2021 Franz Edelman Competition: United Nations World Food Programme

For more than four decades, winners of the Edelman Award have been recognized for transforming how we approach some of the world’s most complex problems. This year’s finalists are no exception, with revolutionary contributions in robotics, cancer radiotherapy efficiency, unmanned warehouse technology, mining efficiency and the impact to chemical facilities, scheduling and production at manufacturing plants, and food assistance amid emergency responses. Since its inception, finalists for the Edelman Award have contributed to a cumulative impact of over $302 billion, supported lifesaving efforts across the globe, and transformed how the world does business.

Joining me for this episode is Koen Peters, head of optimization for the United Nations World Food Programme’s Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Unit, and part-time Ph.D. researcher at Tilburg University’s Zero Hunger Lab, to discuss his team’s finalist entry for the 2021 competition.

WFP is of course famous for its emergency response. When disasters occur, we need to be there within hours to provide assistance. Think of the earthquakes in Haiti or Nepal for example. Some of our demand is seasonal, we have lean seasons, we have the hurricane season in the Caribbean, the El Nino drought that comes back with yearly cycles. But the majority of our demand is extremely volatile in nature. COVID of course is a great example of this. With a very short heads-up time, suddenly we need to exponentially scale up our operations around the globe.

Interviewed this episode: