NFPW has commissioned independent research into the operational requirements of charities, particularly disaster relief agencies and charity retailers. What did we discover? That everyone is different, and that there is no standard operational best practice.

Some disaster relief agencies have central storage space, while others source and locate space as close to the point of relief as possible. Much of this depends on whether the material being sourced is coming from markets near the point of relief (common in for foodstuffs) or from donor countries (more likely for medical supplies, for example).

Retailers have different organisational structures. Some are heavily decentralised, with a consequent lack of control over their storage space. Quite often saleable material is dumped due to lack of space. Almost always there is a lack of control over inventory and logistics.

NFPW has learnt that we need to be flexible, and that to continue to understand charities’ needs we have to have an ongoing dialogue. What are your views?