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HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS: INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES FOR HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Full text linkDuring the last decades, disasters and catastrophes both natural and handmade have been radically increased and it seems this way of things will continue the next years.
In such this situation there has been even a growth in terms of humanitarian operations, in particular of the total humanitarian effort in terms of resources and supply chain in general. According to the literature here, the logistic impact covers up to 80% percent of the total effort.
All the organizations involved in these operations gave special attention to logistic performance, with an always crescent focus on effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. In fact, the long term social impact that the disasters and the next operations can cause to the population and in general to the area, is well known by the researchers. For these reasons it is important to define, monitor and improve the logistic functions efficiency; moreover it is important to introduce a new sustainable way to reach the success of all the operations perspectives.
With this goal in mind, this research introduces new theoretical innovative methods to analyze the logistic systems performances and it introduces, through an appropriate and deep literature review, new models that present the sustainability and the social impact associated to the logistic practices in the humanitarian environment.
This thesis is composed by these principal sections:
• Introduction and analysis of the humanitarian literature with a focus on the different divers that usually are used for the evaluation of humanitarian operations. Moreover it presents a definition of a general decision making framework and its application.
• Introduction and definition of forward distribution models. In particular, the discussion of the tradeoff between the costs analysis and the demand satisfaction or shortage, associated to the use of different fleets and the development of innovative heuristic models for the distribution that considers typical humanitarian features.
• Introduction and definition of innovative reverse logistics practices based on what is normally used in the industrial supply chain and based on what the humanitarian organizations are implementing in the fields; as an example it is presented a real reverse logistics case, with real data and issued from an Italian case study, the Emilia Romagna earthquake (2012). Moreover, an innovative reverse logistic model for the location of reverse plants is presented, with the study of their impact in humanitarian operations.
The present work has carried out to the publishing of several scientific contributions in relevant International Journals and Conferences, like Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, International Journal of Service and Operations Management and International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management
Development of a general multi-objective framework for OM in Humanitarian Logistics
No full textAccording to Tomasini and Van Wassenhove (2004) the most important humanitarian operations
goal can be defined as the mitigation of the needs of the people hit by a disaster as a combination of many
different features, such as the shortest amount of time, the least amount of resources, the highest service
level, under a sustainable approach. Even if it is a quite new research field many scientific contributions have
been developed about the operations management in the humanitarian logistics. The present work aims to
investigate the general multi-objective issue associated to humanitarian operations in disaster lifecycle, seen as
four different phases: Preparedness, Immediate Response (Ramp Up), Support (Maturity) and Dismantling
(RampDown) (Charles A. 2010).
The paper introduces a general multi-objective framework that can be associated to different problems for
each phase of the disaster and post-disaster situation. The research includes the typical operations
management approaches associated to the humanitarian field, following the different typical goals for the
humanitarian environment indicated by B. M. Beamon (2004) and J. Holguín-Veras et al. (2010).
The purpose is to give a general guide lines to follow for each different phase in order to solve its typical
problems for its own objectives and with its own constrains, with some examples of applications
Platelet-derived growth factor receptor inhibitors for non-small cell lung cancer: is the odyssey over?
No full textEditorial (no abstract available
LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) in Disaster Waste Management: Emilia-Romagna Earthquake, an Italian case study
No full textPurpose
As recently discussed in the literature, an overwhelming amount of waste is normally left after a disaster (Brown C.
O., 2012). Earthquakes, in particular, generate shock waves and displace the ground along fault lines. These seismic
forces can bring down buildings and bridges in a localized area and damage buildings and other structures in a far
wider area. The aim of this research is to study a real Italian case that is occurring nowadays. The purpose is to
evaluate the reverse network performances in terms of LCA in accordance with different waste management
strategies by computing the total waste management cost.
Design/methodology/approach
This work is mainly based on the data coming from the Earthquake occurred in Northern Italy on May 2012, when
two major earthquakes occurred, causing 26 deaths and widespread damage. The Regional officials are currently
collecting and managing debris flows and the data reflects the incredible amount of waste generated. Several months
have been and will be necessary to manage the debris removal process. This work investigates the management of
the most important waste material: the construction and demolition materials. We evaluate by a Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) point of view a set of optional strategies based on different options.
Originality/value
Disaster waste management is a well-recognized problem belonging to the humanitarian logistics research area.
Experience shows that disaster waste can’t be managed by standard disposal options but often requires an ad hoc
manner. However, by a logistic flow management point of view, a substantial improvement can be made in future
response efforts. Moreover reducing and recycling these materials permit to conserve landfill space, reduce the
environmental impact of producing new materials, create jobs, and can reduce overall building project expenses
through avoiding purchase/disposal costs. Based on our knowledge this approach has never been faced before in the
literature in order to evaluate different solutions in a post disaster situation. LCA approach usually does not consider
a sudden-high level of flow materials, typically post disaster issue; moreover the study presents an Italian case in
order to fix the research with a real example
Reverse logistics in humanitarian operations: challenges and opportunities
No full textPurpose – Whilst implementation of a broad range of reverse logistics (RL) practices is increasingly the norm within commercial supply chain management, they have had limited impact in the humanitarian logistics (HL) sector. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the challenges and opportunities for the application of RL in a HL context. Design/methodology/approach – Through a broad review of both the academic and practitioner literature, supplemented by informal discussions with senior humanitarian logisticians, the paper summarises the current state of RL within the HL sector before recommending ways in which practices that are increasingly found in a commercial context could be implemented. Findings – The findings indicate that, to date, the use of commercial RL practices is extremely limited within the HL sector, but there are a number of areas where their introduction be possible in the future. Research limitations/implications – Whilst the reviews of the literature were comprehensive, further and more detailed research into the RL practices (if any) undertaken by aid agencies needs to be undertaken in order that appropriate lessons and experiences can be implemented across the sector as a whole. Practical implications – Given the overall desire of humanitarian agencies to “do no harm” it will be increasingly important for such organisations to embrace RL practices in order to improve the sustainability of their disaster preparation and response activities. Social implications – In light of the generally increased awareness of the need to reduce the environmental footprint as well as improving the social and economic impacts of their supply chain activities, there is likely to be increasing pressure on aid agencies to adopt RL practices. This paper identifies some of the potential areas in which this can be undertaken, and the associated barriers to be overcome. Originality/value – To date, it would appear that no academic research has been undertaken into the RL practices within the HL sector. To this extent, the research represents a first look at a new sub-topic within the overall HL field
Application of humanitarian last mile distribution model
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend a routing model so that it may be applied to a real case study of material deliveries involved in a development operation, typical of regular humanitarian logistics, and to explore the impact of variations in available logistic assets.
Design/methodology/approach – The introduced model is a conceptual evolution of the study recently presented. It concerns the resource allocation and vehicle routing decisions in the well-known Haitian case. Different scenarios are analyzed and a sensitivity analysis is provided. Constraints related to transportation resources in a complex environment, transportation vehicle capacities, and delivery time restrictions are here considered.
Findings – This research shows how the logistic assets characteristics and their availability affect the distribution system performances, in terms of total distribution cost and shortages.
Originality/value – The present work explores the last mile distribution problem by providing a case study to assist decision makers in making effective and efficient distribution across the last mile. The research focusses upon the distribution systems management coupled with material distribution modalities
Multi-criteria decision-making in the management of humanitarian operations
No full textAlthough multi-criteria decision making topic is well suggested by some papers there are no researches that have been focused on its application into humanitarian operations with the presentation of a hierarchy process to support the operators in making choices. The purpose of this paper is to present a general multi-criteria decision making process to assist the evaluation of suitable alternative solutions to humanitarian operations management issues. Humanitarian operations are described in terms of a multi-objective field that reflects service level, timing and costing as final goals, and is composed of different life cycle phases, each with its particular features. Through a deep literature review, a framework is built and analysed to support decision makers in their evaluation of operations issues in which the objective hierarchy is defined. The structured procedure is developed and validated with some examples of possible applications. Thereafter, using a sensitivity analysis, a real case is discusse
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