In 2005, the World Economic Forum convened four global logistics leaders (Agility, UPS, Maersk, and DP World) to create the Logistics Emergency Team (LET) to provide free logistics support and expertise to humanitarian organisations during major emergencies, enabling faster delivery of vital aid supplies.
The goal is simple but powerful: by channeling company capabilities via the World Food Programme-led Logistics Cluster, private-sector support can reach the humanitarian community more predictably and efficiently.
As crises have grown in scale and complexity, the LET’s scope has evolved beyond sudden onset natural disasters to also include complex emergencies and preparedness activities, reflecting operational realities and the need for longer term resilience and direct engagement.
The LET partnership exemplifies the power of private collaboration in humanitarian logistics, leveraging the scale, innovation, and agility of global industry leaders to serve the needs of the whole humanitarian community.
Direct Benefits
- Rapid surge deployment: Deploys trained logisticians and provides industry assets (such as warehouses, fleets, reefer units, handling equipment) to fill critical logistics gaps identified by the Logistics Cluster, ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches affected populations quickly and efficiently.
- In-kind, pro bono support: All LET services are provided at no cost to the humanitarian community, maximizing the impact of donor funds, ensuring equitable access for all partners and avoiding duplication of bilateral efforts.
- Specialist technical expertise: LET companies contribute advanced skills in port operations, customs brokerage, route planning, supply chain design and more, applying industry best practices to humanitarian contexts for faster and more reliable aid delivery.
- Preparedness and capacity building: LET supports Logistics Capacity Assessments (LCAs), and training exercises, strengthening national and local readiness before crises occur.
- LET 2.0: Launched in 2025, enables humanitarian organizations to directly request and receive in-kind support from LET companies, beyond the common gaps identified by the Logistics Cluster. This platform connects those in need with available LET assets and expertise in real time, making humanitarian logistics more agile, transparent, and responsive to both shared and individual needs, shortening lead times and enabling targeted support alongside Logistics Cluster operations.
- Fit for complex emergencies: LET’s expanded remit including under LET 2.0 means partners can access the industry capabilities in protracted and complex settings—not only after natural disasters.
- Innovation pipeline: industry practices (digital tracking, cargo optimization, green logistics) inform humanitarian solutions and reduce cost-to-serve over time.
- Between 2022 and 2025, LET provided critical warehousing services, including palletizing, repackaging, and handling, for humanitarian partners in the responses for Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine, supporting the storage, preparation, and delivery of assistance to hard-to-reach locations.
- Every year, LET supports multiple Logistics Capacity Assessments (LCAs), providing expertise and resources to support the update and expand critical logistics information for humanitarian responders.
- In 2025, LET supported the airlift of 100 metric tons of fortified, high-energy biscuits to South Sudan, to support nearly 20,000 people escaping from conflict every month for six months.