Logistics 101

Many people ask what Venue Logistics is when talking about Games. It’s not a short answer, but it is relatively simple. We’ll try and break it down. Games need venues. Venues need stuff. Logistics brings stuff. That is the simple part. Here’s the long part.

When most people hear logistics, they think supply chain logistics, freight forwarding, customs clearance and the like. This is still true when talking about Games time logistics, but it’s only one part of the overall Logistics animal. Material Logistics, as it is often called, is the overall functional area that consists of, purchasing/procurement, freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehousing and venue logistics. Items need to be ordered, shipped into the host country, stored in warehouses and then delivered and used at the venue level. Without any one of these all important areas, the logistics animal for Games would die.

Now that that has been covered, back to the question at hand. What is Venue Logistics? Each venue typically has a Venue Logistics Manager (VLM), an Assistant Venue Logistics Manager (AVLM) and a logistics crew. The VLM and AVLM are responsible for the logistics planning for their assigned venue, as well as the daily logistics operations on the venue. Planning consists of designing logistics compounds to fit within the physical plant (or an allotted area directly adjacent) of the venue; material handling equipment allocation (i.e.: forklifts, hand trucks, pallet jacks, etc); workforce planning; and Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) allocation. FF&E is the term commonly given to “stuff”. FF&E is anything one might need to do their job on the venue. In part, tables, chairs, desks, lamps, cabinets, coat racks, sofas, sport equipment and countless other items fall into this category.

A VLM will meet with each Functional Area (FA) manager to capture their FF&E needs for their workspace during the Games. An FA could be Sport Management, Medical, Ticketing, Doping, Olympic Family (aka Dignitaries from competing nations), Security, Parking, Transport, Waste Management, Workforce Management, etc, etc, etc. There are too many FA’s assigned to each venue to list them all. Think of every FA that might be needed to put the games on and picture the workspace and areas they will populate during the games.

For example, the Sport Management manager may have six separate office/work spaces throughout the venue, in addition to the actual Field of Play (FOP) where competition takes place. In each of these areas, they will identify how many staff will work in each space, what FF&E will be needed, the move in date to the venue and their hours of operation. So, the Sports Venue Manager might say, I need 12 tables here, two desks there, 35 chairs here, 6 coat racks (it gets cold in Russia during the winter :) ), 8 file cabinets, 4 two door locking cabinets, two sofas, 12 PC’s, 20 phones, etc, etc. All of this data is captured in a database. This process is completed with every FA manager for the entire venue. The report then comes out that quantifies each piece of FF&E and where it will go. The bean counters get a hold of the numbers and tell us we’re over budget and we do the whole process over, and over again, paring down each manager’s wish list, until the needs of the venue team are met while being fiscally responsible. In the end, the report tells the VLM that 10,000 tables, 60,000 chairs, 15,000 desks, etc, are to be delivered to a particular venue. The FF&E is delivered to the venue and the logistics managers and crew are responsible for building out each space so each FA can move into their workspace, ready to work.

In addition to capturing the needs of the venue team, the VLM needs to reference multiple schedules for the venue to determine when each area  should be occupied. The VLM then determines how long before the start of the Games is needed to build out the venue. Of course, it’s not just the competition schedule that needs to be considered. The architectural drawings, venue build schedule, telecom cabling install, electrical cabling install, venue sweep and subsequent security lockdown and a host of other schedules need to be consulted to make sure the venue has what is needed. It doesn’t do any good to build the media area in the grand stands, if the necessary cabling and infrastructure is not in place to support the media’s needs, for example.

The VLM is also building their crew and creating daily Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). They have to determine delivery schedules, security screening areas, storage needs versus actual storage available. The venue has concessions, merchandise, ticketing, waste management and countless other resupply deliveries and pick-ups that need to be scheduled, screened and potentially stored on a daily basis. The delivery schedule falls under the scope of work for venue logistics and is managed daily by the VLM/AVLM. This process takes months to complete and is reworked again and again, until the venue’s needs are met and the schedules work on a global scale. Oh did we mention each venue is completing the same process. This means the schedules need to jive on your venue to accommodate the competition schedule; and the schedule can’t conflict with another venue’s schedule. After all, the same warehouse(s) supply and support all of the venues. Delivery resources can not be in 15 places at once. Because of this, some venues are 24 hour operations and some are non-stop with either competition or resupply from opening ceremonies to closing ceremonies.

As a Regional Logistics Manager, Mark will be responsible for the preliminary planning for all six venues in his assigned region, the Coastal Cluster. He will also oversee operations once each venue is staffed with appropriate logistics personnel. VLM’s will be hired, preliminary plans and schedules will be completed and ground work is set for a successful pass-down of information and details for each VLM once they are brought on board. Mark will be the direct supervisor of the VLM’s and AVLM’s in his region.

The Games begin in February 7, 2014. We will arrive in Russia with less than two years to get all of this completed. The Sochi 2014 website has a countdown to the games and it is already closing in on 700 days. www.sochi2014.com The funny thing about Games is the due date/deadline never changes. The whole world is ready for, and expecting, the Games to start and finish on a particular date. There are no extensions. There are no soft openings. There are no excuses. The best part is Logistics is at the heart of it all. The world is waiting and the world will be watching. We can’t wait!!!