes innovative logistics projects by humanitarian organizations with the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics. The sponsor is the Fritz Institute. The non-profit initiative is supported by politics, associations, media, business and science. Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, is the patron.

Sponsors: 24/7 ASSISTANCE, ADAC Truckservice, AEB, Working group logistics initiatives Germany, Baumann Paletten, BLG LOGISTICS, Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, German Road Haulage, Logistics and Waste Disposal Association (BGL), German Association for Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics (BIEK), Federal Association of Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV), German Transport and Logistics Association (BWVL), Federal Logistics Association (BVL), Business+Logistic, COYOTE LOGISTICS, German Transport Forum (DVF), Duisburger Hafen (duisport), EPAL, Förderverein Logistics Alliance Germany, Fritz Institute (Donor), GARBE Industrial Real Estate, Gebrüder Weiss, Goldbeck, HHLA, HIAB, impact media projects, International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), International Road Transport Union (IRU), Interroll Group, Krone, Lebensmittel Zeitung, LIP Invest, Locus Robotics, LOGISTIK-Kurier, LOGISTIC PEOPLE, LTG – Landauer Transportgesellschaft Doll, materialfluss, METRO LOGISTICS, pfenning logistics, PSI Logistics, RIO – THE LOGISTICS FLOW, Schnellecke Logistics, SCHUNCK Group, Seifert Logistics, SETLOG, SSI Schäfer, STILL (Donor), TGW Logistics Group, trans aktuell, Automotive Industry Association (VDA), Wiltsche Fördersysteme, Winner Spedition, WISAG.

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