Monday, November 29, 2010

Lesotho Receives Container from MedShare with help of UPS and Aidmatrix Network

Congatulations to Medshare on their recent shipment to Lesotho. Aidmatrix is proud to partner with Medshare on such efforts as part of the Aidmatrix International Transportation Portal.



On Wednesday, November 17, 2010, a 40-foot container of medical humanitarian aid for Lesotho was loaded and shipped out of Medshare’s Western Regional Distribution Center. Through the Aidmatrix Network, a foundation that connects donors and relief organizations, UPS generously provided in-kind shipping of the container from California to the South African port. Lesotho is a tiny country in Southern Africa that actually has the 3rd highest HIV/AIDs rate in the world. The majority of the 2 million people living in Lesotho live in conditions of extreme poverty, and the rural hospitals and clinics lack basic medical supplies to care for patients.

Read the story on MedShare's website
Read the story on MedShare's blog

The New Airlink Informational Website Has Been Launched

Congrats to Airlink on their new information website. Please check out it at www.airlink-info.org. Aidmatrix is proud to be a partner of Airlink and to be able to donate this new service to this great effort. Thank you to the Aidmatrix supporters who helped make this happen.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Aidmatrix Deploys Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform (Phase 2)

Aidmatrix recently deployed our second production solution on Microsoft’s Window’s Azure Platform. This application is a Program Metrics and Evaluation solution used by one of our partners to track their clients and the humanitarian services these clientS receive at approximately 1,000 locations across the U.S. This application was an existing .Net 2.0 application running SQL 2005 which we ported to .Net 3.5, Azure SQL and Azure Compute. We migrated this application to confirm that the migration effort was straightforward and would take less than the person-hours needed to buy, build and implement a set of redundant web and SQL servers. The results of this effort confirmed that we will realize cost savings when porting applications to Azure as well as for new applications. The one major lesson learned from this effort is that there is an opportunity to develop a framework to simplify system monitoring, resource monitoring, data back and backup monitoring. We are working on this next and expect that once this is done - the monitoring and backup setup and operational costs will be lower than our in-house costs today. Congrats to the Aidmatrix team and thanks to all the Microsoft folks who volunteered their expertise to help us make this happen.

Michael Ross
Vice President - Delivery

Monday, November 15, 2010

Feeding America Launches its first Mobile Enabled Application in Partnership with Aidmatrix

With today’s workforce, mobility and access is key to employee productivity and effectiveness. Feeding America partnered with Aidmatrix to create a mobile enabled version of their ChoiceSystem – an on-line closed bidding and auction system that allows over 800+ users to bid on loads of products. This solution was launched into production on November 1, 2010. The joint team worked together to optimize the critical functionality for use on a smartphone. The members can view the loads available for bidding and see the results of the auction as to which bids they won or lost. Congratulations to Feeding America on this successful launch. Aidmatrix is honored to be able to partner with Feeding America on this innovative and socially impactful initiative.



David Grossnickle from Food Bank for New York City, Bronx, NY
“The ChoiceMobile application allows me to be more mobile to meet with food donors. By using ChoiceMobile I do not have to schedule my time around accessing the Choice System. More time spent interacting with current and potential food donors results in more food distributed to our programs."

Migdalia Otero from Island Harvest, Mineola, NY
“The experience was wonderful. The thought that I will not miss an offering anymore is exciting and the convenience of “shopping” while out on a call or meeting is fabulous. Thank you Feeding America for keeping up with Technology you get an “A+” for that.”

Maria Hough, Vice President of Logistic, Feeding America
“Our members wear many hats in their daily activities, ChoiceMobile gives them the flexibility to perform their jobs.”

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Windows Azure Platform Discovery Event

Michael Ross, VP Delivery spoke about the Windows Azure Platform Discovery Event for ISVs on November 4 about Aidmatrix’s efforts on the Microsoft Azure platform. This event was designed to help ISVs learn more about Microsoft Azure and Michael shared information about Aidmatrix’s experience in researching, developing and deploying solutions on Azure. Learn more about Aidmatrix and Azure here and here.

Read more about the event.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Aidmatrix Helps Implement Online Warehouse for CARE Zimbabwe

I recently returned from Masvingo, Zimbabwe where I helped implement the Aidmatrix Online Warehouse solution for CARE Zimbabwe. This is the first of several warehouses where they plan to implement our solution. There were 13 people attending the training – half from the next warehouse that will go-live. It was delightful having such an attentive group – all eager to learn and play with the software. Every morning, they were all in their seats ready to go - well before the scheduled time.


I also learned first-hand the importance of us having an off-line version that can be used when the internet is down. Electricity in Zimbabwe cannot be taken for granted. In fact, there were scheduled black-outs every Thursday – but we also encountered several unexpected ones. Back-up generators were not dependable. Even when power was not a problem, the internet services were not reliable. It was a new experience for me to be without internet and lights.


I found the CARE team highly professional with their logistics knowledge. They all understood the role technology plays. It was also fun seeing all of them going to their FaceBook accounts during breaks. At the end of the 2 weeks, the logistics supervisor, Juliet, said “Aidmatrix is really going to help us move to the next level of performance in our warehouse”.

Shari Temple
Managing Director - Aidmatrix Europe



Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Aidmatrix Delivers Humanitarian Relief through World Concern

Desperate families were brought to their knees after the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January. Not only did the disaster kill 230,000 people, it crippled the infrastructure – and brought forth one of the largest humanitarian needs of recent times.

Aidmatrix helped humanitarian organizations relieve some of this suffering, connecting established relief organizations with supplies and transportation to reach families in tremendous need.

Humanitarian organization World Concern used Aidmatrix to coordinate transportation and donated goods to help people in Haiti. With a 30-year presence in Haiti, World Concern already had established channels to distribute aid, but needed more resources to deliver.

“The whole thing was miraculous,” said Susan Talbot, Gift-In-Kind manager for World Concern. “It’s a service that is desperately needed.”

Talbot immediately posted requests on Aidmatrix after the earthquake hit. She also watched postings from donors of goods and services. World Concern made several connections on the website, for donated medical equipment, soccer balls – and a donated use of a private plane and pilot to fly the president of the organization in to help direct the response.

“I logged in every day to see what was available,” said Talbot. “Our organization received a variety of valuable donated products from USAID’s Aidmatrix Donations Management portal.

World Concern estimates they received $31,441 in value of donated goods and services sourced through Aidmatrix. It allowed a more substantial response – in a time of critical need. The humanitarian value on the ground, though, kept Talbot engaged – knowing that it was making a real difference in the lives of those affected.

“I loved making these connections,” said Talbot. “At one point my manager said he was going to take my laptop away from me because I was so addicted.”

-Story courtesy of World Concern

Monday, September 27, 2010

Aidmatrix Participates in Exercise 24

Friday, I participated in Exercise 24. Exercise 24 is an international collaborative multidisciplinary exploration of communication, logistics coordination, and response to a seismic event that generates an off shore oil spill, displaced communities requiring shelter, and damage to critical infrastructure inland. The event has significant involvement from the military, with additional participation from the private sector, emergency management, nonprofit and academic organizations. University of California San Diego provided the facilities and other event logistics support.

Over a few days, Exercise24 tested and explored solutions to emergency response, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief challenges associated a major earthquake within the San Andreas Fault System. I was able to assess leading edge and experimental technologies. From the nonprofit sector, InRelief.org provided much of the infrastructure, while INSTEDD.org had some of the most compelling chat and SMS capabilities. At the appropriate times, Aidmatrix leveraged Social Media tools to simulate communications around an activation of different components of The Aidmatrix Network.

The images below are not real. They were part of Exercise 24.





Keith Thode
Chief Operating Officer

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Aidmatrix Deploys Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform

Aidmatrix recently deployed our first production solution on Microsoft's Windows Azure platform. This is very exciting as we have been researching, prototyping, and planning out how we would leverage Azure for a couple of years. This solution is an integration between two different modules in our supply chain management (SCM) solution set. It enables transactions to be shared in near real-time between the two modules. We selected Windows Azure (and in particular SQL Azure) to provide this integration as it answered the question as to how to simply integrate a 100% SaaS SCM Module and a second module which can be delivered both via SaaS and/or installed locally on a PC that synchronizes periodically. When run locally on a PC, the module enables the user to work without Internet connectivity and then synchronize their data back to the SaaS implementation when there is Internet connectivity (this was recently used in Haiti and is next up to be implemented in Zimbabwe). Congrats to the Aidmatrix team and thanks to all the Microsoft folks who volunteered their expertise to help us make this happen.

Michael Ross
VP - Delivery

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Pena House Eco Home Project

The Pena House team was able to build an environmentally friendly multi-use building for their feeding program, church/community space, and coordinator housing. Aidmatrix provided local financial management, a Virtual Aid Drive for them to raise money, and strategic donor management services for this small project in Peru.

This was an all-volunteer, in-country effort with fundraising and project management for the Eco-Home also being performed on a voluntary basis by a Peruvian Student (living in the US during the school year) and another volunteer. Enjoy a few of the pictures provided to us by the Pena House team.

Meet the Family














Meet the Church














The Building Begins...



























































And the Project is Complete!

Aidmatrix is honored to help groups and organizations like the Pena House Project make their world a little bit better to live in.

Please help the Pena House Project with their future projects by donating here

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Hurricanes Katrina & Rita - Remembering 5 years later

When Hurricane Katrina hit, most of our Aidmatrix team was working safely from home. The day after Katrina hit, we were online buying airplane tickets to get us as close to Louisiana as possible. Our partners at Adventist Community Services (ACS) were ready to move in with supplies, but they needed temporary facilities in which to stage them. Our partners at Feeding America were trucking in supplies, but all of the local foodbanks in the area were destroyed or under water. So with our COO, Keith Thode, we drove from Dallas to Houston picking up every gas can we could along the way, filling the trunk with gas. We met then volunteer, now VP of Delivery, Michael Ross, along with other volunteers in Houston where we picked up more water and supplies. Equipped with two laptops, a GPS and a wireless card, we headed for New Orleans.

Within a day, we had helped our partners in securing empty warehouse facilities (old retail stores and an empty church). They were splicing wires and hooking up electricity to make the warehouses ready to receive the semi tractor trailers coming in from across the country with supplies for Alexandria and New Iberia, Louisiana, and then they were off to Mississippi to repeat the same. So many good people working around-the-clock to get supplies in, breaking through the red tape, with a virtual team of volunteers and staff around the U.S. helping us load data, deliver training materials and map out the nearest resources via Internet and cell phones.

At each location, we literally helped our partners stand up emergency relief warehouses so the pallets of goods could be received and then quickly broken down into smaller parcels that the local relief workers could transport into the disaster area. We trained volunteers on the spot on how use the warehouse technology, to receive and deliver goods, so the turnaround could be as quick as possible. The flow of relief from these agencies was working. But sadly, we remember, too, that this grassroots response was not enough, and we made a pledge to help fix this.

Today, five years later, we've taken the arduous lessons learned during Katrina & Rita. We are working with local, State & Federal governments to create a network of relief programs that can work across State lines and even country boarders for when disaster threatens the lives of innocent people. We now have a network of thousands of charities, government officials and businesses all connected online. FEMA is now connected to and a leading participant in this network. And when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike threatened the region again during the U.S. presidential election of 2008, both Democrats and Republicans pointed the public to this network as an example of our new collective state of preparedness. We were ready.

What emerged is a movement of charities, business leaders and governments leveraging these tools to enhance and accelerate their response capabilities. We CAN help with what we have in our abundance. We've worked with the relief community to listen to their needs and find ways to help empower them to work with the public and the unsolicited donations that came from people wanting to help. Often it takes just a few small steps to link up the efforts and intentions of so many. We know the Gulf region is much better prepared today because of the work of so many who came to the table and worked together to ensure a disaster of this magnitude never happens again. We thank our partners in the relief community, government and corporate sector for that effort, which has not been easy. We thank the people of the Gulf for their undying spirit to survive and rebuild and to teach us all this great lesson.

North Carolina Preparing for Hurricane Earl

The State of North Carolina is bracing for Hurricane Earl to make landfall sometime Friday morning as a category 3. The State of North Carolina is prepared on a number of levels, but one in particular is standing ready should there be widespread damage. The State maintains their National Donations Management Network portal, powered by Aidmatrix, that is used heavily during disasters to capture unsolicited in-kind donations. The State then takes on the duty of connecting those donation offers with the State's VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) members who have access to this system to post their needs and pull donation offers.

View North Carolina's portal

Hurricanes Fiona and Gaston are waiting directly behind it. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Aidmatrix Delivery Team Innovation Project #1

Goal:
Help our partners and customers use our solutions with little to no advanced training. This is a key to success as many users of our solutions are volunteers or people engaged just in disaster activities and use the system for just minutes or days.

GenX Controls Rock:
Starting this year, the delivery team at Aidmatrix has taken up “innovation projects” as a part of enhancing their work experience. The goal is to work on innovations which can also benefit Aidmatrix, long-term. As a part of this exercise, I enhanced some of the features of GenX Controls.

GenX is a term used within the delivery circles, which is basically a cooler term for flex fields (dynamic controls). GenX is a step up from ZIM controls which were flex fields as well, but ZIM was more of an addition to the page rather than the page being entirely created by GenX controls.

GenX has the ability to populate the controls on a page which are configured in the database. Since the Aidmatrix In-kind Application is a multi-tenant application, each of the portals can now have a customizable “Enter Donation” or “Enter Needs” page. The pages can also be customized based on the categories that the user selects.

This ability to populate controls into pages at runtime is a very powerful feature. This gives users the ability to capture information that is unique and critical to their organization. The user is able to specify the quantity and type of flex fields that they need.

Innovation / New Features:
The two new features added to flex fields are:

TextBox Balloon Help(HoverMenuExtender): This control will provide help information regarding the info that is being requested in the textbox on a donation/need page.

Watermark TextBox: The typical purpose of a watermark is to provide more information to the user about the TextBox itself without cluttering up the rest of the page. When a watermarked TextBox is empty, it displays a message to the user with a custom CSS style. Once the user has typed some text into the TextBox, the watermarked appearance goes away.

– In the end, users that come to Aidmatrix in a disaster situation – or those with limited computer experience, can be guided by the GenX controls to master the application quickly and get to the business of moving humanitarian aid to those in need.

Michael Ross, VP - Delivery &
Manish Misri, Solution Architect

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Aidmatrix Disaster / Office Continuity Plan Readiness Test

Today, Aidmatrix ran a test of our Disaster Continuity Readiness Plan. We created this plan to make sure that our office and employees could still function with the same efficiency if a disaster or epidemic forced us to close our U.S. Headquarters physical plant. We have our plan documented and accessible to all employees, but we wanted to be sure that everyone would know how to act and what roles they were supposed to play in case of a disaster. Lastly, we wanted to assess our plan for improvement based on the results and observations from the drill.

Program Manager Kory Schulze and I were the liaisons for today’s disaster scenario, initially contacting the entire office with a conference call dial-in and an online live meeting to ensure that every Aidmatrix employee was safe and stable. Everyone was able to reach Kory is some manner to inform her of their safety and the safety of their families, and how they can best be reached. Everyone was also supposed to make sure they had access to the contact information of their key vendors and partners from outside of the office.

Thanks to our high level of preparedness, I believe that our office was able to seamlessly execute our continuity plan with no warning, just as if a disaster were to strike. This is something that I believe that all businesses, no matter how small or large, should be prepared for.

Do you want Aidmatrix to help you run a similar Disaster Continuity Plan for your office? We can help you plan, create and execute a continuity plan to ensure that your office and employees will be prepared in the event of a disaster. Contact Karen Krygowski at Karen_Krygowski@aidmatrix.org for more information.

Keith Thode
Aidmatrix Chief Operating Officer

Monday, August 30, 2010

Relief Support Through Corporate Disaster Resource Network (CDRN) for Leh District of Jammu & Kashmir, India Flash Flood

Read the full story in our Aidmatrix - India Blog

According to the latest government reports, 193 people have perished and more than 65 are still missing in the Leh flash floods that occurred on the night of 5th August, 2010. Lifeline infrastructure was destroyed including hospitals, bus terminals, radio station transmitter, telephone exchange and mobile-phone towers bringing life to standstill in Leh. 24 villages in Leh region have been severely affected. Initially the rescue efforts were hampered by gushing water and mud but now movement of goods and people is coming back to normalcy. In addition many of the roads leading to Leh were damaged making it difficult to transport relief supplies.

Coordination with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Private Sector Companies
Immediately after the tragedy the CDRN emergency unit, contacted NDMA and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for first hand information on critical needs. Clean drinking water for the survivors, woolen blankets, medicines and alpine tents were urgently required.

CDRN emergency unit quickly assessed the situation and was ready to transport 96000 pre-positioned water purification tablets donated by Aquatabs for those affected in Leh.

The CDRN team contacted several national level companies to provide support for the Leh operations. The response was overwhelming as Corporate India obliged.
The Dharmpal Satyapal Group donated 1050 blankets and 50 alpine tents and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation donated 48,000 litres of packaged drinking water. In addition, 100 Jerry cans were donated by Mount Kailash and 1000 litres of cooking oil by Cargill.

Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways Indian Airlines provided free cargo space for the Leh relief material which enabled CDRN in efficient logistics and helped in economizing relief operations. Transportation was a critical need at this juncture and with the logistics support provided by these three airlines, the relief could reach timely.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is being supported through CDRN for distribution of blankets in the villages like Saboo, ,Basgo, Ney and Miru and CII Northern Region, Secretariat is providing regular updates on the progress.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Aidmatrix Partner ALAN (American Logistics Aid Network) Participates In National Donations Management Network Exercises

Minneapolis, Aug. 26, 2010 –ALAN President Jock Menzies, Director of Operations Kathy Fulton, and Portal Administrator Jeff Tanner recently participated in exercises designed to test the National Donations Management Network. A national exercise was conducted in July and included participants from state emergency management agencies and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD). During the exercise volunteer agencies post needs, state coordinators make those needs visible using the Aidmatrix portal technology, and ALAN posts donations to satisfy the needs. These exercises allow participants to practice using the technology prior to an actual disaster. ALAN's participation has allowed us to establish relationships with state and volunteer organizations, creating the trust necessary to work together during an actual disaster. Through these relationships ALAN has been invited to participate in the planning of a national disaster exercise.

See the story on the ALAN website

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Solace for the Children on Nightly News with Brian Williams

NBC Nightly News recently ran a segment about an organization, Solace for the Children, that is bringing young girls from an orphanage in Afghanistan to the United States to receive medical treatment. Solace for the Children has hosted and treated many of the children from the featured Afghanistan orphanage through the years. The featured girl on the original piece, Farzana, is a Solace Child.

Through the help of the Aidmatrix partner ISTAT's Airlink Program, Solace for the Children is able to provide transportation between Southern California and Afghanistan to the girls from the orphanage.

Click here to watch the video

Monday, August 2, 2010

Aidmatrix Network Spring 2010 Release: International Health Partners (IHP)

"We use the Aidmatrix Network to help manage our in-kind medical donations. The new flex fields in the Plus+ version have really helped make the application follow our specific workflows and processes. As we continue to grow our donor base across Europe and expand the services that we offer, the ability to customise fields means that we can ensure the Aidmatrix system continues to meet the needs of our donors."
~Alex Harrix, Industry & Government Relations Director, International Health Partners (IHP)

Visit www.ihpuk.org

Read more quotes from our partners and learn more about our Aidmatrix Network Spring 2010 Release

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Aidmatrix Network Spring 2010 Release Delivers Customization & Internationalization for Supply Chain Management Suite

“The new flex fields and functionality that have been developed for the FareShare version of the Aidmatrix WMS (warehouse management system) are very useful. They provide a wealth of easily accessible information that is invaluable to the daily running of operations, reducing the need for separate phone lists, allowing detailed tracking and reporting of incoming/outgoing goods and the ability to quickly get an overview of daily operations.”
~Nathan Au, Project Manager, Brighton and Hove depots, FareShare

FareShare, a UK-based nonprofit, is a community food network that contributed towards more than 7.4 million meals delivered in 2008/2009. Visit www.fareshare.org.uk.

Read more quotes from our partners and learn more about our Aidmatrix Network Spring 2010 Release

Monday, July 26, 2010

Interview on The Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers

Aidmatrix Vice President - Delivery Michael Ross and Senior Director - Delivery Rajesh Krishnamohan were interviewed at the Dallas GiveCamp earlier this year on '.NET Rocks! The Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers with Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell'. Listen to Michael and Rajesh discuss Aidmatrix, their experience at GiveCamp and the new technology application that is being built.

Fast Forward to 42.00 Minutes for the Start of Michael and Rajesh's Interview

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

ISTAT Airlink Advertisement

Michael Ross and the Aidmatrix team congratulate Airlink on their upcoming ad donated by Cargo Facts about the Airlink program.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

5-Year Anniversary of Feeding America's Award-Winning Choice System

We would like to congratulate our partner Feeding America for the 5-year anniversary of their award-winning Choice System (which developed in partnership with the University of Chicago and is powered by Aidmatrix). This system helps Feeding America manage millions of pound of food donations each day and encourages innovative food sourcing practices to help more people get feed in the fight against hunger every day. This system was recently updates to include a new look and feel – see attached.



Michael Ross
Vice President - Delivery

Friday, July 9, 2010

Daniel Says Goodbye to Haiti

A haggard and exhausted Daniel David signs off from his Flip Cam video diary as he waits to go through immigration at the airport after his week long trip to Haiti and the CARE Facilities around Port-Au-Prince.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Haiti - Keith Finally Eats His Avocado

After a few days waiting for his avocados to ripen, Keith Thode finally slices up a few of the avocados that he bought in a Haitian market for Daniel and himself to eat.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Haiti - Inside CARE's Spare Parts Warehouse

Keith Thode is in CARE's Spare Parts Warehouse, which contains parts for the different vehicles and the generators that keep the warehouse running. Keith explains how the Aidmatrix Warehouse Management Module will help the CARE Fleet Managers.

Haiti - Final Morning at the PĂ©tionville CARE Facility

Daniel David films himself from the top of the PĂ©tionville CARE Facility. This is from Keith and Daniel's final day at this facility, before they go back to the warehouse in Drouillard to provide them with the offline computers.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Haiti - CARE Entering Shipping Transactions

Aidmatrix COO Keith Thode enters shipping transactions into the Aidmatrix system from waybills, which are documents issued by a carrier giving details and instructions relating to the shipment of a consignment of goods, recorded in the CARE warehouse.

Haiti - CARE NGO Meeting Overview

Daniel David provides an overview of a meeting held at the CARE Haiti facilities with other nonprofits working in Haiti disaster relief about the Aidmatrix Warehouse Management solutions and our partnership with CARE. Organizations in attendance included: AmeriCares, Partners in Health and GrassRoots United.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Aid & International Development Forum July 22-23 in Washington D.C.

The Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) is the annual global event for humanitarian aid and development solutions. An exhibition with integrated workshop sessions and side events, AIDF comprises conference sessions looking at aid and development effectiveness and the achievement of the MDGS as well as a procurement network examining how business can best work with NGO, UN and government entities. It is a unique showcase for suppliers, a multilateral interface for the NGO, UN, government and commercial sectors to build partnerships, a network for procurement, logistics, project management and supplying professionals. It is a unique opportunity to address challenges to enhance best practice, cross-sector collaboration and effectiveness.

Aidmatrix will be there sharing our particular experience in disaster and hunger relief. Join us!

See www.aidforumonline.org or contact event@aidforumonline, Tel: +44 20 7871 0188 for more information.

Haiti - In the Port-Au-Prince Airport

Keith and Daniel arrive to Port-Au-Prince and have to wait in line at customs with a mix of Haitians and other relief workers. The newly built terminal looks great.

CARE Haiti - On the Plane Ride to Haiti

Aidmatrix Program Manager Daniel David films his first Haiti Flip Cam video as his plane flys over Haiti. The plane is filled with many other relief workers. The two women sitting in his row will be in Haiti for Medical Missions through a Baptist Conventions Church.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

CARE Haiti 2 Back To The Warehouse

Daniel and Keith go back to the CARE facility in Haiti to train them on the Aidmatrix technology, with hopes that the system will be up and running again soon.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Keith and Daniel buy an Avocado in Haiti

On the way to the CARE Warehouse in Haiti, the Aidmatrix staff gets stuck in traffic. Keith and Daniel take a side trip to the market and buy, among other things, an avocado.

Video of Aidmatrix COO Keith Thode En Route to CARE Warehouse in Haiti

Aidmatrix Program Manager Daniel David interviews Aidmatrix COO Keith Thode on the van ride to the CARE Warehouse in Haiti. This video is from Keith's first day back in Haiti since February, and Daniel's first ever trip to Haiti.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Catch Our Brand New Video on YouTube®!

Have you ever wondered exactly what Aidmatrix does? We're excited to launch our new illustrative video that focuses on how the Aidmatrix Network® works - connecting relief agencies with donors. Please click below to enjoy this brief two-minute informative video on how Aidmatrix helps to empower humanitarian relief around the world.

Click here to watch the video

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Making a Difference Beyond the Bottom-line

Aidmatrix Foundation Managing Director EMEA, Shari Temple, addressed the first women´s leadership breakfast at SAP SAPPHIRE NOW on May 18th in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The invitation only event was attended by cross-industry female corporate and public sector executives as well as industry bloggers, analysts, academics and reporters. Ms. Temple was introduced by Angelique de Vries, Managing Director of SAP Netherlands. This networking event was organized by SAP Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Gabriele Hartmann. In Orlando, the event is in its second year. Participants virtually and attending on both continents this year at Saphhire NOW number about 50,000.

Ms. Temple looked back at her career in supply chain and talked about her passion for social engagement. She described her current career in the nonprofit sector working with the Aidmatrix Foundation, where she can leverage her technical savvy and business experience to empower humanitarian relief organizations and agencies on the ground to deliver critical supplies to people in need.

Ms Temple´s remarks were especially relevant in the context of the keynote speakers of the previous day, Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Airline and associated enterprises. Mr. Gore remarked that, "we tend to confuse the unprecedented with the impossible" and praised business leaders who are taking up the challenge of sustainability. Sir Richard noted that business people should be engaged in talking about social problems and that they have the contacts and the financial resources to make a difference in "areas where there is a crying out need…areas where we see it can be done better."

Today, Shari Temple spoke directly to an underrepresented population in European boardrooms: women. "When I saw the sign SAPPHIRE NOW, I thought, Network of Women!" she quipped. By sharing her own story and the Aidmatrix mission, Shari Temple demonstrated how women can get involved in their personal and professional capacities to change our world for the better, and that the impact of technology applied to humanitarian initiatives can make a difference beyond what we once thought possible.


Click here to watch the interview

Click here to read the SAP SAPPHIRE NOW Blog

Elena Mendoza
Marketing Director, Aidmatrix Europe

Monday, June 7, 2010

FareShare UK goes live with Aidmatrix Network™

FareShare is a UK national charity which supports communities to relieve food poverty. In their last fiscal year FareShare redistributed food providing over 7.4 million meals, or serving on average 29,000 people every day.

In 2009 FareShare started a program to improve the efficiencies of their supply chain. Accenture’s Corporate Social Responsibility group provided resources from their supply chain consulting practice to help them with their new design. As a result, FareShare made several changes to their business processes and made the decision to partner with Aidmatrix for the technology to support their supply chain.

On May 28, FareShare achieved their first technology milestone: The FareShare depot in London went live on the Aidmatrix Network™. The UK’s premier food bank network began using the integrated In-kind Donations Management module with their first Online Warehouse module implementation in their food depot in Bermondsey, London literally overnight.

FareShare London receives goods from more than 200 suppliers and donors and it delivers these to more than 100 Community Food Members which, in turn, support more than 1,000 families and individuals who are not able to get sufficient nutrition on their own.

This is the first step of several more to follow. London is the pilot. FareShare’s other 12 operations across the United Kingdom will use the system within the next 5 months. The depots in the FareShare network have reached a high level of professionalism and operating excellence which is now complemented by the Aidmatrix suite of systems.

FareShare, Accenture and Aidmatrix worked hard but also had great fun in making this happen. It was a gratifying experience as the first trucks were unloaded, the goods received through the system and later those same trucks were loaded with the first deliveries for the day.

Earlier this year FareShare was named “Britain’s Most Admired Charity”. They are at the centre of two of the most urgent issues facing the UK – food poverty and food waste.

Comments from the Project Team:

“Thanks Aidmatrix for helping FareShare reach a significant milestone. With the first of our Depots now up and running we are a major step closer getting to our eventual aim of getting all of our Depots live on the system and networked. Looking forward to the rest of the journey together!” David Meller, FareShare National Office

“Switching the system on was the culmination of many years of work. Finally, everything just came together; with FareShare having the resources and support necessary to make the jump and implement this new system. I have really enjoyed the whole process of working with Aidmatrix and Accenture to develop and roll out the system, so it fits the requirements of the FareShare operation.” Maria Kortbech-Olesen, FareShare National Office


“Allocating an offer of yogurt on the first day of the go-live was a bit nerve-wracking, but the system worked well and the whole process was quick and easy. I’m looking forward to seeing how it speeds up my day-to-day tasks, and makes the reporting of data more manageable.”
Grace Rowley, FareShare National Office

“I was excited when I realized I could access my inventory data from home.” Jeredine Thomas, Fareshare London

“FareShare, Aidmatrix and Accenture have successfully deployed the Aidmatrix Warehouse system in the FareShare London Depot, the system supports FareShare to expand the depot network giving more vulnerable people access to good food and also the training and skills development offered by FareShare. As part of the Accenture team delivering this work, I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to work so closely with two of the Accenture Foundations worthwhile recipients.” Victoria Kay, Accenture

“The initial FareShare / Aidmatrix go-live has been fantastic to be involved with as within FareShare there is a really positive feel of achievement. As an outsider it is clear that this is an important step for FareShare and on a day to day basis it has been really exciting to work for one of the 3 organisations that have been cooperating so closely to make this happen.”
Scott Healy, Accenture

“It’s wonderful to see the very capable members on all levels in the FareShare team using the Aidmatrix system!”
Manfred Kohl, Aidmatrix

“When I first learned about FareShare and the work they were doing, I was interested in finding out how Aidmatrix could help. I’m very pleased that they chose to use the Aidmatrix Network™ and I am looking forward to working with them as they expand it across their growing network.” Shari Temple, Aidmatrix

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Microsoft/Skillpoint Alliance NGO Connection Day

Aidmatrix will be attending and presenting at this nonprofit IT event on Thursday, June 3rd. The event is from 9am-5pm and is being held at the Microsoft Las Colinas Offices located at 7000 N. SH 161 Irving, Texas 75039.

If you are a nonprofit and are interested in attending this FREE event, click here to register

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Photos from 2010 The National VOAD Conference in Orlando


Michael Ross - Aidmatrix Vice President, Delivery


Kathy Fulton - American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN)


Tom Collins - American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN)


Charlene Sargent - Adventist Community Services (ACS)


Aidmatrix Booth

Images courtesy of Michael Ross

Friday, April 30, 2010

Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) Conference, Paris, April 1st

I had the opportunity to attend the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) conference in Paris on April 1.

My logistics to attend the welcome dinner the first evening were perfectly timed. My flight was on time and although I just missed one RER train and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one, I was still in good time to drop off my stuff at the hotel before going to the restaurant. I was catching up with email on my iPhone when at one of the stops some teenagers went running by and one tried to grab my phone. Luckily, I had a strong grip. After lots of commotion going on outside the train and it not taking off for some time, the police came on the train with one person handcuffed. One of the police asked if I was ok – and then told me I needed to go the police station to make a statement. So after that diversion I made it to the dinner slightly late but before they had moved from the bar to the dinner table. It was a reminder that despite well planned logistics, something unexpected can occur that impacts your plans so you must have contingency plans.

HLA is an association of individuals that are logistics professionals. HLA was formed to increase humanitarian logistics effectiveness through sharing of information as well as providing education opportunities. The conference attendees including logisticians from NGO organizations such as World Vision, WFP, Oxfam, OCHA, Care, Red Cross, ICRC, Mercy Corp, IOM, WHO and other NGOs. There were also individuals from academia. There were even two students from Sweden that are studying supply chain that wanted to learn more about how they could use their education to help others.

As a person that has been involved in supply chain for many years, I really enjoyed meeting others with similar backgrounds. Being relatively new to the humanitarian sector, having spent most of my career in high tech, I am continually amazed at the different type of challenges that those in aid roles face. It was fascinating hearing the stories from the field – particularly from those that had just returned from Haiti.

I was inspired by what HLA is doing. When they explained their Red Dot program, I immediately raised my hand to become a Red Dot. Red Dots are there to help spread the word about HLA and encourage others involved with humanitarian logistics to join. This new Red Dot is recommending that all of you involved in this area join the HLA (www.humanitarianlogistics.org).

Shari Temple
Managing Director, Aidmatrix Europe

Monday, April 5, 2010

CannedWater4Kids Sends 160,000 Cans of Water to Haiti via Aidmatrix Network

CannedWater4Kids, a non-profit initiative to generate awareness and fund projects to purify water for children in developing nations, sent more than 160,000 cans of water to a hospital and orphanage in Haiti using the Aidmatrix Network. The second shipment recently arrived to an orphanage in Haiti, and CannedWater4Kids has provided the following images of the delivery.

Read the full story



Wednesday, March 3, 2010

DB MOBIL MARCH 2010 :At last, Help is more efficient

To view the original interview in German with DB Mobility Networks Logistics, click here

The US IT-manager, Shari Temple, Managing Director of the Aidmatrix Foundation in Europe, supports humanitarian aid efforts in crisis areas. Her customized software is used by relief organizations around the world.

In her small office in the Bavarian village of Marzling Shari Temple types and skypes usually at the same time. It has to do with floods, famine, and for the past several weeks, the earthquake in Haiti. Sometimes it’s Mozambique on the line, or South Africa, or the British aid organization World Vision, or EADRCC, the civil disaster arm of NATO. Daily business for this American mathematician is delivering logistics to support disaster relief efforts-humanitarian logistics. Shari Temple is the Managing Director of the Aidmatrix Foundation in Europe. The American nonprofit aims to make relief delivery more efficient. Their mission states: The Right Aid to the Right People at the Right Time™. Reports of deliveries of wrong aid rarely appear in the media. Ski jackets delivered to Sri Lanka or, after the flooding in Atlanta, how a warehouse had to be built to house the mountains of teddy bears donated by well meaning citizens. “Tons of unneeded donations are shipped around the globe,” says the Supply Chain Management expert.

The software which Ms. Temple helped to customize for humanitarian aid is a network platform which affords a real time overview of supply, demand, and location of donations. Various modules which can be used, for example, for donations, volunteers, transportation logistics or warehousing, are easy to understand and use. It only requires an internet connection.

The US Government Agency for International Development uses Aidmatrix software to coordinate their relief efforts. The civilian disaster relief arm of NATO (EADRCC) uses Aidmatrix for relief operations in Albania and Romania, among others.

From her desk in Marzling Shari Temple is responsible for operations in the Middle East and Africa, in addition to Europe. She works not only as Managing Director and Product Manager, but also drives fundraising for the Foundation in order to make the technology affordable to all relief organizations, large or small.

German Interview: Barbara Link for db mobil
English: Elena Mendoza

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Chilean Earthquake Update

Over the weekend the massive earthquake in Chile displaced hundreds of thousands of Chileans. It also sent tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean. Remarkably, the tsunami warnings outside of Chile were called off with little damage.

Chile has now requested aid from the international community specifically for medical relief and setting up temporary hospitals to treat the injured. We are working with our partnering relief organizations to coordinate the in-kind product needs as the situation unfolds. To view these needs as they are made available, visit www.aidmatrix.org/Chile

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Hawaii & American Samoa Brace for Tsunamis 2/27/2010

Both Hawaii and American Samoa have been put on alert for tsunamis today following this morning’s 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Both Hawaii and American Samoa are on the Aidmatrix Network to help coordinate relief efforts should any be needed. The public can view their pages at any time at the following links:

Hawaii


American Samoa

Chilean Earthquake Hits 2/27/2010

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile early this morning. Information is still coming in and we are coordinating with our partners in the area. More details about needs for in-kind and cash donations to the relief efforts will follow as relief teams arrive and assess the situation. As always, you can use the Aidmatrixnetwork.org for in-kind giving to NGOs working in the relief efforts

Earthquake off Okinawa 2/26/2010

Tsunami warnings for Okinawa have been cancelled. Assessment is still underway regarding damage from Friday’s earthquake off the coast of Okinawa. If relief efforts are required, further details will follow.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Note From Harold Salomon, Executive Director, AHAMES

www.ahames.org

Thank you so much for taking care of our registration on {the Aidmatrix Network}. I was in Haiti last week and came back over the weekend to gather more resources that are needed for our next trip to Haiti on February 16. The devastation is so much that we are seeing only a fraction of it on TV. I have seen first hand many more residential area(s) that collapsed entirely and {are} yet {to be} seen on TV.

Our medical center in Port Au Prince was spared except for few damages to some poles that are being replaced, and reinforced. Some of our resources were donated to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in dire need of wound related product (Gauze, tapes, bandages, gloves, antiseptics etc) and we need to replace them.

Please find in the attached some pictures, not seen on TV, of what I have seen on the ground in Haiti.



Saturday, February 13, 2010

Aidmatrix Haiti Update

The Aidmatrix team is now in route back from Port-Au-Prince today after another trip to work on setting up relief warehouses with the active NGOs who will continue the work once the cameras crews have left. For our CFO Keith Thode this was his second trip to Haiti in the past two weeks, and our VP of Delivery Michael Ross accompanied him on this most recent trip. Lots of progress is being made to make sure operations continue for the many months to come.

However, it still leaves us feeling that there is still so much to do to keep the flow of necessary supplies coming in to help. Our Dallas team keeps on working through the weekend as they have for the past month as we get Skype updates – the most reliable communication right now from Haiti -- from Keith and Michael on the ground. Their early morning flight from Port-Au-Prince started as they sat side by side with the dedicated relief workers and reporters who know the work is not yet done. Three more flights today before they’ll be home and reassessing the next steps and trips to come.


The one-month anniversary of the Haitian earthquake now officially behind us – but that’s not where the story ends. The long-term recovery efforts are underway.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Aidmatrix & Canned Water 4 Kids

Yet another partner with a great story of generosity for the Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts. CannedWater4Kids (cannedwater4kids.org) is a nonprofit based in Wisconsin that works to deliver clean, safe water for children around the world. They have donated nearly 80,000 cans of water to the people of Haiti. This offer was posted on the Aidmatrix Network and was matched with an NGO working in Haiti. We met Greg Stromberg, Founder of Canned Water 4 Kids, when he first contacted us through our website. Greg spoke of his experience in making and matching his donation offer on the Aidmatrix Network:

“I am now a raving fan of your organization. The experience was excellent and memorable ... (and) one of my volunteer partners … (may) go to Haiti when the canned water is shipped to see if she can help out in any way.”

Thanks to Greg and his organization for joining the relief efforts!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Aidmatrix Europe at the 2nd Annual Global Health Supply Chain Summit, Spain

The Second Annual Global Health Supply Chain Summit was held in early December 2009 in Zaragoza, Spain. Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC), a research institute established by the Government of AragĂłn in Spain in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Zaragoza hosted the summit. ZLC has been designated by the Ministry of Education and Sciences in Spain to be the National Center of Excellence for research in the area of logistics and supply chain management.

Over 100 professionals from around the world representing academia, government Health ministries, and NGOs with special focus on health care in developing countries participated.

On the agenda were speakers from the World Health Organization, Trans Aid, IBM, Wharton Business School and The Aidmatrix Foundation.

Key questions on the table this year:

-What was the evolution of private sector supply chain in developing countries?
-Would the evolution of global health supply chain be similar?
-Are there lessons that can be transferred between sectors?

Shari Temple, Managing Director for the Aidmatrix Foundation Europe, and Richard Lloyd, i2 Consulting Director EMEA and a member of the Aidmatrix European Advisory Board attended.

Shari addressed the delegates on the topic of supply chain solutions supporting medical relief in the humanitarian sector.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Aidmatrix Haitian Earthquake Relief

My name is Julie Ross and I’m a member of The Aidmatrix Foundation team. We are currently responding to the Haitian earthquake disaster and ongoing aftershocks. I thought perhaps you might want to know a little bit more about what we do everyday and some of the first-hand experiences we’re having with this relief effort.

While we don’t physically mend people’s bones or serve them food for their hunger, we are standing hand-in-hand in the disaster zone with our charitable partners that do.

You see, we do things like fly to Haiti (this weekend) to help set up emergency warehouses so that all the donations that you and your friends make to organizations like CARE, International Federation of Red Cross / Red Crescent, Project HOPE, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, ACS, Children International and many more can be transported to the disaster zone in mass quantities and then divvied up to the relief workers on the front lines.

Our team has been working round-the-clock since the disaster struck to coordinate with major corporate manufacturers and big box retailers to get semi-trailers of goods to be donated connected with aviation providers to donate cargo space and flight crews. Then there are the federal government agencies, military and emergency services folks in Washington, D.C., the United Nations, NATO, who we work with to help clear the way for these things to happen. It brings a lot of diverse groups together for a common cause.

So in a way, we are community builders. But then, we’re also technology folks, too. We build computer systems that allow the relief organizations to post exactly what they need on our global “bulletin board” so the public can see it all in one place. The fancy, official name is called “Supply Chain Management.” These systems enable the NGOs to have real-time visibility into their available supply quantities and to share the inventories in their disaster warehouses with their own relief teams out in the field and with other NGOs. It’s a highly fluid process as pallets of products are arriving, checked in, broken down into smaller units, repackaged, and then transported out on-demand as the heroes on the scene order directly what is needed from their laptop & a web browser.

Disaster relief is an amazing thing to witness: the coordination of it all with so many moving pieces and brave, passionate, humble people. Historically, these relief organizations have done this all on paper forms or with spreadsheets and phone calls because the technology that the for-profit world uses (like bar code scanners and inventory databases used at the supermarket) is just so expensive. Thankfully we have grantors to Aidmatrix that help fund those costs so we can provide it to the NGOs. So what we do is basically to just amplify what these amazing NGOs have been doing so well. Simple systems that help manage the flow of donations dramatically reduce a nonprofit’s administrative and operational costs putting the public’s donations toward more aid. At the same time, it enables them to push many times more aid out to people in need because it’s just such an efficient way to process information.

We’re a small shop, compared to the international relief organizations and government agencies that we work with (there are about 50 of us). But we are high-energy optimists and realists and analyticals who really are working to help solve these humanitarian crises -- and together with this growing community, we’re making progress.

I want to invite you to follow what we’re doing on any of the sites below where you can see the work we do, because I have to say it’s a pretty cool and humbling experience that I get to do this for my job.

Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
You Tube
• or our website (www.aidmatrix.org)


I hope you are well and safe. And if you’re not currently volunteering your valuable skills in some way, I encourage you to find something you can support locally and volunteer today. It just takes one to make a difference.

Thanks,

Julie Erkenswick Ross

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

ISTAT's AirLink Program Joins Aidmatrix Network® to Coordinate Air Transportation for Haitian Earthquake Relief and More

The Aidmatrix Foundation today announced a partnership with the ISTAT Foundation (International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading - www.istat.org) to help facilitate the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid for the Haitian Earthquake in addition to ongoing humanitarian efforts. ISTAT's AirLink program will use the Aidmatrix Network®'s technology to connect airline capacity to humanitarian need while connecting the ISTAT membership with the hundreds of NGOs currently posting transportation needs on the Aidmatrix Network.

ISTAT is using Aidmatrix's SCM Transportation Donations Management and Needs Management modules to achieve their goals. The technology and services provided by Aidmatrix will enable ISTAT to focus their efforts on securing more donated and discounted transportation offers from their membership while Aidmatrix manages the administration behind the scenes. Work is already underway to connect donated capacity on flights into Haiti with NGO staff and supplies. Visit the ISTAT AirLink web portal to learn more about this effort and see current transportation needs at http://www.airlink-istat.org/.

Read the Full Press Release Here>>




Photos courtesy of ISTAT's AirLink

Thursday, January 14, 2010

UPDATE: Haiti Earthquake Response

Aidmatrix is working diligently with our global NGO and local partners in Haiti to connect the various response efforts to the recent earthquake. Needs for in-kind and transportation donations are currently being assessed and will be posted to the Aidmatrix Network as they become available. Communications and connectivity are difficult at present in Haiti as relief teams are still making their way to the area, so please continue to check back for updates or follow us on the social networks at the right.

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

Donate Cash - Choose the NGO: CARE, International Federation of Red Cross, Meds and Food for Kids, MedShare, Powered by ACTION, Food for the Poor, Save the Children, World Vision

Donate In-Kind Products/Services via the Powered by ACTION portal on the Aidmatrix Network. Powered by ACTION is a group of impassioned people working with private sector and on-the-ground social initiatives to improve the lives of those in need.

Become a Recipient - If your relief organization is working in Haiti and would like to become a "Registered Recipient."

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Haiti Earthquake Response Update

Aidmatrix is working diligently with our global NGO and local partners in Haiti to connect the various response efforts to the recent earthquake.

Needs for in-kind and transportation donations are currently being assessed and will be posted to the Aidmatrix Network as they become available.

Communications and connectivity are difficult at present in Haiti as relief teams are still making their way to the area, so please continue to check back for updates or follow us on:

Facebook
Twitter
Email Alerts

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

Donate Cash

Donate In-Kind Products/Services

If your relief organization is working in Haiti and would like to become a "Registered Recipient,” please use our contact us form.

In addition, other Aidmatrix Partners are activating their own portals for this response and we will provide updates on these efforts as they are available.