A SYNOPSIS OF HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS Vassilis Moustakis (Vasa) Technical University of Crete School of Produc<on Engineering and Management
A SYNOPSIS OF HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS
VassilisMoustakis(Vasa)TechnicalUniversityofCrete
SchoolofProduc<onEngineeringandManagement
The Objec8ve of Logis8cs Management
Togettherightproducttotherightcustomer,attheright-meandplace,intherightquan-tyandcondi-on,attherightprice,andintheright(sustainable)way.
(Manganetal,2008,p.9)
Cardinal Humanitarian Principles
• Humanity:Thehumanitarianresponseshouldbebasedsolelyonneeds,andshouldnotbeinfluencedbypoli<calorculturalinclina<ons.• Neutrality:Humanitarianorganiza<onsmustnottakesidesinanyconflict.• Impar-ality:Thereshouldbenodiscrimina<onbetweenthebeneficiariesofhumanitarianaidonanybasis,likerace,gender,orreligion.
Disasters
• Occurrencesthatcausedamage,ecologicaldestruc-on,lossofhumanlives,ordeteriora<onofhealthandhealthservices,onascalesufficienttowarrantanextraordinaryresponsefromoutsidetheaffectedcommunityarea.
• Classifica<on:
• Es<matedglobalexpendituresonreliefopera<ons:1990:$2.1billion2016:$30billion
Natural Man-madeRapid-onset
• Earthquakes• Hurricanes
• TerroristaUacks• Technologicalfailures
Slow-onset
• Famine• Drought
• Complexhumanitarianemergencies
(VanWassenhove,2006)
(Skolnik,2014,p.316)
(Donini,2017)
Humanitarian Logis8cs
• Planning,implemen<ng,andcontrollingoftheflowandstorageofgoods,material,andrelatedinforma-on,fromthepointoforigintothepointofconsump<on,forthepurposeofallevia-ngthesufferingofvulnerablepeople.• Ac-vi-esincludeplanning,procurement,transport,warehousing,tracking,andcustomsclearance.
• Ofthetotalexpenditureonhumanitarianopera<ons,80%isonlogis<cs.
(Thomas&Kopczak,2005,p.2)
(VanWassenhove,2006)
Recogni8on of the Importance of Humanitarian Logis8cs • MajorfailuresintheresponsetotheAsianTsunami,inDecember2004,drewgreataUen<onfromprac<<onersandresearcherstoHumanitarianlogis<cs.• Developments:• Largehumanitarianagenciesestablisheddedicatedlogis-csunits.• Manyinterna<onalorganiza<onscollaboratedthroughlogis-csclusters.• Researchins<tu<ons,liketheFritzIns<tuteandUniversityofLugano,providedcer-fica-onprogramsinhumanitarianlogis<cs.• Scholarlyresearchboosted,andadedicatedjournal(JHLSCM)wasintroducedin2011.
Phases of the Humanitarian Response • Prepara-on• Occursbeforedisasteronset• Consideredthemostdecisivephaseofresponseeffec<veness• Includespre-posi<oningofsuppliesinregionalcenters,customsclearance,visaagreements,standardiza<onagreements,personneltrainingandeduca<on
• Implementsorganiza<onallearning• Response• Occursimmediatelyaeerthedisasterstrikes• Improvisa<onisallowedonlywhenprepara<onfallsshortofrespondingtotheevolvingdemands
• Recovery• Denoteslong-termreconstruc<onintheaeermathofthedisaster
• TypicalCommercialChain
• TypicalHumanitarianChain
(Beamon&Balcik,2008)
Characteris8cs of the Humanitarian Context
• Emergenciesaretherule,nottheexcep<on.• Thecontextischao-c,witha“complexsetofrapidlyevolvingproblems.”• Whenmul<plehumanitarianagenciesco-existinonefield,lackofcollabora-onaddstothechaos.• Ini<alassessmentofthedemandsisbasedonlimitedinforma-on.• Eachdisasterisdifferent.• Responseismandatedbythehumanitarianprinciples.• Effec<venessofthereliefopera<onisamaUeroflifeanddeath.
(Thompsonetal.,2006,p.251)
The Flows in Humanitarian Chains
• MaterialFlowHumanitariansuppliesandservicesflowdownstream.(Inprinciple,notdifferentfromcommercialchains)
• MoneyFlowDona<onsflowdownstreamandgettransformedintohumanitariansuppliesandservices,whicharedeliveredtovulnerablepeople,whoarenotinaposi<ontoengageincommercialtransac<ons.(Radicallydifferentfromcommercialchains)
• Informa-onFlowDuringdisastersitisdifficultforhumanitarianagenciestocollectsufficientdataandprocessinforma<on.(Similardifficul<esexistinthecommercialsector,butlessintensely)
Uncertain8es in Humanitarian Chains
• DemandDemandisextremelyvola<le,withunpredictable<me,loca<on,type,andscale.
• SupplySuppliersanddistribu<onsitesareveryrarelypredetermined.
• Transporta-onandCommunica-onMostmeansarelost,duetothedisintegra<onoflocalinfrastructures.
• InventoryInventorymanagementischallengingbecauseoftheaboveuncertain<es,andbecausetheobjec<veofreliefissavinglivesandallevia<ngsuffering;effec<venessisnotachievedbyholdingminimalstocks,butbydeliveringtheneededaidintheright5me.
The Triple-A Concept
• AgilityTheabilitytorespondswielyandcost-efficientlytorapidfluctua<onsinsupplyanddemand,andtohandlesmoothlytheexternaldisrup<ons.
• AdaptabilityTheabilitytoadjustsupplychain’sdesigntochangingneedsinthemarket(Thefirmneedstobeproac<veratherthandefensive).
• AlignmentAligningtheinterestsofallthepar<esthatpar<cipateinthesupplychainwiththeinterestsofthefirm,throughincen<vesforbeUerperformance.
(Lee,2004)
The Triple-A Concept Applied in Humanitarian Chain Preparedness
IntheInterna<onalFedera<onoftheRedCrossandRedCrescentSocie<es(IFRC),thefivebuildingblocksofpreparednessarehumanresources,knowledgemanagement,logis-cs,finance,andtheprofessionalcommunity.
(Tomasini&VanWassenhove,2009,pp.60-61)
ToAchieveAgility…HumanResources • Developemergencyresponseunitsatdifferentlevels,which
canbedeployedwithin12-24hrs.KnowledgeManagement
• Processpreviouslycapturedinforma<onsoastomakeitavailableasareferenceforfieldworkers.
• Providecontactinforma<onforworkerswhohavedevelopedspecificskills,sothattheycanbeaccessedwhenevertheiradviceisneeded.
Con8nue …
ToAchieveAgility…Logis-cs • Developcommoditytrackingsystemstotracetheflowof
goods.• Setuppre-posi<onedgoodsandbufferinventories.• Frequentlyexchangeinforma<onabouttheneedswithallinterestedpar<es.
Finance • Putinplaceimmediateresponseaccounts.• Avoidrelianceonearmarked(dedicated)funds.
Community • Tapintoothers’exper<seandknowledge.• Liaisewithlocalactorstoimproveforecas<ngandplanning.
Con8nue … ToAchieveAdaptability…
HumanResources • Con<nuouslytrainstaffontheexperiencesgainedfrompastdisastersandthelatestorganiza<onaldevelopments.
• Createadialoguetoexchangeexper<sebetweentheIFRCandthena<onalsocie<es.
KnowledgeManagement
• Codifysystema<callyalllearnedknowledgeanddisseminateitinmodules,sothatstaffcanadaptittofutureresponses.
Logis-cs • Letcon<ngencyplanningincorporatesimula<onofscenariosandforecas<ngofpoten<alchangesinsupplychaindesign.
• Developflexibleproductsanddesigns,suchaskits.Finance • Broadenthebaseofdonorsandincreasetheflexibilityof
funds,inordertofreetheopera<onsfrompoli<calagendas.Community • Developstrategicalliancestotapintospecializedand/orlocal
knowledge.
Con8nue …
ToAchieveAlignment…HumanResources • MaintainapoolofexpertsbetweentheIFRCandthena<onal
socie<es• Createincen<vesforcareerdevelopment,training,andmobilityacrosstheIFRCandthena<onalsocie<es.
KnowledgeManagement
• Gatherinforma<onaboutpastreliefopera<onsfromstaffatdifferentlevels(interna<onal,local,specialist,volunteerstaff).
• Createincen<vesforsharinginforma<on.Logis-cs • Setcollabora<verela<onshipswithpartners,withclear
defini<onsoftasks.• Pre-nego<ateagreementswithsuppliers.
Con8nue …
ToAchieveAlignment…Finance • Nego<aterela<onshipswithcredittermsthatreflectthe
fundingcycle.• Maintaintransparencyandaccountabilitytoenhancefund-raisingefficiencyandbrandcredibility.
Community • Developstrategicalliancestoensureadequateaccesstoinforma<onandvisibilityoftheac<onsofallthecollabora<ngagencies.
The Problem of Convergence (Holguin-Veras&VanWassenhove,2014)
Theefficiencyoftheflowofhigh-priorityaidsisdeterminedbytheflowoflow-priorityandnon-priority(unsolicited)aids.
5-10%
60%
30-35%
Unsolicited Aid is Very Common (Holguin-Veras&VanWassenhove,2014)
Mutual Learning Between Humanitarian Logis8cs and Commercial Logis8cs
• Commercialorganiza<onscanlearnfromthehumanitariansectortoimprovetheircrisismanagementstrategies.• Humanitarianorganiza<onscanalsolearnfromcommercialorganiza<onsthathavehighlyperformingsupplychains.• SevenElevenJapan(SEJ)isahugeconveniencestorechainthatdevelopedextremelyeffec<vesupplieralliancesandcrea<vedistribu<onmeans,inordertoovercometrafficjams.OnJanuary17th,1995,a7-Richterearthquakestruckthesouth-easterncityKobe.Onlyfewhoursaeertheincident,SEJwasabletoprovidethecitywith64,000riceballs,throughvehiclesandhelicopters.
(Lee,2004)
References • Beamon,B.M.,&Balcik,B.(2008).Performance
measurementinhumanitarianreliefchains.Interna5onalJournalofPublicSectorManagement,21(1),4-25.
• Donini,A.(2017).Humanitarianethics-Aguidetothemoralityofaidinwaranddisaster.CambridgeReviewofInterna5onalAffairs,30,1-5.(publishedonlineFebruary10,2017).
• Holguin-Veras,J.,&VanWassenhove,L.N.(2014).Strategiestomanagematerialconvergencetodisastersites.INSEADHumanitarianResearchGroup.RetrievedfromhUps://chhs.gatech.edu/conference/2014/downloads/HHL2014-W1_HolguinVeras_Rensselaer.pdf(accessedApril16,2017)
• Lee,H.L.(2004).Thetriple-Asupplychain.HarvardBusinessReview,82(10),102-113.
• Mangan,J.,Lalwani,C.,&Butcher,T.(2008).Global
logis5csandsupplychainmanagement.WestSussex,UK:JohnWileyandSons.
• Skolnik,R.(2012).Globalhealth101(2nded.).Burlington,MA:JohnsandBartleULearning.
• Thomas,A.S.,&Kopczak,L.R.(2005).FromLogis<cstoSupplyChainManagement:ThePathForwardintheHumanitarianSector.FritzIns5tute.RetrievedfromhUp://www.fritzins<tute.org/PDFs/WhitePaper/FromLogis<csto.pdf(accessedMarch12,2017)
• Thompson,S.,Altay,N.,GreenIII,W.G.,&Lape<na,J.(2006).Improvingdisasterresponseeffortswithdecisionsupportsystems.Interna5onalJournalofEmergencyManagement,3(4),250-263.
• Tomasini,R.,&VanWassenhove,L.(2009).Humanitarianlogis5cs.Hampshire,England:PalgraveMacmillan.
• VanWassenhove,L.N.(2006).Humanitarianaidlogis<cs:Supplychainmanagementinhighgear.JournaloftheOpera5onalResearchSociety,57,475–489.
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