Humanitarian aid logistics: supply chain management in high gear.
Being better prepared can also mitigate the effects of man-made disasters
Humanitarians have also come under increasing pressure to prove to donors, pledging
millions in aids and goods, that they are reaching those in need. Since donors are
becoming more aware when it comes to expenses, humanitarian organizations are
under greater scrutiny to monitor the impact of aid, not just the input and output, but
the whole operation. This means they must be more results oriented as they become
ever more accountable and therefore their operations must be more transparent.
The only way to achieve this is through slick, efficient and effective logistics operations
and more precisely, supply chain management.
Logistics has started to be recognized as integral to any relief operation
To many humanitarians, the definition of logistics is open to loosen interpretation
Essentially for humanitarians, logistics is the processes and systems involved in
mobilizing people, resources, skills and knowledge to help vulnerable people affected by
disaster
'man-made disasters' such as sudden onset disasters, for example a terrorist attack or a
coup d'etat or slow onset disasters such as political or refugee crises. Man-made
disasters do not include wars
Humanitarian logistics have been locked into a vicious circle where lack of understanding
for the function and its importance have meant lack of inclusion in planning and
budgetary processes, resulting in logistics requirements not being met. This in turn has
led to a 'firefighting' mentality.
Humanitarian organizations have tried to break free of the vicious circle by pin-pointing
logistics and supply chain management as key to a relief operation.
Logistics: Is crucial to the performance (effectiveness and speed) of current and future
operations and programs; Serves as a bridge between disaster preparedness and
response, between procurement and distribution, and between headquarters and the
field; Provides a rich source of data, since it is this department that handles the tracking
of goods, which could be used to analyze post-event effectiveness; Is the most expensive
part of any relief operation and the part that can mean the difference between a
successful or failed operation
Logistics includes the planning and preparedness, design, procurement, transportation,
inventory, warehousing, distribution and recipient satisfaction.
Complex environment of humanitarian logistics
o Although humanitarian logisticians can learn from and work with private
sector logisticians, their work in the context of a natural or man-made
disaster is very different from logistics in the business context
o Complexity of the operating conditions is the biggest hurdle for
humanitarian logistics teams
o Humanitarians need robust equipment that can be set up and dismantled
quickly, enabling them to be extremely adaptable and prepared for the
unexpected as circumstances can change very quickly from one moment to
the next.
o Operating in a politically volatile climate
o Work under high levels of uncertainty in terms of demand, supplies and
assessment.
o Pressure of time (not just a question of money but a difference between life
and death
o High staff turnover, often through burn-out in response to the emotional
and physical demand on them, means that skilled staff are always in short
supply
, o Many stakeholders, including large numbers of uncoordinated and disparate
donors, the media, governments, the military, and the final beneficiaries
o Challenge in aligning several hundred humanitarian organizations at the
scene of a disaster without compromising their mandates or beliefs
o Role of the media
o Inundated with unsolicited donations which can cause bottlenecks in the
supply chain as much-needed resources, including personnel and
transportation, are sacrificed to sort through and transport the supplies
o Humanitarian sector operates without the market forces of demand and
supply regulated through price
o Little incentive to use the lessons learned from disasters to improve next
time around
o Complexity within the physical or geographical environments: Diversity of
factors, Interactivity among the factors, Invisibility comes from the inability
to anticipate factors, Ambiguity makes it difficult to know the direction in
which the crisis might escalate the cause-effect relationships are not clear,
Incremental change happens when the impact of the crisis is so strong early
on that everything else is disregarded. The problem is that, while ignored,
the other factors become invisible, grow and interact, leading to further
consequences, New phenomena always present a great challenge since the
effects and impact are most likely unknown, with insufficient time for
appropriate analysis of the situation
o The most important concept setting apart humanitarian logisticians from
their private sector counterparts is their strict adherence to the
humanitarian principles: Humanity, neutrality and impartiality, Not favor
one group of beneficiaries over another, Humanitarian space represents a
zone of tranquility where civilians, non-combatants and aid workers are
protected from gun fire and can move and operate freely, The lines between
the military and humanitarians have sometimes been blurred, Any
compromise on the humanitarian principles, such as using aid to secure the
victory of one side over another, would nullify the intent of the operation
and take it out of the ethical context and mandate of the participating
organizations
While humanitarians can learn a lot from the private sector in terms of designing
standard tools and techniques (e.g. inventory control or warehousing), the private sector
can surely learn from the humanitarians in terms of agility and adaptability in response
to a quickly changing situation
The supply chain network supports three types of 'flows'
o Material flows
o Information flows
o Financial flows
Setting up an efficient supply chain is always a complex operation, but in the aftermath
of a disaster, humanitarian organizations have to deal with multiple interventions on a
global scale and, often, concurrently
Unlike logisticians in the private sector, humanitarians are always faced with the
unknown
Added to this is the fact that even with accurate data, both demand and supply can vary
dramatically during the length of the relief operation
Humanitarian supply chains show the extremes of a trend towards more uncertainty and
risk prevalent in today's global business supply chains.
Being better prepared can also mitigate the effects of man-made disasters
Humanitarians have also come under increasing pressure to prove to donors, pledging
millions in aids and goods, that they are reaching those in need. Since donors are
becoming more aware when it comes to expenses, humanitarian organizations are
under greater scrutiny to monitor the impact of aid, not just the input and output, but
the whole operation. This means they must be more results oriented as they become
ever more accountable and therefore their operations must be more transparent.
The only way to achieve this is through slick, efficient and effective logistics operations
and more precisely, supply chain management.
Logistics has started to be recognized as integral to any relief operation
To many humanitarians, the definition of logistics is open to loosen interpretation
Essentially for humanitarians, logistics is the processes and systems involved in
mobilizing people, resources, skills and knowledge to help vulnerable people affected by
disaster
'man-made disasters' such as sudden onset disasters, for example a terrorist attack or a
coup d'etat or slow onset disasters such as political or refugee crises. Man-made
disasters do not include wars
Humanitarian logistics have been locked into a vicious circle where lack of understanding
for the function and its importance have meant lack of inclusion in planning and
budgetary processes, resulting in logistics requirements not being met. This in turn has
led to a 'firefighting' mentality.
Humanitarian organizations have tried to break free of the vicious circle by pin-pointing
logistics and supply chain management as key to a relief operation.
Logistics: Is crucial to the performance (effectiveness and speed) of current and future
operations and programs; Serves as a bridge between disaster preparedness and
response, between procurement and distribution, and between headquarters and the
field; Provides a rich source of data, since it is this department that handles the tracking
of goods, which could be used to analyze post-event effectiveness; Is the most expensive
part of any relief operation and the part that can mean the difference between a
successful or failed operation
Logistics includes the planning and preparedness, design, procurement, transportation,
inventory, warehousing, distribution and recipient satisfaction.
Complex environment of humanitarian logistics
o Although humanitarian logisticians can learn from and work with private
sector logisticians, their work in the context of a natural or man-made
disaster is very different from logistics in the business context
o Complexity of the operating conditions is the biggest hurdle for
humanitarian logistics teams
o Humanitarians need robust equipment that can be set up and dismantled
quickly, enabling them to be extremely adaptable and prepared for the
unexpected as circumstances can change very quickly from one moment to
the next.
o Operating in a politically volatile climate
o Work under high levels of uncertainty in terms of demand, supplies and
assessment.
o Pressure of time (not just a question of money but a difference between life
and death
o High staff turnover, often through burn-out in response to the emotional
and physical demand on them, means that skilled staff are always in short
supply
, o Many stakeholders, including large numbers of uncoordinated and disparate
donors, the media, governments, the military, and the final beneficiaries
o Challenge in aligning several hundred humanitarian organizations at the
scene of a disaster without compromising their mandates or beliefs
o Role of the media
o Inundated with unsolicited donations which can cause bottlenecks in the
supply chain as much-needed resources, including personnel and
transportation, are sacrificed to sort through and transport the supplies
o Humanitarian sector operates without the market forces of demand and
supply regulated through price
o Little incentive to use the lessons learned from disasters to improve next
time around
o Complexity within the physical or geographical environments: Diversity of
factors, Interactivity among the factors, Invisibility comes from the inability
to anticipate factors, Ambiguity makes it difficult to know the direction in
which the crisis might escalate the cause-effect relationships are not clear,
Incremental change happens when the impact of the crisis is so strong early
on that everything else is disregarded. The problem is that, while ignored,
the other factors become invisible, grow and interact, leading to further
consequences, New phenomena always present a great challenge since the
effects and impact are most likely unknown, with insufficient time for
appropriate analysis of the situation
o The most important concept setting apart humanitarian logisticians from
their private sector counterparts is their strict adherence to the
humanitarian principles: Humanity, neutrality and impartiality, Not favor
one group of beneficiaries over another, Humanitarian space represents a
zone of tranquility where civilians, non-combatants and aid workers are
protected from gun fire and can move and operate freely, The lines between
the military and humanitarians have sometimes been blurred, Any
compromise on the humanitarian principles, such as using aid to secure the
victory of one side over another, would nullify the intent of the operation
and take it out of the ethical context and mandate of the participating
organizations
While humanitarians can learn a lot from the private sector in terms of designing
standard tools and techniques (e.g. inventory control or warehousing), the private sector
can surely learn from the humanitarians in terms of agility and adaptability in response
to a quickly changing situation
The supply chain network supports three types of 'flows'
o Material flows
o Information flows
o Financial flows
Setting up an efficient supply chain is always a complex operation, but in the aftermath
of a disaster, humanitarian organizations have to deal with multiple interventions on a
global scale and, often, concurrently
Unlike logisticians in the private sector, humanitarians are always faced with the
unknown
Added to this is the fact that even with accurate data, both demand and supply can vary
dramatically during the length of the relief operation
Humanitarian supply chains show the extremes of a trend towards more uncertainty and
risk prevalent in today's global business supply chains.
