Consulting Support to Develop Strategy for UNFPA’s Supply Chain Management Unit

Maria Besiou

Understanding and supporting the mission of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is at the core of our proposal. UNFPA's commitment to improving reproductive health and rights, reducing maternal mortality, advancing gender equality, addressing the needs of youth and adolescents, leveraging population data for policy development, and responding effectively in humanitarian crises reflects a comprehensive approach to global health and equality. Our strategies are designed to align with and enhance these critical objectives, offering solutions that not only support but also amplify the impact of UNFPA's vital work in these areas. UNFPA's supply chain goals are strategically designed to effectively meet the organization's overarching objectives. These include ensuring the efficient delivery of reproductive health services and supplies, building a resilient and flexible supply chain capable of adapting to diverse and crisis situations, and employing data-driven strategies for optimization and improvement. Additionally, UNFPA places a strong emphasis on sustainability and ethical sourcing within its procurement processes, alongside a commitment to building and enhancing local supply chain capacities. These focused goals are essential in supporting UNFPA's mission to improve global reproductive health and advance gender equality.
Our proposal aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated strategy for SCMU that aligns people, processes and technology, addresses the complex and dynamic operational challenges and enables UNFPA to achieve its broader organizational goals. Our approach will include a detailed as-is assessment of the SCMU unit, shedding lights on its comparative advantages, emphasizing its unique value proposition and determining its ability to coordinate and oversee the end-to-end supply chain, from HQ to country level. This will form the foundation on which to build a comprehensive strategy for SCMU that seeks to improve procurement and logistics operations and visibility across the supply chain. Our approach recognizes that SCMU is an essential part of a broader ecosystem and is interconnected with the wider UNFPA organization as well as external sexual and reproductive health (SRH) actors and broader supply chain actors such as suppliers, transport providers and governments. We also acknowledge the dual mandate of UNFPA, both tackling development programs and humanitarian activities, emphasizing the need for SCMU to align with the larger organizational strategy.