Introduction

Humanitarian assistance and disaster management encompass a comprehensive framework of strategies, processes, actions, and tools devised to proactively mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from a spectrum of crises, whether they be natural or manmade disasters, complex emergencies, pandemics, or other exceptional circumstances. The overall objective is to preserve lives, alleviate suffering, and uphold human dignity throughout the entire crisis cycle, spanning from prevention and preparedness to post-disaster recovery.

In today’s world, the demand for humanitarian assistance is higher than ever. This surge is driven by a mix of factors: more frequent natural disasters, increasing conflicts, rising costs of essential goods and water shortages, population growth, urbanization, and myriad other challenges. Even if all conflicts and wars were to cease at this very moment, the pressure we’ve put on the earth, with rising expectations and a desire for perpetual growth in the world economy, is playing against us. 

The graphs below for instance illustrate the alarming increase in the number of natural disasters. While we have made significant progress in responding to humanitarian crises, resulting in a decline in death rates, the economic costs associated with these crises continue to rise in absolute terms, and an ever-growing number of people are affected, primarily due to the same factors previously mentioned, plus the fact that the duration of emergencies has generally prolonged.

This mounting complexity, coupled with coordination challenges among the stakeholders involved, makes disaster response an even more heavy task. As supply chain and logistics professionals, we understand how vital coordination is to ensure smooth operations. In the humanitarian context, this challenge is exacerbated by the increasing number of NGOs and other new players, as well as the influence of social media and news, which can sometimes hinder rather than help our efforts, making responses of emergency responders and volunteers at the disaster location sometimes chaotic, therefore leading to bottlenecks and inefficiency.

In this blog post, we’ll dig a little deeper into humanitarian logistics and see how supply chains add value to the humanitarian sector and help during emergencies. Why focus on supply chains? Well, disasters, especially rapid onset natural ones, are tricky to predict in terms of when and where they’ll happen. This unpredictability emphasizes the critical need to ensure that the right supplies and aid reach the right place at the right time. What’s more, logistics during these times can cost a lot, around 60-80% of what aid agencies spend as some statistics show. This presents a substantial opportunity for optimization, which, in turn, directly benefits the people affected by these crises.

The Humanitarian Life Cycle

Commercial Supply Chain Management has made great strides in technology and processes over the past decade. These practices offer valuable insights for the humanitarian sector, but differences exist. Firstly, predicting disasters is more challenging than forecasting demand, inventory issues, or supply chain disruptions. Secondly, communication, logistical, and last mile difficulties are exacerbated by hard-to-access infrastructure in conflict or disaster areas. Thirdly, the humanitarian context involves higher stakes – human lives are at the forefront.

With these opening insights and thoughts, we propose to structure the discussion about humanitarian logistics with what we call the “Humanitarian Life Cycle”: 1. Mitigation, 2. Preparedness, 3. Response, and 4. Recovery. As shown in the graphic below, Each of the humanitarian phases is interconnected and transitions seamlessly into the next; they are not standalone steps.

1. Mitigation

Mitigation in a humanitarian context means all the risk management activities that have as a goal close the gap and therefore to prevent threads from happening, or in the worst case scenario, to ensure the preparedness of the areas and people facing those risks. The decisions and actions taken in this phase are strategic or, since we’re not in the commercial sector, we can say long-term. 

Take, for example, the case of sudden hazards like earthquakes. In this context, mitigation efforts might involve conducting a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of regions or communities exposed to seismic hazards. Additionally, the adoption of standardized building codes such as the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC) becomes critical. These codes are designed to minimize the risk of earthquake damage.

To explore a wide range of potential mitigation strategies for reducing the risks associated with natural hazards and disasters, you can refer to a comprehensive report shared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2013.

2. Preparedness

Mitigation isn’t always possible, so preparedness is crucial. Preparedness, as defined by the World Food Programme Logistics Cluster, is the ongoing process of equipping local and national responders with the knowledge, tools, and infrastructure they need to efficiently and effectively manage logistics and supply chain operations during disasters. This strategic approach aims to reduce response time, costs, and complexity, minimizing the need for international assistance. It empowers local communities and national systems to take charge of humanitarian logistics, ensuring a swift and coordinated response to assist vulnerable populations during crises.

Typically, donors are willing to contribute once a disaster occurs to finance relief efforts. However, a Logistics Cluster report estimates that preparedness can significantly reduce lead time. For example, it can cut the lead time from 46 days for the South Sudan Crisis without preparedness to just 8 days, an 83% reduction. This illustrates the immense importance of humanitarian preparedness, not only for quicker response but also for substantial cost savings and improved service quality. Therefore, investing in supply chain preparedness in the humanitarian context is of paramount importance.

One aspect of logistical humanitarian preparedness is establishing facilities, such as warehouses and field warehouses, in disaster-prone regions to store and safeguard relief supplies. This can be compared to the Facility Location Problem known in supply chain management and Operations Research. Additionally, it involves pre-positioning inventory of relief supplies, which covers aspects like inventory optimization and warehouse management. 

Other supply chain preparedness actions are less tangible and more cost-effective, such as negotiating customs clearance facilitation with local governments, training staff and locals, implementing Early Warning Systems, managing knowledge, and much more. There are valuable lessons to be learned from the commercial sector, especially considering advances in technology and processes.

To be ready for a crisis, we need an active plan that’s regularly tested. The goal isn’t just to see if it works, but to push it to the point of failure, finding weak spots. This way, we can prepare for problems, be flexible, and consider different scenarios.

SCM Globe simulations software can be a valuable tool in this regard, as it has the ability to run different supply chain scenarios and highlight potential issues with a specific model, all while providing the data, whether financial or operational, needed for improvement. For instance, we worked before 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. It shows the supply chain that was created to support the disaster response mission to Nepal when the earthquake happened there in 2015. By simulating past mission actions, individuals can draw lessons from both data and experiences of previous disaster responses. This approach helps them prepare for the future more effectively. See more about this supply chain in our online library case called “Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response Supply Chain“.

Click here for part 2 of this article which develops the next two steps of the Humanitarian Life Cycle, and the role of SC Professionals and Commercial businesses in the humanitarian work.