Disaster Response Logistics Coordinator

The Disaster Response Logistics Coordinator gives a city or county Emergency Operations Center one shared view of shelters, supply points, resource requests and volunteers during a local disaster. It follows the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System structure your staff already train on, scaled for a local response. Every request, delivery, shift and cost is recorded as it happens, so the after-action review and the FEMA Public Assistance documentation start from the same record.

The problem it solves

When a storm, flood or fire hits, most local EOCs coordinate logistics through phone calls, whiteboards, shared spreadsheets and radio logs. Shelter counts are out of date by the time they reach the briefing, sandbag and water requests are tracked on paper, and spontaneous volunteers arrive faster than anyone can check them in. Weeks later, finance staff rebuild who used what, where and when from scattered notes to support reimbursement, and the after-action report relies on memory.

Who it’s for

• City and county emergency management directors and EOC managers
• Logistics section chiefs and staff who fill resource requests
• Shelter managers, including partner organizations that run shelters for the jurisdiction
• Volunteer coordinators managing affiliated and spontaneous volunteers
• Finance and administration staff who document costs for reimbursement and audit

1. ActivateWhen the EOC activates, the incident is opened in the Coordinator with its operational period, ICS positions and the shelters, supply points and staging areas that are opening.
2. Request and fulfillResource requests from shelters, field teams and partner agencies arrive in one queue, are approved by logistics, and are tracked through sourcing, dispatch and delivery.
3. Shelter and distributeShelter managers report occupancy, capacity, accessibility needs and supply levels each shift, and distribution points record what was given out, so the EOC sees current status on one map and board.
4. Volunteers and close-outVolunteers register, are checked in and assigned to shifts, and their hours are recorded. When the response ends, the incident record supports the after-action review and cost documentation.

Common operating picture

A map and status board of shelters, distribution points, staging areas and open requests, shared by everyone in the EOC according to their role.

Resource request tracking

Each request has a status from submission to delivery, with who approved it, how it was sourced and when it arrived.

Shelter status reporting

Occupancy, capacity, accessibility needs, pets and supply levels reported by shelter managers each shift, on a form built for a phone or tablet.

Points of distribution

Sandbag, water and commodity distribution points record what was received and issued, so stock can be moved before a site runs out.

Volunteer management

Registration, check-in, credential and training checks, shift assignment and hours, for affiliated and spontaneous volunteers.

ICS structure

Incident, operational periods, positions and sections follow the Incident Command System, so assignments match the organization chart in use.

Inventory and stockpiles

Local stockpiles and warehouse inventory tracked by location, with items reserved, issued and returned against the incident.

Partner access

Partner agencies and nonprofit shelter operators get accounts limited to their sites and requests, rather than calling in updates.

Cost documentation

Labor hours, equipment use, purchases and donated resources recorded against the incident and the work they supported.

Briefing packs

Situation summaries for each operational period built from current data, ready for the briefing and the incident action plan.

Pre-planning

Shelter sites, supply caches, vendor contacts and position rosters maintained between events, so activation starts from a prepared list.

Incident log

A time-stamped record of requests, decisions, status changes and messages, for the after-action review and audit.

EOC manager

Runs the activation, sets priorities and sees the whole operating picture

Logistics section staff

Approves, sources and dispatches resource requests and manages inventory

Shelter or site manager

Reports status, needs and supply levels for their own shelter or distribution point

Volunteer coordinator

Registers, checks in, assigns and records hours for volunteers

Finance and administration

Records costs and prepares documentation for reimbursement and audit

Partner agency (scoped)

Submits requests and updates for the sites and tasks it is responsible for

GIS and mapping

Base maps, jurisdiction boundaries and site layers from your GIS, so the operating picture uses the maps your staff know.

Emergency notification system

Shelter openings and distribution point locations can be sent to your mass notification tool for public messages your staff approve.

State resource request system

Requests that cannot be filled locally are exported in a format your staff can enter into the state's resource request process.

Finance and ERP

Purchases, labor hours and equipment use exported to your finance system and project worksheets.

Payroll and timekeeping

Staff hours recorded during the response can be exported for overtime processing.

Single sign-on

Staff sign in through your identity provider (SAML or OpenID Connect); partners and volunteers use separate accounts with two-step verification.

Work API

Incident, request, shelter and volunteer data available to your data warehouse and dashboards through the Moraph Work API.

Single sign-on

Staff sign in through your identity provider, so your password and multi-factor policies apply; partners and volunteers use separate, verified accounts.

Role-based access

Each person sees the sites, requests and records their role and agency allow; a partner sees only its own shelters and requests.

Protected personal information

Shelter residents' and volunteers' personal details are kept out of the shared operating picture and visible only to the roles that need them.

Encryption and keys

Client data is encrypted, with keys Moraph staff cannot use without explicit, time-bound authorization.

Complete audit trail

Every request, approval, status change and export is logged with the person and time, and cannot be edited.

US hosting

Hosted in Moraph's United States region, under the controls covered by Moraph's SOC 2 Type II report and ISO/IEC 27001 certification.

Moraph cloud

Hosted by Moraph in the United States region.

Dedicated environment

Single-tenant hosting for jurisdictions whose policies require it, scoped in the proposal.

Regional use

One instance shared by a county and its cities, or by a regional emergency management partnership, with each jurisdiction's data and approvals kept separate.

With a managed service

Optionally run with a Moraph managed service for configuration between events and administration support during activations.

Plan review

We review your emergency operations plan, logistics and shelter annexes and volunteer procedures with your emergency manager, and agree how they map to the Coordinator.

Sites and inventory

Pre-planned shelters, distribution points, staging areas, warehouses and stockpiles are loaded with their capacities and contacts. We need your current site lists and inventory.

Positions and roles

ICS positions, rosters, partner agencies and their access are configured, with roles following your identity provider's groups.

Forms and codes

Request forms, shelter status forms, item catalogs and cost categories are set to match your procedures and reimbursement needs.

Exercise

The Coordinator is used in a tabletop or functional exercise you choose before go-live, and changes from the exercise are made.

Training and readiness

EOC staff, shelter managers, partners and volunteer coordinators are trained on their own tasks, with quick guides for use during activation.

• The Coordinator is not a computer-aided dispatch system and does not dispatch fire, police or EMS units.
• It does not send public alerts itself. Messages go through your emergency notification system after your staff approve them.
• It does not submit Public Assistance applications or project worksheets to FEMA or the state. It produces the documentation your staff use to prepare them.
• It needs connectivity. Field users can work through short connection drops, but sites without any connection must report by other means and staff enter the data later.
• Status is only as current as the reports shelter managers, partners and field staff enter.
• It does not register disaster survivors for individual assistance or case management.
• Response decisions, priorities and approvals are made by your staff under your incident command structure; the Coordinator records them.
• Following NIMS structure in the product does not establish NIMS compliance for your jurisdiction, which depends on your plans, training and exercises.

• Run a tabletop exercise with your own shelter and supply sites loaded and compare it with your current process
• Ask a shelter manager to submit a status report on a phone and time how long it takes
• Follow one resource request from submission to confirmed delivery and check the record it leaves
• Check in a spontaneous volunteer and confirm how training requirements are handled
• Review the cost documentation against what your reimbursement team needs
• Confirm what a partner agency can and cannot see