On the Literature Divergences of the Humanitarian Supply Chain

Hossein Baharmand1

Laura Laguna Salvado1,2

Tina Comes1

Matthieu Lauras2

1 CIEM, University of Agder

2 Mines d’ Albi, University of Toulouse

30.10.2015

THE NEED FOR RESEARCH ON HUMANITARIAN SUPPLY CHAIN (HSC):

• Raise of number of humanitarian disasters

• The gap between appeals and funding

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MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT RESPONSE

30.10.2015 Baharmand et al.: On the literature divergences of the humanitarian supply chain

Research on humanitarian response comprises a large

variety of expertise and knowledge. It demands for

integration across disciplines, like business-engineering

science (BS) and operations research (OR):

• BS looks at HSC management as a whole to keep track

of all included processes and at the same time attempts

to align them appropriately according to each other.

• OR decomposes HSC into separate problems (like facility

location, inventory management, transportation, etc.)

and use modeling and simulation approaches to optimize

their output.

3

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HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS

• Logistics deals with efficient and effective delivery; the challenge is to

deliver the appropriate emergency supplies in sufficient quantities exactly

when and where they are needed.

• Humanitarian logisticians are forced to make quick vital decisions in a

highly dynamic and uncertain environment where time pressure is high

and resources are scarce due to strict budget limitations.

• Challenges like network design, facility layouts, fleet planning, etc.

• Humanitarian relief organizations are more focused on ‘getting the job

done’ and have forgot about performance measurement!

• There is a need for flexible ICT solutions that support relief operations.

“Logistics is the part [of any disaster relief] that can mean the difference between a successful or failed operation.” Van Wassenhove, 2006

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METHODOLOGY AND FORMULATED QUESTIONS

• BS and OR study HSC from different angles: holistic view vs.

detailed simulations and modeling.

• Four joint areas of interest are identified by reviewing recent

survey papers in both disciplines: HSC structure; flow

control mechanisms; time frames; dynamic uncertainty.

• Research questions formulated referring to four frequently

addressed topics in relation with BS and OR:

• What is the state of the art in HSC?

• What are future research directions in HSC?

• HSC encompasses all activities involved in sourcing,

procurement, conversion and logistics.

• Its different attributes in comparison to commercial

supply chains ask for balance between aims in efforts:

• Application of commercial process

modeling in humanitarian sector is limited.

• Furthermore, the use of simulation

tools to evaluate modifications of the

HSC and analysis of ongoing response

processes is still needed.

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HSC STRUCTURE (BS VIEW)

Effectiveness Efficiency

• Three categories that OR has focused on:

(a) facility location problems, (b) distribution problems,

(c) inventory decision problems.

• Survey papers propose that previous research assumptions and

constraints leave the field still interesting for further research.

• To understand the situation better, there is a need for ground

up research:

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HSC STRUCTURE (OR VIEW)

Before field study After field study

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FLOW CONTROL

Developing software for HSCM Performance Management

Performance Indicator

OR

Challenges: • Zero lead-time, • Reliable

commodity flow • Material

convergence

BS

HSC

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TIME FRAMES

Literature concentrate on response mainly because

• BS: Time frames appears because HSC experience transitions

from agility to leanness. Sometimes it is called leagile.

• OR: Literature shows challenges in making and solving multi-

period models.

• BS & OR: During different time frames, objectives may become

different: moving from effectiveness to efficiency.

• BS & OR: To reflect real situations in the aftermath of disasters,

we need multi-period and multi objective models. These

models need to be solved timely efficient.

It`s about saving lives

Logistics plays a significant role

Media coverage is huge

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DYNAMIC UNCERTAINTY

• Lack of efficiency and misalignment of the response with the

real situation are common implications of uncertainty.

• BS suggests:

• short term forecast and prediction;

• focus on the beneficiaries’ needs;

• the simulation of the HSC system.

• A decision support system that enable decision makers to have

a clear vision of the on-going situation and future of demand

can help in facing uncertainties.

• Shifting from deterministic modelling to stochastic modelling is

required in OR. Furthermore, efficient solution for these models

are necessary.

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RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

• Demand for ground up research in both

BS and OR to use in modeling and

simulations.

• Information flow is insufficient and

there is a need for identifying

performance indicators for HSC which

benefits both BS and OR.

• Referring to time frames, BS is looking

for leagile management system and OR

needs dynamic modeling.

• Predictive decision support systems and

stochastic modeling can help relief

organization in dealing with

uncertainties.

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SUMMARY ARCH DIRECTIONS

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INTEGRATED DISTRIBUTION PLANS

• Integrated = Location + Allocation + Transportation

• Literature review reveals rare efforts in integrated

approaches in OR.

• This research outcome will be a model that focuses on

strategic and tactical decisions in response.

• Stochastic and dynamic approach will be used for

mathematical modeling.

• Model parameters are driven by insights from a recent

field study in Nepal (model development phase).

• The developed model can be a part of a potential

decision support system.

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Rekik et al. 2013

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DECENTRALISED SUPPLY NETWORK

• Develop a DSS to orchestrate the supply network response

with “leaglity” approach.

• It focuses on operational decisions in response.

• This research is based on the International Federation of the

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Today:

3 main global hubs Not economically sustainable

Tomorrow (?):

Use the Red Cross National Societies potentialities as logistic

Network

• It will have a direct interface and connection with the

“distribution planes”.

Thank you all for participating in this session

Contact us!

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ciem.uia.no www.mines-albi.fr

www.disasterresiliencelab.org

hossein.baharmand@uia.no

laura.lagunasalvado@mines-albi.fr

tina.comes@uia.no

matthieu.lauras@mines-albi.fr