Transport plan for a distribution, choice of transporter and fuel control

Ration: 50 + 10 + 3 = 63 kg per household. Rotation = 2 × distance / 25 + 2 h.

29 truck-days / 5 days = 5.8, i.e. 6 trucks. Check: 6 × 5 = 30 days available ≥ 29.

Alpha = tonnage × distance × 0.45. Bravo = truck-days × 260 + km driven × 0.35 × 1.80 (km = trips × 2 × distance).

Options:

• All Bravo: USD 9,688.30 in 5 days (6 trucks). If the 6 trucks are charged for 5 full days: USD 9,948.30.
• All Alpha: USD 5,762.14, but 4 trucks × 5 days = 20 truck-days < 29: 8 days are needed (29 / 4 = 7.25). The announced schedule is not met.
• Mixed: Alpha is given the sites with the highest saving per truck-day within the limit of 20 days: Gok Machar (12) + Nyamlel (7) = 19 days, cost USD 3,508.31. Bravo, with 2 trucks, takes Malualkon (4) + Wanyjok (6) = 10 days, cost USD 3,431.60. Total: USD 6,939.91, in 5 days.

Recommendation: the mixed option: it respects the dates announced to the communities and saves USD 2,748.39 compared with Bravo alone. The Alpha-only option would save a further USD 1,177.77, but would delay the last distributions by 3 days: to be chosen only if the programme agrees to change the dates and inform the communities. With Bravo, the agency bears the fuel risk: plan checks on refuelling. Using Alpha on the long routes also reduces the agency's fuel risk where it is highest.

Warning signs for V2: consumption 51% above the reference; 260 km driven with no trip recorded between 14 and 15 October (14% of the month's km); 3 trips without signed authorisation. Several possible causes: mechanical fault (injectors, air filter, overloading), unauthorised use of the vehicle, fuel diversion (siphoning, inflated fuel vouchers).

Measures: mechanical inspection of V2; reconciliation of fuel vouchers with the filling station's invoices and the logbook; factual interview with the driver under the HR procedure, without accusation; if unauthorised use or diversion is confirmed, report under the anti-fraud policy. In the longer term: refuelling only on a signed voucher with the mileage recorded at the pump, lockable fuel tanks, systematic monthly reconciliation, automatic alert above a 10% discrepancy, and GPS tracking if the fleet is equipped with it.

Sample answer: "Subject: transport plan, November distribution. 201.6 t of food (3,200 households, 4 sites) must leave Aweil between 9 and 13 November, i.e. 27 trips and 29 truck-days at 8 t per truck. I propose a mixed solution: Alpha (4 trucks) serves Gok Machar and Nyamlel, Bravo (2 trucks) Malualkon and Wanyjok. Cost: USD 6,939.91, against USD 9,688.30 with Bravo alone; Alpha alone would cost USD 5,762.14 but would take 8 days. Risks: rain and fords on the way to Gok Machar (departure before 7:30, return possible only the next day); loaded trucks staying overnight in Gok Machar, in the partner's guarded compound; unloading delays. Controls: numbered waybill for each truck (items, quantities, batch numbers), signed on departure and arrival; joint count on receipt, discrepancies noted on the waybill; losses in transit charged to the transporter under the contract; monitoring of departures and arrivals by radio or satellite phone; daily dispatch report. Decision required: approval before Thursday to book the trucks."