Supply chain performance improvement program at the central medical store in Namibia

Focus Area
Country engagement
Category
Report
Country
Namibia
Language
English

The purpose of the Supply Chain Performance Improvement Program (SCPI) was to build capacity in Central Medical Store (CMS) staff in ISO-accredited warehousing best practices through a modular, adaptable three-phased approach. The need for local, country-specific training programs is in high demand. In response to increasing requests, including a request from the Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS), for a more country-specific, less resource intensive warehouse operations management (WOM) course, Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) staff designed the SCPI program. For years, the traditional capacity building approach in WOM was offsite, in-service training for central and regional medical store staff around the world. Staff would leave their posts for weeks at a time, usually with travel fees and course tuition funded by donor agencies. When staff returned to their posts, it was difficult to apply what they had learned in the state-of-the-art warehouse training facilities to their own unique warehouse environments.