Episode 164: AI, Innovation, and Humanitarian Logistics: Inside the World Food Programme’s Supply Chain with Bernhard Kowatsch

In this episode we sit down with Bernhard Kowatsch, Director of Global Accelerator and Ventures at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), to talk about humanitarian logistics and how digital tools and AI are transforming decision-making.

Download the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

=====

In this episode we sit down with Bernhard Kowatsch, Director of Global Accelerator and Ventures at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), to talk about humanitarian logistics and how digital tools and AI are transforming decision-making.

Bernhard explains that acute hunger has risen from 85 million pre-COVID to over 318 million due to conflicts, extreme weather, and economic shocks, increasing supply chain complexity across 120 countries using thousands of trucks, ships, and aircraft.

The WFP uses AI for real-time and forecasted food security, and its Scout optimization tool to balance cost and speed across procurement, warehousing, and routing, saving $6M in 18 months and targeting $25M annually.

He describes responsible AI, human oversight, prioritization by vulnerability, last-mile constraints, and WFP’s Munich Innovation Accelerator model and partnership needs.

=====

Guest: Bernhard Kowatsch Bernhard Kowatsch is the Director Global Accelerator and Ventures at the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP). Since he created the Global Accelerator in 2015, it has become one of the Worlds biggest impact startup accelerators, offering 18 annual programmes.

Prior to starting the Accelerator, Bernhard co-founded the award-winning ShareTheMeal app that crowdsources funding for WFP and has delivered over 300 million meals for hungry children worldwide. His previous experience includes creating WFP’s Business Innovation Unit and working as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Host: Richard Howells

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Host 2: Sin To

Sin brings over 15 years of experience in the digital media and technology industry – primarily in marketing, business development, thought leadership, and editorial. At SAP, they ensure that SAP's supply chain solutions are properly visible with a focus on future trends and sustainable innovations as part of the Thought Leadership & Awareness Supply Chain Team.

=====

Show Links: SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠www.sap.com/scm⁠

World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator: https://innovation.wfp.org/ World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator 2025 Year in Review: https://innovation.wfp.org/year-review-2025 World Food Programme Hunger Map: https://hungermap.wfp.org/food?w=ipc-phase-3

Follow Us on Social Media : Bernhard Kowatsch LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernhardkowatsch/

Richard Howells: LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/richardjhowells⁠

Sin To: LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/sin-to-5334208⁠

SAP Digital Supply Chain: LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/showcase/sapdsc/⁠

Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!

=====

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction to Future Supply Chains and AI Vision for WFP 00:38 Humanitarian Logistics Intro 01:42 Meet Bernhard Kowatsch 02:35 Crisis Drivers and Hunger Surge 04:46 Scale and Speed in Emergencies 06:16 Planning Under Uncertainty 09:18 Digital Supply Chain and Responsible AI 12:01 Making AI Work Scout Savings 14:34 Prioritization Access and Last Mile Tech 18:43 Innovation Accelerator in Munich 22:30 Partnering with WFP 24:17 Future Supply Chain Wrap Up