Supporting Census in Turkmenistan: Interview with Ms. Karen Hong, UNFPA Chief of the Supply Chain Management Unit

Question 1:

What is the role of Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU) in supporting Censuses worldwide?

Census taking, by virtue of its scale, is a technically-complex and high expense exercise that requires careful budgeting, timely resource mobilization and synchronized supply chain. SCMU’s role is to translate the needs of governments into operational realities.

Question 2:

SCMU provides the organization with a responsive and resilient supply chain system across development and humanitarian settings. The Unit made an incredible effort to deliver the equipment for an upcoming Census that will be held from 17 to 27 December in Turkmenistan. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic making the equipment available in Turkmenistan was a huge challenge. Despite all challenges, SCMU made it happen. Could you please highlight how you and your team overcame those challenges?

Good planning and effective collaboration sit at the core of this successful implementation. These elements allow us to visualize opportunities, identify and subsequently manage and mitigate risks. The collaboration involved multiple stakeholders: the State Statistics Office, UNFPA Turkmenistan Country Office, Suppliers and Freight Forwarders. Turkmenistan was caught in the perfect storm of global chip shortage and rising demand for IT equipment but our strong collaboration with the supply market and other UN Agencies helped us overcome the challenges.

Question 3:

UNFPA Country Office, EECA Regional Office and our national partners, especially the State Statistics Office, closely worked together with the SCMU. Could you please share any good practices or practical steps to avoid stumbling blocks at all levels and remain efficient while working under tremendous pressure?

First is - Timelines must be realistic. We are still impacted by the unprecedented Covid-19 supply chain disruption and global chip shortage. Some industry analyst believe that the after-effect will drag on to 2024. It is important that project planners invite supply chain experts to the discussion table from the beginning. Risk factors will grow exponentially the closer it is to the start of a census project.

Two is - We need to have a good and wide network of partners, particularly from the industry to execute such an important project successfully.

Three is - While price is important, what is more important is embracing best value for money because other factors such as right quality specification and availability of products can make or break a project.

Read about Frequently Asked Questions on 2022 Census in Turkmenistan