Harmonized Supply Chain Information for Improved Commodity Security at Facilities

Health facilities in Zambia send in monthly logistics reports to a centralized electronic logistics management information system.  The information collected on routine logistics data can provide insight into the performance of the supply chain system (for example, do health facilities report monthly for regular re-supply of drugs and medical supplies and are those commodities stocked according to plan).  But the challenge is the data may not be used regularly if it is cumbersome to manipulate or too difficult to access.  A single stock availability / commodity report can generate over 10,000 records a month so typically data questions get delegated to the M&E staff because there is just too much data to consume; the ideal is that all technical staff would have the information easily and readily available to answer questions about the supply chain performance (using the phenomenal amounts of data already in the system).  

The goal was to create an analytics tool which would allow project staff to use logistics data in a more informed way by showcasing trends over time, creating alerts for data that is inaccurate, and building in filters to provide a way to look at data and information in a more flexible way.  A CLA approach would ensure the analytics tool would reflect the needs of all project staff and provide insight into the performance of the logistics system in Zambia.