Tool Overview

Supply Chain Compass (SCC) is a high-level, rapid diagnostic tool to help you quickly learn about the key components of a strong public health supply chain and how supply chains for essential health products—like HIV and AIDS, family planning, maternal and child health, and Malaria—can evolve over time through a series of strategically planned interventions.

Please Note:
This tool does NOT provide a comprehensive or representative assessment of how your supply chain is performing. It is a high-level rapid diagnostic to help you consider long- and medium-term strategies for strengthening your supply chain.

>> Resources for conducting an in-depth assessment of your supply chain.

The exercise should take approximately one hour to complete. You have the option to use SCC anonymously (by using the tool as a guest), or you can create an account to save your information for review later or to share with your colleagues. To answer the questions, you will need some basic information on your overall supply chain strategies, design, and operations.

>> Download the ready reference instructions.

To complete the diagnostic, you will need to answer 30 questions about your supply chain. The exercise will help you benchmark your country's supply chain maturity against a set of criteria adapted by the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT from a commercial sector supply chain evolution model; John Snow, Inc.'s Supply Chain Integration Framework; and the Supply Chain Management System Project's Capability Maturity Model.

At the end of the exercise, you will get a report on the stage of evolution of your supply chain and its components, which can help you determine strengths and areas for improvement. The report is based on the answers you provide, and it includes the following components:

  • A diagnosis of the overall stage of evolution (ad hoc, organized, or integrated) of your supply chain, as well as a diagnosis for the stage of evolution for each of seven functional and managerial areas of your supply chain:
    • Strategic planning and performance management
    • Management information systems
    • Human resources
    • Forecasting and supply planning
    • Product selection and procurement
    • Warehousing and inventory control
    • Transportation.
  • A roadmap of tools and resources to help you plan for strengthening key components of a strong supply chain and ways to move toward building an integrated, robust public health supply chain.

This tool was developed by the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT with input from a range of partners, including the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) project, Supply Chains for Community Case Management, Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services Program, and the International Association of Public Health Logisticians.

Why are public health supply chains important?

Watch this three-minute animated video that describes the importance of adapting supply chain integration commercial approaches for public health to make sure life saving health products get to the people who need them.

"Much of the [world's] burden of disease can be prevented or cured with known, affordable technologies. The problem is getting drugs, vaccines, information and other forms of prevention, care or treatment—on time, reliably, in sufficient quantity and at reasonable cost—to those who need them."

— World Health Organization