How Bulk Supply Chains Support Fast and Effective Disaster Response

Unfortunately, natural disasters do not take a day off, a month off, or a year off. Various types of disasters occur every month of every year, depending on location and prevailing weather patterns. We just witnessed one of the most destructive wildfires in California history that ripped through parts of LA and left total devastation in its wake. The grassland fire season is fast approaching, and we are also nearing the onset of severe spring weather and flooding. 

When disaster strikes, it is the responsibility of the government at all levels— local, state, and federal—to ensure that emergency recovery is swift and organized. But these agencies rely on private companies like Greenwood Aerospace to procure bulk emergency supplies. The government at all levels—local, state, and federal—must ensure swift and organized emergency recovery. However, 

Here’s how we help build bulk supply chains for effective disaster recovery efforts. 

Introduction to Disaster Recovery and Supply Chains

Greenwood Aerospace is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and we are no strangers to natural disasters. The Central Plains have some of the most unforgiving weather patterns on earth. Cold winters, violent Spring storms, flooding, and wildfires. 

Facing these disasters year after year gives us the clarity of mind to know what needs to be done when they strike, and what people need to have available for response. Every county has some emergency response apparatus, and states all operate their own emergency response, but some disasters quickly outpace the abilities of local and state-level disaster recovery agencies. When that happens, the state relies on federal disaster response to bring in additional recovery. 

State agencies know the lay of the land better, but federal disaster relief has much deeper pockets to aid. 

Understanding FEMA's Role in Emergency Response

FEMA is the primary point of contact for all federal disaster relief efforts. We have written extensively about their role as the primary agency for all national disaster relief, encompassing both natural and man-made disasters. The drivers of FEMA's mission are rolled up into five main areas: the five mission areas. Then, they are broken down into 32 different core capabilities. The main driver of this, and FEMA as a whole, is the National Preparedness Goal. The National Preparedness Goal is a FEMA directive that lays out the complete plan for responding to all disasters, whether natural, man-made, or terrorist action. 

FEMA Water distribution

One of the first things that emergency response teams must establish in any disaster event is access to clean water. Nothing else can impact immediate health and welfare more than water availability in those first hours and days. Of course, long-term solutions are important, but generally, relief efforts to address the local water supply are addressed quickly. 

Local and state-level agencies have stores of fresh water, but these are depleted very quickly in a large-scale disaster, especially if it impacts a densely populated area. Take Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, or Houston. All of these have had hurricane events in recent years or are in locations where hurricanes are expected; each has a population in the millions. Even if only a portion of the city lost fresh water (a very real possibility), this will still mean hundreds of thousands to millions of people are without fresh water. 

Some estimates put the average amount of bottled water required in hurricane response at ~4 million bottles, although this can vary widely depending on the scale and scope of the disaster.

Bulk Water Supply Logistics

FEMA does a variety of things, but one thing they do not do is provide water themselves. This falls on the shoulders of more localized agencies. FEMA provides funding for communities through its Public Assistance Grant Program. This program offers resources to help communities recover quickly. 

Bulk water logistics typically take one of two forms: pre-packaged bottles that are palletized and then shipped in bulk via tanker trucks. 

In the long run, using potable water from a tanker is more economical and efficient, but it is not always practical in the first hours and days following a disaster.

Palletized water, on the other hand, can be driven to a staging area in a standard tractor-trailer rig, and pallets can then be moved into harder-to-reach areas by all kinds of methods. A pallet of water is quickly depalletized and distributed to individuals. It can also be loaded onto UTVs or ATVs and transported to places inaccessible by traditional methods. Additionally, a full pallet of water bottles can be loaded onto a 4x4 pickup or flatbed and transported to areas where semi-trucks cannot access. 

The key takeaway is that palletized water is the best option for immediate disaster response. It is sterilized and clean and offers the best solution for immediate distribution when there may be no access to services or clean water storage. Just because a water truck can get there doesn’t mean there is any sanitary way to store it. 

Emergency Water Delivery Methods

There are two different types of water necessary to sustain life as we know it: potable and non-potable. Potable water is another term for drinking water, used for cleaning and cooking purposes. Non-potable water is not for drinking but is for non-human contact purposes like watering plants and gardens, septic systems, irrigation, and so on. has a shelf life and must be rotated fairly often; therefore, maintaining a high supply on hand has drawbacks for inventory management purposes. Partnerships
Non-potable water is not necessarily a high priority in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, so the focus is on bringing in potable water. Depending on the duration of the damage, repair, and recovery, bulk potable water will be brought to the location in tanker trucks. However, it is also worth noting that, in those first critical hours and days, it may not be a practical method.  

An example of a flatbed truck hauling pallets of bottled water.

Best Practices for Bulk Water Supply Chain Management

Bulk palletized water is one item that has a shelf life and must be rotated fairly often; therefore, maintaining a high supply on hand has drawbacks for inventory management purposes. Instead, partnerships with bottling companies are a good alternative, and one that Greenwood Aerospace practices for bulk palletized water bottle delivery. We do this to ensure the freshest water is available. With our partners located right down the road from our headquarters, water will be delivered quickly once the order process begins.

Bulk purchases via GSA Advantage! are the fastest and most efficient way for state and federal disaster response agencies to ensure that purchases are made and delivered quickly. We exclusively sell by the 53’ truckload, which is 26 pallets of water bottles per truckload. Here are the salient characteristics of our emergency bulk water supply: 

  • Full standard 53’ semi truck load of 20 pallets of water, ideally suited for large-scale operations or disaster responses.
  • Total bottle count: 40,320 (16.9oz ea.)
  • Case quantity: 84 cases per pallet, 24 bottles per case, 1,680 cases per truckload. 
  • Purified drinking water: clean, safe, refreshing, ready to drink.
  • Durable packaging: all pallets are shrink-wrapped for secure shipment from coast to coast.

We have partnered up with a local trucking company that has proven a reliable partner over the years and can provide fast delivery anywhere in the continental United States. 

Building Resilience in Disaster Recovery With Fresh Water

Greenwood Aerospace has long been a leader in aviation and aerospace parts, logistics, and procurement. But we are equally committed to finding solutions for other problems. Recent events have shown that fresh water is a need that will never go away, and while we have helped mitigate natural disasters, we cannot erase them. The first thing people need is fresh water, before anything else. Greenwood Aerospace is committed to building emergency water logistics channels to get fresh bottled water onsite quickly. 

Please call us at (580) 762-2580, email us at contact@governmentprocurement.com, or request a quote online.