In the face of a natural disaster, it is important to respond quickly, as this can save lives. One of the greatest challenges in the midst of a natural disaster is to get the necessary supplies to the affected areas quickly and efficiently. This could make the difference between life and death and it requires a reliable supply chain that works quickly.
SCM Globe provides supply chain management simulation technology that is engaging, educational and accessable. We worked with the World Food Programme’s Global Logistics Cluster to create an online training and planning platform for their logistics staff, and the staff of other organizations they work with in humanitarian and disaster response missions.
A supply chain model was built from data provided by the World Food Programme (see screenshots below). It shows the supply chain that was created to support the disaster response mission to Nepal when the earthquake happened there in 2015. Simulations show what happened and provide people the opportunity to make improvements to that supply chain. In the process they also learn how to create better supply chains for future disaster response missions.
This disaster response supply chain to Nepal is modeled by combinations of four types of entities that are defined and then located on the map:
- PRODUCTS
- FACILITIES
- VEHICLES
- ROUTES
Examples of these entities are shown below. Data used to define the entities in this case study was provided by the World Food Programme’s Global Logistics Cluster. See more about this supply chain in our online library case called “Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response Supply Chain“.
The screenshot below shows a group of those four entities that define a segment of the supply chain. As shown on the map, it is the segment of the supply chain that moves products between Kathmandu DC airport and the regional Deurali warehouse:
Each of these four entities is defined in their dialog boxes in the screenshot above.
- PRODUCT – Size and weight of a product called “Food (pallet)”
- FACILITY – Storage capacity, internal demand for products and quantities of products available for the facility named”Kathmandu DC Airport”; food production in the warehouse represents food that is purchased locally
- VEHICLE – Volume and weight of cargo, and speed of a vehicle called “Medium Trucks -20” which is composed of 20 medium trucks.
- ROUTE – The time and distance of the round trip in the route called “Kathmandu – Deurali” that those 20 trucks use to deliver products from Kathmandu to Deurali; the quantities of different products they deliver to Deurali are shown; route is shown in blue on the map.
SCM Globe’s supply chain simulations have been used by World Food Programme and others to examine what actually happened and how improvements could be made for future disaster response missions. Simulations can show what happened and provide depth and clarity to post mission reviews. People can learn from simulating and improving upon actions taken in past missions. This way people use data and experiences from past disaster response missions to learn and plan for the future.
People learn by working with simulations to optimize their operations and create efficient supply chains for rapid response to disasters that may happen anywhere in the world. SCM Globe is a powerful tool for education and training in supply chain management.
We are pleased to provide free demo accounts to instructors, students and supply chain professionals interested in exploring SCM Globe simulations – click here to request an account – Get your free trial demo!