The focus of the first ConnectChains - Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference, which celebrated its premiere on November 29 at the Federal Ministry of Transport in Berlin, was the transfer of knowledge and the networking of all players in humanitarian and commercial supply chain management with the aim of being able to manage crisis situations even better.
The target group of the summit are logistics and supply chain experts in humanitarian and development aid organizations as well as logistics companies. Representatives from foundations, academia and governments as well as international donors were also invited.
Welcome (Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Ministry of Digital and Transport, Berlin, D)
10.10
Talk: What is the aim of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal and Fritz Institute? (Dr. Anisya Thomas Fritz, Co-Founder Fritz Institute, Mitsuko Mizushima, Chief Logistics Officer, San Francisco, USA)
10.30
Keynote: The most important challenges in humanitarian supply chain management (Lynn C. Fritz, CEO, Fritz Institute)
11.00
Presentation: Winning project of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics (David Alarcon, Vice President Corporate Finance, Paul Nguyen, Director of PMO, Marin Tomas, Senior Advisor for Logistics and Supply Chain, Dr. Mohammed Zurga, Director Global Pharmaceutical Services Unit – all International Medical Corps, USA)
11.20
Q&A: Winners of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal will answer questions
11.30
Coffee break
12.00
Impulse: Political risk indicators - How to predict crises using data analytics (Nicolas Schwank, Chief Data Scientist of Political Risk, Michael Bauer International, Heidelberg, D)
12.15
Panel discussion: Supply chain management – opportunities and challenges Ben Safari (Head of Supply Management Service, UNHCR, Budapest, H) Sara Penniman-Morin (Chief Global Supply Chain Officer (CGSCO) International Rescue Committee (IRC), NYC, USA) Prof. Sander de Leeuw (Chair of Operations Research and Logistics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, NL) Joep Kusters, (Head of Europe Coyote Logistics, Amsterdam, NL) Umer Khan, (Team Leader, SCM MENAE-A, USAID – BHA, Washington D.C, USA)
13.15
Summary and outlook: Application for Lynn C. Fritz Medal 2024 (Thilo Jörgl)
The focus of the second ConnectChains - Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference, which will take place at NRW State Representation to the Federal Government, Hiroshimastraße 12-16, Berlin on December 5, 2024, is the transfer of knowledge and the networking of all players in humanitarian and commercial supply chain management with the aim of being able to manage crisis situations even better.
The target group of the summit are logistics and supply chain experts in humanitarian and development aid organizations as well as logistics companies. Representatives from foundations, academia and governments as well as international donors are also invited.
Welcome Thilo Jörgl, Conference Director ConnectChains
9:40
Presentation: Public Private Partnerships First presentation of the results of a current study of Prof. Sander de Leeuw and Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner Prof. Sander de Leeuw, Chair of Operations Research and Logistics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen
10:00
Panel: Public Private Partnerships Martijn Blansjaar, Head of Logistics & Supply, Oxfam, Oxford/London Mitsuko Mizushima, Chief Logistics Officer, Fritz Institute, San Francisco Prof. Sander de Leeuw, Chair of Operations Research and Logistics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen Mayyada Ansari, Global Head of GoHelp, DHL Group, Bonn
10:50
Introduction: Lynn C. Fritz Medal Lynn C. Fritz, CEO Fritz Institute, San Francisco Dr. Anisya Thomas Fritz, Co-Founder Fritz Institute, San Francisco Mitsuko Mizushima, Chief Logistics Officer, Fritz Institute, San Francisco Marin Thomas, Senior Advisor Supply Chain, International Medical Corps, Split, HRV
11:05
Presentation: Winning project of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics Charles Lomali Iria, Business Development Manager, Strategies for Northern Development, Kenya Ibrahim Ali Dida, Executive Director, Strategies for Northern Development, Kenya-Ethiopia
11.20
Q&A Winners of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal answer your questions (Strategies for Northern Development, Kenya)
11.30
Coffee Break
12:05
Impulse and panel discussion: Infrastructure and processes – how ports and airports can better facilitate humanitarian logistics Dr. Florian Eck, Managing Director, Deutsches Verkehrsforum, Berlin Benjamin Brich, Chairman of the Board, humanilog, Hamburg Markus Bangen, CEO. duisport, Duisburg Johannes Peter, Managing Director, humedica, Kaufbeuren
12.45
Panel discussion: sustainability Ignazio Matteini, Principal Coordinator, Sustainable Supply, UNHCR, Budapest Sarah Penniman-Morin, Chief Global Supply Chain Officer (CGSCO), International Rescue Committee (IRC), NYC Dr. Beatrix Becker, Head of Sustainability Region Europe, DB Schenker, Frankfurt Dro André Gonsi, Regional Medical SC Administrator, International Committee of the Red Cross, Learner of the Year, Abidjan Prof. Dr. Yuehwern Yih, moderator, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
13.45
Outlook: Application for Lynn C. Fritz Medal 2025 Thilo Jörgl, Chairman of the Jury Lynn C. Fritz Medal
The focus of the 3rd ConnectChains - Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference, which will take place on December 4, 2025 at the Bertelsmann Repraesentanz, Unter den Linden 1, 10117 Berlin, is the transfer of knowledge and networking of all players in humanitarian and commercial supply chain management. The aim is to manage crisis situations even better in the future.
The conference is aimed at logistics and SCM experts in humanitarian and development aid organizations as well as commercial logistics companies. Representatives from foundations, academia and governments as well as international donors are also invited.
Program
9.00
Registration and coffee
9:30
Welcome Thilo Jörgl, Conference Director ConnectChains
9:45
Welcome: Fritz Institute
9:50
Keynote: N.N.
10:10
Impulse: N.N.
10:25
Panel discussion Panelists: N.N.
11.10
Presentation: Winning project of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics 2025
11:30
Q&A: The winner of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal answers questions
What projects can be submitted for the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics? What are the minimum components a proposal must include?
How to apply correctly:
A humanitarian organization may submit a completed supply chain management/logistics project with demonstrable results. Several organizations can also propose a project. The results must not be older than three years.
Justification must be provided as to why a project is innovative or sustainable, improves efficiency, and serves as a role model for the humanitarian logistics field.
A nomination is independent of an organization's name recognition or size. What matters is that the project was sustainable, had a positive impact, and serves as a role model for the sector.
The justification should describe online what actions were taken, how they were implemented, and what demonstrable results were achieved. The following structure with three headings should be used: Challenges, actions, and demonstrable results. Integrate facts and figures wherever possible.
Each proposal must be justified and be demonstrable. Sources and links should be provided online at the end of the application to substantiate statements.
Proposals are free of charge and can only be submitted online at www.logisticshalloffame.net.
