Stephen Pettit Anthony Beresford Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University 2 nd International HumLog Workshop, Essen, Sept. 2012 Critical Success Factors in the Supply of Humanitarian Aid
Stephen Pettit
Anthony Beresford
Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University
2nd International HumLog Workshop, Essen, Sept. 2012
Critical Success Factors in the Supply
of Humanitarian Aid
Introduction
• Aims
• To identify factors critical to the success of
Humanitarian Aid supply chains
• Identify the variables within those factors which
contribute to their effectiveness
• Assess how such factors can assist agencies in
improving strategy and response
Background
• ‘Often the largest and most complex element of relief operations’ (UNDP, 1993)
• Requirement for clear understanding of problems and issues
• Uncertainty difficult to reduce in context of crisis situations
• Understanding factors critical to resolving problems
Background
• Perception of (or actual) failure in HA delivery
systems in some crises e.g.
– Hurricane Katrina
– Indian Ocean Tsunami
• Little development of theoretical understanding
of HA supply chains
• Diverse nature of HA community not fully
understood
Natural Hazards / Disasters
(Earthquakes, Floods etc.)
Migration
(War, Politics,
Oppression etc.)
Managing Change
Law and Policy
(NGOs, Govts,
UN etc)Famine
War / Conflict
Population
(Resouce depletion, sanitation etc.)
Poverty
(Health, Hunger etc.)
Medical
Humanitarian Aid /
Emergency Relief
Facets of Humanitarian Aid
/ Emergency Relief
Connections?
Logistics?
Background
• Crisis response is short term, establishment of
supply chains takes place under high stress
conditions
• ‘We know best’? – consideration of alternative
approaches?
• Research poorly funded or not funded at all
Background
• Many HA logistics processes are similar to
commercial logistics
• However, transfer of business logistics at least
problematical and often not directly transferable
• Existing models are also not directly transferable
• Patterns of movement are similar, but transport
mix often different
Background
• Major differences:
– Funding
– Employment
– Location
– Instability
– Lack of logistics knowledge
• Other problems
– lack of technical knowledge in HA organisations
– insufficient experienced logisticians
CSFs in HA Logistics
• Identification of the key factors which influence
success of HA supply chain
• CSFs conceptualised in 1961 (Daniel)
• Other work on CSFs
– Rockart (1979)
– Porter (1985)
– Huotari and Wilson (2001)
– Gunasekaran (2003)
• Work on related KPIs e.g. Whittaker et al (2005)
CSFs in HA Logistics
• Key CSFs (from literature) – Strategic Planning
– Inventory Management
– Transport Planning
– Capacity Planning
– Information Management
– Human Resource Management
– Continuous Improvement
– Collaboration
– Technology Utilisation
Strategic Planning
• Long term decision making required – Corporate strategy
– Transportation and warehousing
– Location of distribution centres
– Outsourcing of non-core activities
– Budgets
– Capital acquisition
– Resource deployment
– Effective use of skills
Strategic Planning
• Identifies organisational assets
• Assess strengths and weaknesses of scenarios
• Long term approach allows organisation to prepare for crises
• Lack of planning can impinge on a variety of CSFs
• Improves inventory management e.g. pre-positioning (Mt Merapi volcano)
• Use of IT systems
• Sourcing and purchasing of aid
Source: Developed
from Haas, 1977
Inventory Management
• Core logistics function
• Must address:
– Existing inventory
– In-country supplies accessible at short notice
• Must consider lead times for supply of critical items
• Flexibility of process and product prerequisite for responsiveness to changing situation
• Time values of commodities greater than inventory carrying costs
Transport Planning
• Critical to disaster relief
• Mode, utilisation of capacity, scheduling, maintenance
• Concerned with the range of transport activities
• Cross over between existing programmes and short term emergencies
• Competition for same transport capacity in emergency situations increases costs
• Mix of public, private, military capability
Capacity Planning
• Impacted on by short and long term demand
• Implications for: – Numbers of warehouses and distribution centres
– Vehicles
– Equipment
– Employees
• Capacity can be increased by collaboration with other organisations
• Other transport and logistics infrastructure may also affect capacity: – ports, airports
Information Management
• Information management now an important aspect of HA logistics
• Integrate activity, provide information
• Track and Trace, Network management
• Variety of systems have been developed: – UN International Emergency Network (UNIENET)
– IFP International Food Aid Information System (INTERFAIS)
– Fritz Institute Supply Chain Management Software
Human Resource Management
• HRM must pull together disparate functions effectively
• Trained logisticians are important – Often poor at local level
– Best at international level
• Lack of staff can jeopardise response
• Flexible staff policies often only recruit or move staff once a crisis occurs
Continuous Improvement
• Continuous improvement approach is absolute necessity
• Management can use a range of tools to monitor and compare performance: – tracking key factors in supply chain performance
– Benchmarking
– KPIs
– IT performance measurement
• Performance review vital
Collaboration
• Collaboration important for achieving integration and efficiency
• Close supplier relations
• Collaborative bidding to lower purchase costs
• Collaboration wit commercial organisations to improve distribution networks – WFP, American Red Cross
• Outcomes are usually positive
Collaboration
• Often only occurs once a crisis underway – More difficult to optimise collaboration
• ‘lacking any standard operating procedures or common understanding of the roles each would play, on-site coordination and management among the humanitarian organisations was not optimised. Competing supply chains for procurement and transportation caused congestion at local airports and roads, taxing already limited capacity’. (Fritz Institute, 2005)
Collaboration
• Ad hoc collaboration may be useful in short term but in longer term less useful
• Pre-crisis resolution more effective
• Lack of effective collaboration can impact on other CSFs: – Inventory management, capacity planning, transport
Technology Utilisation
• Existing technology is not necessarily redundant
• Utilisation of existing infrastructures important
• Real time communication most effective method: – Asian Tsunami initially largely cellular and satellite
phones
– 1 week before 50% organisations on e-mail
• Over-reliance on one type could lead to problems
Conclusions
• CSFs equally relevant to HA logistics as commercial logistics
• Some CSFs central to effective HA response
• More sophisticated planning may yield better control
• Next stage of research is to: – Clarify which CSFs are important
– Assess priority rankings
– Compare commercial KPIs with emergency CSFs
Thank you