BC Government launches COVID-19 Supply Hub

Apr 1 2020, 4:28 pm

As part of its efforts to support health authorities and workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, the BC Government announced it has now partnered with the Digital Technology Supercluster and the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) to create the COVID-19 Supply Hub.

Billed as a “made-in-BC” platform, the Supply Hub was created to coordinate, source, and expedite medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for provincial health authorities to support frontline health workers fighting coronavirus.

According to the province, the platform “provides a single point of entry” to triage and prioritizes the thousands of offers and donations for essential supplies from businesses and other organizations since the onset of the coronavirus response.

“In this provincial state of emergency, partnership and coordination are critical to keep our frontline workers safe and support our COVID-19 response and recovery,” said BC Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.

“Launching the COVID-19 Supply Hub is an important step in maintaining our supply chain and making sure essential goods and services are getting where they need to go, and fast.”

The new platform “showcases how important it is to work together to support our frontline workers,” said BC Premier John Horgan. “By giving BC businesses a platform to help, we are enabling some of our best and brightest minds to meet the demands of this pandemic and help keep people safe.”

Developed by local BC tech company Traction on Demand and built on the Salesforce platform, the COVID-19 Supply Hub will make the types and specifications of critical supplies needed publicly available. From there, proposals can be managed and evaluated so the right products get to the right workers on the front lines as efficiently as possible.

The platform’s initial focus is on sourcing supplies for the healthcare system and frontline workers, though government is also accepting offers for other essentials, like cleaning supplies. It will be managed under the new Provincial Supply Coordination Unit at Emergency Management BC in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority as part of the province’s cross-government approach to coronavirus response and recovery.

And “from concept to actualization within one week, the supply hub is illustrative of the Supercluster’s ability to harness our community’s power of collaboration,” said Digital Technology Supercluster’s CEO, Sue Paish. “We are moving at an unprecedented pace to meet the demands of this pandemic, with innovative solutions. The supply hub will make a difference and address critical needs.”

Eric ZimmerEric Zimmer

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