PPE Supply Chain

Sourcing new supply

Organizations that are finding or producing new sources of equipment. Groups of entrepreneurs in technology, healthcare and logistics are securing production and shipment of all types of PPE supplies. Others are contributing to production through efforts as varied as sewing and 3-D printing. Early “sourcing new supply” projects include the YPO global leadership community, OPT Industries producing 3D supplies, and non-profit Operation Masks working to source and distribute large quantities of PPE to frontline workers.

Connecting need to supply

Clearinghouses that are tracking urgent medical supplies needs and matching buyers to suppliers to ensure that PPE gets to where it is needed most. Organizations like GetUsPPE , Project N95, and Find the Masks have taken in thousands of institutional requests so far and started making matches with suppliers.

Providing resources for makers

With hundreds of thousands of people mobilizing to help globally there’s a great need for open-source designs, requirements, and tutorials for individuals and maker communities of all kinds who are assisting with the production of PPE, including face shields, gowns and other supplies. Examples are The Mask Pros, Masks Now, and Open Source Medical Supplies (OSMS) with a repository of medically-reviewed requirements for medical supply designs, then providing open-source designs for supplies that meet those requirements.

Coordinating logistics and transportation

These organizations are assisting with the enormous task of physically moving urgently needed PPE from one location to another, locally, nationally and globally. Some of the earliest examples were Flexport, Harbor Freight, and Worldwide Supply Chain Federation.

Coordinating Financial Support

Foundations, nonprofits, and grassroots efforts are floating capital and raising funds needed to purchase all batch sizes of PPE and distribute them to hospital systems that are most in need, or fund other supportive efforts for first responders. Helena.org finances purchases of critical PPE and other equipment, Help Feed the Frontline is raising the required funding to feed healthcare workers, and the First Responders First Fund is raising donations to provide essential supplies, equipment and resources for protecting frontline healthcare workers and their patients.

Providing data

Accurate, timely information helps everyone protect each other be it health guidelines or infection data. #Masks4All is a grassroots movement to get people to follow the overwhelming scientific evidence that shows we need to wear homemade masks in public to slow COVID-19. Each with their own approach, End CoronaVirus.org built and maintained by the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI), and Coronavirus Army serves as a gathering place for those looking for ways to help.