Regional Supply Chain Resilience Project

Puget Sound Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program:
​Supply Chain Project

​The Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) worked with key private sector organizations and the Puget Sound Regional Catastrophic Planning Team (RCPT) to implement a series of stakeholder identified strategies to improve regional supply chain resilience. The goal of the project was to develop a supply chain resilience working group made up of public/private stakeholders to provide input and advise the region on issues related to supply chain resilience. Read the Final Report here. 

Click Here for the Final Report

Through this process, the working group developed a mutual aid memorandum of understanding for Puget Sound ports to share resources during a catastrophic event; develop a regional strategy for supplying Community Points of Distribution for needed post-disaster government provided commodities; and create a strategy for coordinating between the government led recovery efforts and the private sector to more rapidly restore commerce and the economy.

Executive Summary
Washington State is one of the most trade dependent states in the United States, with an estimated one in three jobs being dependent on trade. It is projected that the supply chain network in the region and the state would be severely disrupted following a major earthquake on any of a number of the Northwest’s major faults. Additionally, a terrorist attack against a single point target or multiple targets of critical infrastructure could cripple the region’s ability to conduct commerce. Lessons learned from past events, such as the Kobe and Christchurch earthquake, reinforced the importance of recovery planning for the region.

The Regional Catastrophic Planning Team identified Supply Chain resilience as a priority issue for the region. As part of the work to build a more resilience Regional Supply Chain it was recommended to exam several of the past lessons learn from regional exercises and real world events. This report will highlight initial priorities that the Supply Chain Work Group identified as well as provide recommendations for regional coordination for supply chain resilience. The initial priorities the work group focused on include: designation of points of distribution, identification of alternate means of delivery, and disaster recovery transition planning between the government and private sector.

​It is important to note that this work group is committed to meeting beyond the end of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant Program. This project will be sustained through ongoing recovery planning activities in further developing comprehensive recovery plans. The PNWER Center for Regional Disaster Resilience in Partnership with the Washington State Homeland Security Region 6 Critical Infrastructure Work Group will manage any follow-on efforts after the time of the grant.

Scope
The main objectives of the project were to develop a supply chain resilience working group consisting of transportation and supply chain stakeholders across the 8 county RCPGP. A series of workshops conducted by the working group researched the designation of community points of distribution (CPODs), identification of alternate means of delivery, and transition plan from government to private sector.

Final Products/Deliverables

• Task 1. Create a working group to focus on supply chain resilience. This group will include key transportation and supply chain stakeholders, and additional state and local agencies, infrastructures, industry, businesses, and community organizations essential to sustaining the regional economy.
• Task 2. Develop a memorandum of understanding for Puget Sound ports for post-disaster mutual aid to assist in keeping maritime business in the region.
• Task 3. Identify best practices and develop a transportation strategy for community points of distribution for government provided commodities post disaster, track supply chain routes and alternate means of delivery.
• Task 4. Develop a strategy for coordination between government and the private sector after the government’s role in disaster response and short-term recovery are reduced and to more rapidly restore commerce and the economy.
• Task 5. Develop a Critical Infrastructure Protection Action Strategy in response to the transportation impacts identified during the Evergreen Earthquake, Blue Cascades, Maritime Projects, and other CIP related exercises.
• Task 6. Develop tools and pre-messages for sharing important transportation information between jurisdictions and transportation stakeholders, including promotion of the FirstToSee social media management system to the eight counties and all cities over 50,000 in the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program planning area