After 2.5 years of preparation the X-STOCK platform is ready to support cross-border disaster response in Southeast Europe. Ten Red Cross warehouses in the Western Balkans and Austria are now connected through a virtual platform to share emergency stocks in an accelerated and simplified manner. This reduces lead times for the distribution of relief items to a disaster-affected population.
The central output of X-STOCK, a web-based software application linking Red Cross emergency stocks of five neighbouring countries in Southeast Europe, is now ready for use. This new software tool has been fully operational since May 2023. Now the emergency stocks of the Red Cross societies in Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as Austria, are virtually connected via this new database. The first five countries are fully participating in X-STOCK to receive and send relief items, whereas Austria is additionally sharing some stocks in support.
Emergency relief items, such as tents, blankets, heaters or kitchen sets, are shared in a “joint virtual warehouse”. This virtual warehouse allows users to access information about shared relief stocks in other countries and to request support directly through the system in case of need. The majority of the administrative processes needed for the shipment of relief items between the countries is also reflected in the system.
The added value of the X-STOCK platform for disaster managers is the immediate availability of pre-stocked relief items in higher numbers. This way, the often time-consuming procurement processes can be postponed to a later phase of the emergency operation, and relief items are available and can be distributed within days of a request. By forming a network of Red Cross warehouses from Vienna to Skopje and from Zagreb to Burgas that share their emergency stocks on a joint platform, the safety net for citizens living in these countries has improved considerably. The time span from a disaster happening to relief reaching the affected population is now reduced by several days.
The tool is not only valuable for the Red Cross societies operating in the region, but also for the national civil protection authorities, as they will have access to the stock information in the database as well. This way, they will be able to see how the Red Cross can complement national civil protection efforts when a disaster happens.
“A long cherished dream came true, to have this virtual warehouse between six Red Cross partners developed and operational! Besides that, the most positive outcome of the project was the development of a professional and really excellent relationship to our national CP authorities. We will definitely maintain the habit developed during the X-STOCK simulation exercises of sending liaison officers to each other’s emergency operation centres for improved coordination.”
Over the last months of the X-STOCK project a series of remote tabletop exercises (TTX) was held in all participating countries. They offered a test environment for the new software platform which could be improved and adapted continuously based on the lessons learnt from each exercise. During the last virtual TTX, organised regionally with the participation of organisations from all six countries, the final version of the software proved to be a valuable complement to the tools used by Red Cross partners to coordinate their joint response to a cross-border flood scenario in Serbia and Croatia. Representatives of the national civil protection authorities were either directly involved in the exercise or joined as observers. Also, representatives of DG ECHO remotely monitored the response operation of six Red Cross national societies, directed and coordinated by the IFRC country cluster office in Sarajevo.
In the Red Cross movement, a tool for collaboration in cross-border disaster response with this level of preparation and detail, and the inclusion of the respective national civil protection authorities, is likely unprecedented. Currently, there are five countries fully participating in X-STOCK and one additionally sharing its stocks under the coordination of IFRC. Within the next two years, the goal is to expand the regional network to a total of ten additional countries.
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