Fair and Resilient Logistics for Essential Goods and Services

Main objectives and activities include:

• mapping the logistics system of a selected geographical area, including major freight flows and the identification of supply chains and deliveries that are essential for the functioning of society, such as food, water, medicines, medical supplies, and deliveries to hospitals;

• defining logistics system preparedness levels and minimum service levels for different categories of essential supplies, taking into account availability, reliability, delivery time, and the maximum acceptable duration of supply interruptions;

• developing simulation models for analysing different disruption scenarios, conducting “what-if” analyses, and performing stress tests of logistics systems and supply networks;

• identifying critical infrastructure and logistics assets, bottlenecks, dependencies, and single points of failure, while assessing the availability of alternative suppliers, warehouses, transport routes, transport modes, and distribution points;

• analysing the substitutability of unavailable system components, the use of alternative delivery solutions, and the dynamic prioritisation of freight flows depending on the type, scale, and duration of a disruption;

• developing a vulnerability and accessibility index to identify areas that are particularly exposed to logistics disruptions while also facing limited access to essential goods and services;

• designing proactive resilience measures, including supplier diversification, increased redundancy, alternative routing strategies, reserve capacity, and strategic stockpiling;

• developing contingency plans for different categories and scales of disruption, including the use of reserve resources, alternative supply sources, existing infrastructure, and transparent rules for prioritising critical deliveries;

• assessing the ability of logistics systems to maintain predefined preparedness and service levels over time, as well as their capacity to adapt to and recover from disruptions;

• adapting and developing logistics resilience indicators and analysing trade-offs between resilience, cost, emissions, energy consumption, efficiency, and accessibility of essential services;

• comparing logistics systems across participating countries or regions, assessing the transferability and scalability of the developed methods, and formulating practical recommendations and guidelines for public authorities, infrastructure managers, and logistics operators.

The project is intended to provide both methodological advances and practical decision-support solutions that can be applied by public authorities, logistics operators, infrastructure managers, emergency services, and other stakeholders responsible for maintaining the continuity of essential supply chains.