Purpose – This paper aims to further the understanding of planning and carrying out logistics operations in disaster relief.Design/methodology/approach – Topical literature review of academic and practitioner journals.Findings – Creates a framework distinguishing between actors, phases, and logistical processes of disaster relief. Drawing parallels of humanitarian logistics and business logistics, the paper discovers and describes the unique characteristics of humanitarian logistics while recognizing the need of humanitarian logistics to learn from business logistics.Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual in nature; empirical research is needed to support the framework. The framework sets a research agenda for academics.Practical implications – Useful discussion of the unique characteristics of humanitarian logistics. The framework provides practitioners with a tool for planning and carrying out humanitarian logistics operations.Originality/value – No overarching framework for humanit...

Humanitarian logistics in disaster relief operations

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is a nascent area emerging from a growing appreciation for supply chain risk by practitioners and by researchers. However, there is diverse perception of research in supply chain risk because these researchers have approached this area from different domains. This paper presents our study of this diversity from the perspectives of operations and supply chain management scholars: First, we reviewed the researchers’ output, i.e., the recent research literature. Next, we surveyed two focused groups (members of Supply Chain Thought Leaders and International Supply Chain Risk Management groups) with open-ended questions. Finally, we surveyed operations and supply chain management researchers during the 2009 INFORMS meeting in San Diego. Our findings characterize the diversity in terms of three “gaps”: a definition gap in how researchers define SCRM, a process gap in terms of inadequate coverage of response to risk incidents, and a methodology gap in terms of inadequate use of empirical methods. We also list ways to close these gaps as suggested by the researchers.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1742217_code642908.pdf?abstractid=1639435

Researchers’ Perspectives on Supply Chain Risk Management

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is a nascent area emerging from a growing appreciation for supply chain risk by practitioners and by researchers. However, there is diverse perception of research in supply chain risk because these researchers have approached this area from different domains. This paper presents our study of this diversity from the perspectives of operations and supply chain management scholars: First, we reviewed the researchers' output, i.e., the recent research literature. Next, we surveyed two focus groups (members of Supply Chain Thought Leaders and International SCRM groups) with open-ended questions. Finally, we surveyed operations and supply chain management researchers during the 2009 INFORMS meeting in San Diego. Our findings characterize the diversity in terms of three “gaps”: a definition gap in how researchers define SCRM, a process gap in terms of inadequate coverage of response to risk incidents, and a methodology gap in terms of inadequate use of empirical methods. We also list ways to close these gaps as suggested by the researchers.

http://gebrc.nccu.edu.tw/proceedings/APDSI/2010/papers/f181.pdf

Researchers' Perspectives on Supply Chain Risk Management

https://works.bepress.com/nezih_altay/28/download/

The role of Big Data in explaining disaster resilience in supply chains for sustainability

Purpose – This study aims to combine theory and practice to develop an integrated supply chain resilience framework by investigating the inter-dependencies between the strategic literature based concept of supply chain resilience and operational practitioner based disaster management processes. Design/methodology/approach – Utilising an in-depth qualitative case of a collaborative agency, this study identifies best practices within disaster management for insights on the operationalisation of supply chain resilience. Findings – The empirical data leads to the development of an integrated supply chain resilience framework capturing the interplay of disaster management processes and capabilities required to build supply chain resilience. The critical importance of mitigation processes in building supply chain resilience is highlighted. Practical implications – The generic supply chain resilience framework represents a valuable guide for managers when directing resources and planning for building the capabil...

Mitigation Processes – Antecedents for Building supply chain resilience

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1475-3995.2009.00697.x

From preparedness to partnerships: case study research on humanitarian logistics

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has developed a humanitarian supply management system (SUMA) that records, tracks and reports the flow of donations and purchased goods into a disaster area. While a lot of the received goods are in-kind donations, there is a procurement process triggered by the cash funds to meet specific needs. This procurement process also needs to comply with the humanitarian principles, and is therefore susceptible to manipulations from different stakeholders. SUMA has contributed to all the different deployments with the ability to build transparency and accountability in complex operations. These two contributions help to isolate the political factors from the supply chain and protect the humanitarian principles and space.

/pdf/pan-american-health-organization-s-humanitarian-supply-im2f9gyw6a.pdf

Pan-american health organization’s humanitarian supply management system: de-politicization of the humanitarian supply chain by creating accountability

Uncertainty and risks are part of humanitarians’ daily routine. Most of the time, infrastructures are damaged or non-existent, the political climate is highly volatile, communication means are insufficient, and so on. Therefore, humanitarian organizations often have to find original methods to implement their supply chains. They may also face recurrent problems, that requires them to change the way they operate. And yet, as they lack the time and resources to reflect on the lessons learnt, most of their best practices and issues are neither captured nor communicated. The aim of the study is thus to propose a framework to capitalize humanitarians’ knowledge and know-how, to analyze both gaps and best practices and learn from one operation to another. To this end, we propose a framework derived from traditional Enterprise Modelling tools, adapted to fit relief chains’ specificities. Field applications are then given to illustrate our approach and its beneficial effects.

Learning from previous humanitarian operations, a business process reengineering approach

There is no relief operation similar to another. Nature, number and incentives of stakeholders vary tremendously from one operation to another, and so do the collaboration modes. One thing is always true thought: for each disaster, collaboration networks are implemented on both global and local levels. Yet, lack of collaboration is often underlined as a major weakness of humanitarians. Practitioners have therefore recently focused on this issue in order to find improvement paths. This paper, using a review of existing academic literature as well as reports published by practitioners, illustrates how collaborative networks are designed in the humanitarian sector. A panorama of existing collaboration networks during and in-between relief operations is presented. Barriers and enablers to implement them are made explicit. Two frameworks are finally proposed to better understand collaboration modes at a local level on one hand, and collaboration protocols at a global level on the other hand.

/pdf/collaboration-networks-involving-humanitarian-organisations-1v3tl91yrj.pdf

Collaboration Networks Involving Humanitarian Organisations - Particular Problems for a Particular Sector

Based on prior research, we identify the advantages and disadvantages of different types of corporate donations to humanitarian response efforts. In this paper, we focus on the cash donation process of corporate donors to humanitarian organizations in the aftermath of a disaster. We find that in this context of high uncertainty and information asymmetry, the appeals and donations process presents significant challenges to both the donor and the recipient organizations. We discuss the role of broker organizations in addressing these challenges and expediting the donation process. We also suggest areas for further research on this topic.

/pdf/the-challenges-of-matching-private-sector-donations-to-480rb40w4b.pdf

Rolando Tomasini

Papers

From preparedness to partnerships: case study research on humanitarian logistics

Pan-american health organization’s humanitarian supply management system: de-politicization of the humanitarian supply chain by creating accountability

Learning from previous humanitarian operations, a business process reengineering approach

Collaboration Networks Involving Humanitarian Organisations - Particular Problems for a Particular Sector

The Challenges of Matching Private Sector Donations to Humanitarian Needs and the Role of Brokers