Global Logistics Cluster Working Groups form a strategic group of senior logistics professionals from partner organizations and stakeholders, including the private sector and academia. 

The Working Groups are thematic, and are governed by the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG). Each Working Group is composed of a Working Group lead from the Global Logistics Cluster Support Team, a SAG focal point, and a number of global partner representatives who work together to drive the Logistics Cluster Strategy 2022-2026 and the Strategy Implementation Plan 2022 (SIP) forward in each thematic area. Working Groups can share updates during the Global Logistics Meeting (GLM) which are held twice a year. 

The Global Logistics Cluster provides a platform for Working Groups to share information, however the Global Logistics Cluster does not formally endorse the activities of individual Working Groups unless this is done during a dedicated vote at the GLM. 

Working groups are created for a limited time and linked to the SIP timeline. Membership to the Working Groups is done voluntarily but demands active engagement. 

In 2021, Partnerships, Preparedness, Procurement, Service Provision, and Training Working Groups were set up. 

Over the past years, the intended scope of the Partnerships and Procurement Working Groups was achieved, leading to their closure. On the other hand, the Preparedness Working Group transitioned towards a Preparedness Network, which aims to ensure that all actors work towards a common, coordinated, and localized approach to logistics preparedness. The Preparedness Network also focuses on empowering local actors, fostering long-term partnerships, and developing regional logistics capacity to reduce reliance on international support. 

The continued relevance of the Working Groups’ scope of work, efficiency, and effectiveness of the structure and ways of working were considered part of a brief strategic reflection exercise conducted in the first half of 2023. Updates and decisions were made by the SAG and plenary at the GLM in Rome in June 2024 following the completion of some working groups’ objectives, and new topics were agreed to raise new Working Groups based on new objectives, including Medical Logistics and Advocacy. 

The Logistics Cluster Working Groups are currently broken down as follows:

Advocacy

One of the Logistics Cluster’s key roles at the global and country levels is to advocate on behalf of partners to improve emergency response.

At the global level, the World Food Programme, as the Cluster Lead Agency, is responsible for advocating on topics agreed to have global significance or where the advocacy target is a global entity.
At the country level, advocacy is one of the six core functions of Cluster implementation.

The topics for advocacy, agreed by the plenary at the GLM in Rome in June 2024, were (in order of priority): funding for preparedness, alignment on procurement, security and access, capacity-building, green logistics, and support from governments at local level.

The overall objective of the Advocacy Working Group is to build, guide and implement (where relevant) the Logistics Cluster global advocacy strategy and plan.

Medical Logistics

The Medical Logistics Working Group is convened in response to the increase in requests for the Logistics Cluster to handle and consider the requirements of handling items along the health supply chain.

While health partners are largely able to implement their supply chains, there are critical circumstances where they would be required to rely on the Logistics Cluster to get their cargo to the destination, and the Logistics Cluster must be ready to do so. Therefore, the Logistics Cluster teams must be prepared to consider and include health supply chain requirements in all aspects of Logistics Cluster operations.

The overall objective of the Medical Logistics Working Group is to define the extent of Logistics Cluster involvement in health supply chains, agree on common ways of working in service provision, and identify and developed related outputs (such as training, SOPs, forms, etc.)

Service Provision

Service provision is at the core of Logistics Cluster’s activities globally and inclusion of partners in the planning and implementation of service provision is key to its success.

The Service Provision Working Group addresses discussion points related to scope of services, definition of terms of legal agreements, definitions of minimum service standards, and clarification of ways of interaction with WFP, with donors and with partner agencies.

As per the Logistics Cluster Strategy 2022-2026, the Service Provision Working Group addresses the following thematic areas: Review, agree on and maintain a portfolio of standard services for common service provision; Develop/endorse standard agreement proposals for potential common service providers; Develop/endorse minimum standards for common service provision; On a regular basis, identify and address needs for the update/development of existing tools.

Training

The Logistics Cluster is mandated to support humanitarian stakeholders (including Logistics Cluster staff in the field), as well as National Emergency Management Authority officials, in the development and enhancement of the necessary skills to conduct their roles efficiently, sustainably, and effectively.

To fulfil this mandate, the Logistics Cluster Training Working Group addresses the following three pillars: By training together, organisations learn how to respond together before an emergency strikes; A common logistics vocabulary and understanding is developed, increasing interoperability and efficiency during an emergency; A common training program, open to the humanitarian community, prevents the duplication of training programs and capacity building initiatives, which falls within the Logistics Cluster’s mandate to coordinate responding humanitarian organisations.