12Analysis


www.supplychainstandard.com Winninglogistics It was a disaster waiting to happen – London, with its tortuous


network of narrow streets and a 150 year old public transport system, could never cope with the Olympics, according to the doom- mongers. But they were wrong. Johanna Parsons explains why.


Finishingwith a flourish.A


spectacular closing ceremony for a spectacular achievement - both on and off the field.


Image credit: (AP Photo/


AlastairGrant) Planning for a


specific event is relatively easy,


planning for an event that will change every


day (and even during each day) is a different


proposition.


medal haul and a spectacle to raise a cheer fromeventhemore cynical among us.But the smooth running of the gameswas something of a surprise tomany, and the achievements of the logistics planners is being viewed as anachievement tomake the nationproud too. Prior to theGames, London


S


2012’s bid chairman Lord Coe had set expectations high: “Our transport for the 16 days of the OlympicGames and 12 days of the ParalympicGameswill be the best planned and operated transport systemin the history of theOlympicmovement.That is my promise to every athletewho competes in London.” Therewas optimismtoo from


Olympic logistics veterans. Paul Willoughby,who organised transport at the Sydney 2000 OlympicGames said: "The authorities have the experience and the resources to create a specialOlympic transport service at the same time as delivering


uccess is theword on everybody’s lips,nowthat the London2012Olympic Games have closed,with a


London's non-Olympic transport requirements." But for peopleworking in the


capital,who knowhoweasily congestion can build up and how expensive delays can be, the summer of 2012was not such an easy prospect. Making the public transport


systemreadymeant serious and radical planning. For the first time, all of the key control facilities, such as the police, the ambulance service, and transport were put together in one room. The push to keep people off the


roads during the games resulted inmore than 60million journeys beingmade on theTube – up 30 per cent on normal levels, and journeys on theDLR and Overground networkswere up 100 per cent, and 47 per cent respectively. In the end, traffic on


London’s roads was down by some 20 per cent. Transport for London had


provided a dedicatedweb site with resources including detailed maps of theOlympic and Paralympic RouteNetworks, advice of newrestrictions,who


will be affected, howto plan for minimumdisruption, and the code of practice for quieter out- of-hours deliveries. This had all been developed in


consultationwith bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Logistics andTransport and the FreightTransport Association, as well as LOCOGandODA over the last fewyears. Following three pre-Olympic


conferences, the FTA also developed anOlympics micrositewith an on call advisor, anOlympics support guide to night-time deliveries and a free mobile phone app. The British International


Freight Association hosted a twitter feed, collating traffic updates for roads linking to airports during theGames. Just how far reaching the


messages about preparing for the Games have been is yet another success. TfL and London 2012 reckon that 59 per cent of businesses near Games venues planned ways to reduce their deliveries, and 37 per cent planned to stock up on non-perishables.


September 2012 Supply Chain Standard


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