Earlier this year, representatives from public and private entities in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., tested their ability to respond to a supply chain emergency. With smartphones in hand, they participated in a disaster simulation that requires players to choose distribution strategies and allocation methods to counteract resource constraints. The game illustrates the beneficial impact on communities when players employ a collaborative response, according to the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN), which conducted the training sessions with support from a Baltimore Gas & Electric Emergency Response and Safety Grant. Participants included students, government officials, and representatives from private industry and nonprofit agencies.
The workshops were hosted in late March by the National Capital Area Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) in Washington, D.C., and by the Howard County (Md.) Community Emergency Response Network and Chamber of Commerce. Undergraduate supply chain students at the University of Maryland's R.H. Smith School of Business also played the simulation game, while graduate students conducted a more complex exercise simulating coordination of an entire community's disaster response.
ALAN is seeking partners to host similar supply chain disaster preparedness events across the country. To find out more, contact info@alanaid.org.
