Role of Humanitarian Supply Chain Management in Various Disaster Situations Across the Globe
Role of Humanitarian Supply Chain Management in Various Disaster Situations Across the Globe
Natural calamities and disaster are occurring frequently across the globe creating
havoc in human civilization. Due to rapid urbanization and environmental degradation,
human society is suffering many problems from the nature. Many of such
problems are man-made and few are nature based. Recent flood in Uttaranchal has
given a clear signal about the human error in the urbanization process and its
consequences. Disasters are wreaking havoc on human lives and nations’ economies
at an alarming and rising rate. The humanitarian approach of the government
of India as well as the government of Uttaranchal has somehow made it possible to
rescue as well as recover bodies of various people affected by disasters. Whether it
is a tsunami in the Pacific or a national event such as Hurricane Katrina, government,
nonprofit organizations, and private industries need to be better prepared to
respond and recover from disasters, offering timely and necessary aid to those in
need through efficient humanitarian supply chains. The way the Indian Air Force
has shown their commendable approach for rescuing and saving thousands of lives
in the Uttaranchal flood is a clear approach of humanitarian approach in supply
chain management. The entire study leads towards the same approach. For this
study the data and other vital resources are collected through secondary resources
particularly for several research papers published in those areas by several academicians
across the globe.
Humanitarian Supply Chain Management
In general businesses, supply chain links the sources of supply (suppliers) to the
owners of demand end customers. The ultimate goal of any supply chain is to
deliver the right supplies in the right quantities to the right locations at the right
time. Supply chains comprise all activities and processes associated with the flow
and transformation of goods from the raw material stage through the end user.
Similar to commercial supply chain, supplies flow through the relief chain from the
donation to the consumers. There is no single form of humanitarian supply chain,
but the government and NGOs are the primary parties involved. Governments hold
the main power with the control they have over political and economical conditions
and directly affect supply chain processes with their decisions. Donors and public
and private organizations are the other significant players in the humanitarian
supply chains. Donors have become particularly influential in prompting humanitarian
organization to think in terms of greater donor accountability and transparency
of the whole supply chain. Two-way arrow in the figure represents two-way
communications in information, product, and fund flows among the parties in the
humanitarian chain.
According to McLachlan, humanitarian supply chains tend to be unstable, prone
to political and military influence, and inefficient due to lack of joint planning and
interorganizational collaboration. They deal with inadequate logistics infrastructure,
along with shifting origins of and/or destinations for relief supplies without
warning. Further, donors often request their funds be spent on direct materials and
food, and even at a particular disaster location, rather than on crucial but indirect
services such as information systems, staff training, and/or disaster preparedness.
Therefore, humanitarian supply chain management does not only deal with delivering
goods, materials, or information to the point of consumption for the purpose
of alleviating the suffering of vulnerable people, but also need to manage value to
donors and other stakeholders.
Challenges to Humanitarian Logistics
There are a few challenges of humanitarian logistics which are enumerated as
follows:
High uncertainty in demand
Two earthquakes of similar magnitude may have entirely different outcomes if
one hits a high population density area in a developing country, and the other hits a
better-prepared city in a developed country. Relief demand is unknown both in size
and type, and it is affected by dynamic and hard-to-measure factors such as disaster
characteristics, local economy and infrastructure, social and political conditions,
etc.
High uncertainty in timing
In general, it is difficult to predict exactly when a disaster is going to strike. This
time frame could be relatively delimited as in a hurricane season or hardly predictable
as in an earthquake. Therefore, one needs to be in a constant state of readiness
and to plan during an uncertain time, which requires additional flexibility.
High uncertainty in location
For other disasters such as hurricanes, more information based on historical data
and models help to predict the path after it starts, but even a specific storm can
change paths. Affected locations might also be dynamic as in the case of a
pandemic influenza, so planning should account for this. Location uncertainty
imposes additional challenges to preparedness activities such as relief supplies
and equipment pre-positioning, infrastructure investment, etc.
High uncertainty and challenges in supply
Donations may be variable or restricted in their use by donors, while in-kind
donations may also be inadequate and unmatched with the demand. Building up
relationships with local vendors, usually in a very short period of time, may be a
difficult task as well.
Challenges in collaboration among the multiple players and decision-makers in a
humanitarian supply chain.
Each of the responders (governments, military, local authorities, etc.) may
compete for limited resources to achieve their own goals. Organizations and
governments may also have different incentives that impair the effectiveness of
collaborations.
The impact of the political, cultural, and socioeconomic conditions of the region.
Responders must have an understanding of the region as they are usually in a
highly politicized environment. Unawareness of specific local issues may cause
even the best stand-alone plan to fail or become impractical. The human factor is
crucial in humanitarian operations, which includes language, customs, political
views, etc. Also, every organization involved is under the public eye which puts
more stress on the response operation.
The strong dependency of the last mile operations on the location and disaster
severity.
Transportation infrastructure might be disrupted, and required equipment may
not be locally available, affecting the supply chain responsiveness. This can be
aggravated by a limited location access or poor construction.
Limited telecommunications and information infrastructure
The Internet is still not widely available in some developing countries. Landbased
phones and cellular phone communication towers might be down as a result
of a disaster. Also, since there might be more than one organization collecting data,
it is common to find inconsistencies in the aftermath reports.
Long-term impact of the many activities carried out during humanitarian
operations.
This happens as cities are rebuilt, people are relocated, new products and
vendors are introduced to the local market, etc. There are trade-offs between
short-term effectiveness of the response and a long-term impact on the communities
that guarantees their sustainability.
The success of humanitarian operations is hard to measure
Economic success is the standard performance measure in the pro-profit world.
For nonprofit organizations this evaluation is more complex, considering difficultto-
formulate elements such as unmet need fulfilled and more tractable ones like
cash flow. Keeping complete track, control, and accountability of the humanitarian
programs and their outcomes is challenged by the high urgency and pace of this
type of operations, and time for analyzing and recording is usually tight.
Steps in Humanitarian Supply Chain Management
In HSCM several steps are to be followed to maintain the systematic routes for
supply chain during the time of difficulties and emergency. The steps are as follows:
Assessment and Planning
An accurate assessment depends on thorough planning, design, and preparation.
Under normal circumstances, the means of collecting the necessary data and
information should be established as part of an organization’s pre-disaster planning.
Planning and assessment are therefore very complementary. Assessments enable
logisticians to understand the impact of a disaster on the environment and how the
impact affects the population and how the logistics services are to be provided. The
findings from logistics assessments are critical in enabling appropriate decisionmaking,
planning, and organization for effective disaster response.
To effectively support a response to the needs in an emergency, it is very
important to include a logistics assessment during the general needs assessment
exercise. Having a logistics staff on the program needs assessment team ensures
that the needs are properly understood by logisticians and therefore adequately
provisioned for.
Laxhminarayan Das, 2016
IntroductionNatural calamities and disaster are occurring frequently across the globe creating
havoc in human civilization. Due to rapid urbanization and environmental degradation,
human society is suffering many problems from the nature. Many of such
problems are man-made and few are nature based. Recent flood in Uttaranchal has
given a clear signal about the human error in the urbanization process and its
consequences. Disasters are wreaking havoc on human lives and nations’ economies
at an alarming and rising rate. The humanitarian approach of the government
of India as well as the government of Uttaranchal has somehow made it possible to
rescue as well as recover bodies of various people affected by disasters. Whether it
is a tsunami in the Pacific or a national event such as Hurricane Katrina, government,
nonprofit organizations, and private industries need to be better prepared to
respond and recover from disasters, offering timely and necessary aid to those in
need through efficient humanitarian supply chains. The way the Indian Air Force
has shown their commendable approach for rescuing and saving thousands of lives
in the Uttaranchal flood is a clear approach of humanitarian approach in supply
chain management. The entire study leads towards the same approach. For this
study the data and other vital resources are collected through secondary resources
particularly for several research papers published in those areas by several academicians
across the globe.
Humanitarian Supply Chain Management
In general businesses, supply chain links the sources of supply (suppliers) to the
owners of demand end customers. The ultimate goal of any supply chain is to
deliver the right supplies in the right quantities to the right locations at the right
time. Supply chains comprise all activities and processes associated with the flow
and transformation of goods from the raw material stage through the end user.
Similar to commercial supply chain, supplies flow through the relief chain from the
donation to the consumers. There is no single form of humanitarian supply chain,
but the government and NGOs are the primary parties involved. Governments hold
the main power with the control they have over political and economical conditions
and directly affect supply chain processes with their decisions. Donors and public
and private organizations are the other significant players in the humanitarian
supply chains. Donors have become particularly influential in prompting humanitarian
organization to think in terms of greater donor accountability and transparency
of the whole supply chain. Two-way arrow in the figure represents two-way
communications in information, product, and fund flows among the parties in the
humanitarian chain.
According to McLachlan, humanitarian supply chains tend to be unstable, prone
to political and military influence, and inefficient due to lack of joint planning and
interorganizational collaboration. They deal with inadequate logistics infrastructure,
along with shifting origins of and/or destinations for relief supplies without
warning. Further, donors often request their funds be spent on direct materials and
food, and even at a particular disaster location, rather than on crucial but indirect
services such as information systems, staff training, and/or disaster preparedness.
Therefore, humanitarian supply chain management does not only deal with delivering
goods, materials, or information to the point of consumption for the purpose
of alleviating the suffering of vulnerable people, but also need to manage value to
donors and other stakeholders.
Challenges to Humanitarian Logistics
There are a few challenges of humanitarian logistics which are enumerated as
follows:
High uncertainty in demand
Two earthquakes of similar magnitude may have entirely different outcomes if
one hits a high population density area in a developing country, and the other hits a
better-prepared city in a developed country. Relief demand is unknown both in size
and type, and it is affected by dynamic and hard-to-measure factors such as disaster
characteristics, local economy and infrastructure, social and political conditions,
etc.
High uncertainty in timing
In general, it is difficult to predict exactly when a disaster is going to strike. This
time frame could be relatively delimited as in a hurricane season or hardly predictable
as in an earthquake. Therefore, one needs to be in a constant state of readiness
and to plan during an uncertain time, which requires additional flexibility.
High uncertainty in location
For other disasters such as hurricanes, more information based on historical data
and models help to predict the path after it starts, but even a specific storm can
change paths. Affected locations might also be dynamic as in the case of a
pandemic influenza, so planning should account for this. Location uncertainty
imposes additional challenges to preparedness activities such as relief supplies
and equipment pre-positioning, infrastructure investment, etc.
High uncertainty and challenges in supply
Donations may be variable or restricted in their use by donors, while in-kind
donations may also be inadequate and unmatched with the demand. Building up
relationships with local vendors, usually in a very short period of time, may be a
difficult task as well.
Challenges in collaboration among the multiple players and decision-makers in a
humanitarian supply chain.
Each of the responders (governments, military, local authorities, etc.) may
compete for limited resources to achieve their own goals. Organizations and
governments may also have different incentives that impair the effectiveness of
collaborations.
The impact of the political, cultural, and socioeconomic conditions of the region.
Responders must have an understanding of the region as they are usually in a
highly politicized environment. Unawareness of specific local issues may cause
even the best stand-alone plan to fail or become impractical. The human factor is
crucial in humanitarian operations, which includes language, customs, political
views, etc. Also, every organization involved is under the public eye which puts
more stress on the response operation.
The strong dependency of the last mile operations on the location and disaster
severity.
Transportation infrastructure might be disrupted, and required equipment may
not be locally available, affecting the supply chain responsiveness. This can be
aggravated by a limited location access or poor construction.
Limited telecommunications and information infrastructure
The Internet is still not widely available in some developing countries. Landbased
phones and cellular phone communication towers might be down as a result
of a disaster. Also, since there might be more than one organization collecting data,
it is common to find inconsistencies in the aftermath reports.
Long-term impact of the many activities carried out during humanitarian
operations.
This happens as cities are rebuilt, people are relocated, new products and
vendors are introduced to the local market, etc. There are trade-offs between
short-term effectiveness of the response and a long-term impact on the communities
that guarantees their sustainability.
The success of humanitarian operations is hard to measure
Economic success is the standard performance measure in the pro-profit world.
For nonprofit organizations this evaluation is more complex, considering difficultto-
formulate elements such as unmet need fulfilled and more tractable ones like
cash flow. Keeping complete track, control, and accountability of the humanitarian
programs and their outcomes is challenged by the high urgency and pace of this
type of operations, and time for analyzing and recording is usually tight.
Steps in Humanitarian Supply Chain Management
In HSCM several steps are to be followed to maintain the systematic routes for
supply chain during the time of difficulties and emergency. The steps are as follows:
Assessment and Planning
An accurate assessment depends on thorough planning, design, and preparation.
Under normal circumstances, the means of collecting the necessary data and
information should be established as part of an organization’s pre-disaster planning.
Planning and assessment are therefore very complementary. Assessments enable
logisticians to understand the impact of a disaster on the environment and how the
impact affects the population and how the logistics services are to be provided. The
findings from logistics assessments are critical in enabling appropriate decisionmaking,
planning, and organization for effective disaster response.
To effectively support a response to the needs in an emergency, it is very
important to include a logistics assessment during the general needs assessment
exercise. Having a logistics staff on the program needs assessment team ensures
that the needs are properly understood by logisticians and therefore adequately
provisioned for.
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