At the IFRC, we use the term 'procurement' to refer to the activities and events before and after the signing of a contract, as well as the general management activities associated with a contract. Our procurement services include:

• Needs identification and analysis
• Sourcing and tendering
• Supplier registration, selection and relationship management
• Logistics services (transportation, customs clearance and warehousing services)
• Insurance
• Inspection services and quality assurance
• Sustainable procurement
• Third party risk management and regulatory compliance

Internal customers

Our internal customers include all members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – National Societies, IFRC regional offices, country cluster delegations, country delegations, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

External customers

The IFRC has been providing procurement services to external customers since 2005, when we were accredited as a humanitarian procurement centre (HPC) by the European Union Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO).

We provide procurement services to the following types of third parties:

• Governments
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
• United Nations agencies
• Other humanitarian agencies

For more information on procurement or to request services, please contact [email protected]

We can arrange fast and efficient transportation of humanitarian supplies.

Transportation to the final port of entry varies depending on the agreed Incoterm (internationally recognized rules that define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers).

If the required goods are in stock, we can arrange transportation directly from our relevant regional warehouse to the final port of entry.

If the required items aren't in stock, we can either order and deliver them to the regional warehouse before delivery to the final port of entry, or arrange for delivery to the final port of entry by the supplier. The latter may sometimes be necessary to optimize the supply chain.

In all cases, we handle tendering and procurement for items that are out of stock, as well as for all custom clearance services.

The IFRC has warehousing facilities in three strategically located regional logistics hubs—Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Panama—as well as sub-regional prepositioned stock to support hard to reach areas and disaster-prone locations.

Our emergency stocks of medical and non-food items for up to 20,000 people can be quickly delivered within 48-72 hours of a disaster striking.

Our warehousing and handling services include unloading, storing, packing, repacking, labelling, preparing kits, and grouping of orders.

We offer vehicle purchasing and fleet management services to members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement through our Global Fleet, based in Dubai.

We may also be able to offer these services to third parties on a case-by-case basis.

If you are a third party who is interested in using our fleet services, please contact us at [email protected]

As part of our commitment to National Society Development (NSD) and localization, we support National Societies around the world to improve their logistics capacities and resources. This, in turn, enables them to provide better support to vulnerable communities and improve their long-term sustainability.

We support National Societies to better understand their logistics needs and identify gaps in their current systems. We can help them design logistics development plans and provide technical support as they implement them. 

We also play an important coordination role in linking different National Societies and Movement partners together on key logistical issues.

For more information:

• Movement approach for National Society logistics development
• National Society Development Framework

If you are from a National Society and would like logistics support from the IFRC, please contact [email protected]