A Multi-Criteria Vertical Coordination Framework for a Reliable Aid Distribution

Purpose: This study proposes a methodology that translates multiple humanitarian supply chain stakeholders’ preferences from qualitative to quantitative values, enabling these preferences to be integrated into optimization models to ensure their balanced and simultaneous implementation during the decision-making process. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review is used to justify the importance of developing a strategy that minimizes the impact of a lack of coordination on humanitarian logistics decisions. A methodology for a multi-criteria framework is presented that allows humanitarian stakeholders’ interests to be integrated into the humanitarian decisionmaking process. Findings: The findings suggest that integrating stakeholders’ interests into the humanitarian decision-making process will improve its reliability. Research limitations/implications: To further validate the weights of each stakeholder’s interests obtained from the literature review requires interviews with the corresponding organizations. However, the literature review supports the statements in this paper. Practical implications: The cost of a lack of coordination between stakeholders in humanitarian logistics has been increasing during the last decade. These coordination costs can be minimized if humanitarian logistics’ decision-makers measure and simultaneously consider multiple stakeholders’ preferences. Social implications: When stakeholders’ goals are aligned, the humanitarian logistics response becomes more efficient, increasing the quality of delivered aid and providing timely assistance to the affected population in order to minimize their suffering. Originality/value: This study provides a methodology that translates humanitarian supply chain stakeholders’ interests into quantitative values, enabling them to be integrated into mathematical models to ensure relief distribution based on the stakeholders’ preferences.Peer Reviewe

Disaster Management Cycle-Based Integrated Humanitarian Supply Network Management

While logistics research recently has placed increased focus on disruptionmanagement, few studies have examined the response and recovery phases in post-disaster operations. We present a multiple-objective, integrated network optimizationmodel for making strategic decisions in the supply distribution and network restorationphases of humanitarian logistics operations. Our model provides an equity- or fairness-based solution for constrained capacity, budget, and resource problems in post-disasterlogistics management. We then generate efficient Pareto frontiers to understand the trade-off between the objectives of interest.Next, we present a goal programming-based multiple-objective integratedresponse and recovery model. The model prescribes fairness-based compromise solutionsfor user-desired goals, given limited capacity, budget, and available resources. Anexperimental study demonstrates how different decision making strategies can beformulated to understand important dimensions of decision making.Considering multiple, conflicting objectives of the model, generating Pareto-optimal front with ample, diverse solutions quickly is important for a decision maker tomake a final decision. Thus, we adapt the well-known Non-dominated Sorting GeneticAlgorithm II (NSGA-II) by integrating an evolutionary heuristic with optimization-basedtechniques called the Hybrid NSGA-II for this NP-hard problem. A Hypervolume-basedtechnique is used to assess the algorithm’s effectiveness. The Hazards U.S. Multi-Hazard(Hazus)-generated regional case studies based on earthquake scenarios are used todemonstrate the applicability of our proposed models in post-disaster operations

Relief distribution networks : a systematic review

In the last 20 years, Emergency Management has received increasing attention from the scientific community. Meanwhile, the study of relief distribution networks has become one of the most popular topics within the Emergency Management field. In fact, the number and variety of contributions devoted to the design or the management of relief distribution networks has exploded in the recent years, motivating the need for a structured and systematic analysis of the works on this specific topic. To this end, this paper presents a systematic review of contributions on relief distribution networks in response to disasters. Through a systematic and scientific methodology, it gathers and consolidates the published research works in a transparent and objective way. It pursues three goals. First, to conduct an up-to-date survey of the research in relief distribution networks focusing on the logistics aspects of the problem, which despite the number of previous reviews has been overlooked in the past. Second, to highlight the trends and the most promising challenges in the modeling and resolution approaches and, finally, to identify future research perspectives that need to be explored

Modeling the values of private sector agents in multi-echelon humanitarian supply chains

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Humanitarian organizations (HOs) increasingly look to engage private sector supply chains in achieving outcomes. The right engagement approach may require knowledge of agents' preferences across multi-echelon supply chains to align private sector value creation with humanitarian outcomes. We propose a multi-attribute value analysis (MAVA) framework to elucidate such preferences. We formalize this approach and apply it in collaboration with a HO pilot aiming to facilitate better private sector availability of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in Uganda. We demonstrate how HOs could use criteria weights and value functions from MAVA for project evaluation; in the process, we reveal business model insights for importers, distributors, and retailers in the pilot. We also show how MAVA facilitates the impact assessment of hypothetical options (i.e., combinations of products, services, and subsidies) to guide HO resource deployment. This paper offers the first attempt, to our knowledge, to develop quantitative measures for economic and non-economic objectives involving all agents in a multi-echelon supply chain, either humanitarian or commercial. We hope that this initial step stimulates further research to validate results and develop the framework proposed

ОПТИМАЛЬНАЯ МАРШРУТИЗАЦИЯ ВОЗДУШНЫХ СУДОВ И МАШИН СКОРОЙ ПОМОЩИ В ЛОГИСТИКЕ ПРИ СТИХИЙНЫХ БЕДСТВИЯХ

One of the most vital aspects of emergency management studies is the development and examination of post-disaster search and rescue activities and treatment facilities. One of such issues to be considered while performing these operations is to reach the disaster victims within minimum time and to plan disaster logistics in the most efficient manner possible. In this study, the problem of planning debris scanning activities with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles after an earthquake and transporting the injured people to the hospitals by ambulances within minimum time was discussed, and mathematical models were developed to solve the problem. The ambulance routing problem and the mathematical model to be used in the solution to the problem are discussed for the first time in the literature. The developed model was tested on the problem sets created by taking into account the data of the province under investigation.Одним из наиболее важных аспектов исследований по управлению рисками и чрезвычайными ситуациями является разработка и изучение поисково-спасательных мероприятий и очистных сооружений после стихийных бедствий. Одним из вопросов, которые необходимо учитывать при выполнении этих операций, является обеспечение доступа к жертвам стихийных бедствий в минимальные сроки и планирование логистики в случае стихийных бедствий наиболее эффективным способом. В данном исследовании рассматривается проблема планирования работ по спасению с помощью беспилотных летательных аппаратов после землетрясения и транспортировки пострадавших людей в больницы на машинах скорой помощи за минимальное время. Для решения этой проблемы были разработаны и предложены математические модели. Впервые рассматривается задача маршрутизации скорой помощи и математическая модель, которая будет использоваться для решения этой задачи. Разработанная модель была протестирована на множествах задач, созданных с учетом реальных данных исследуемой провинции Турции

EVALUATION OF LOCATION SELECTION CRITERIA FOR COORDINATION MANAGEMENT CENTERS AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT UNITS IN DISASTER AREAS WITH AHP METHOD

In recent years, human beings and our planet have suffered great losses in the frequent disasters. Effective and timely intervention is of utmost importance in all large-scale disasters, whether natural or man-made. In this article, a study has been conducted on a model in which the location selection criteria of the management and support centers, where the coordination works as well as the management and administration are carried out in disaster areas, are evaluated by the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method. For this, an in-depth literature analysis was carried out at the first stage, and then all the findings obtained as a result of the literature research were presented to the professionals related to the subject, and expert opinion was sought. In the light of expert opinion, the location selection criteria for the coordination management center and logistic support units in disaster areas were determined, and a model proposal was made, in which the importance values ​​were weighted by using one of the MCDM methods, The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is widely used

Supporting group decision makers to locate temporary relief distribution centres after sudden-onset disasters: A case study of the 2015 Nepal earthquake

International audienceIn the humanitarian response, multiple decision-makers (DMs) need to collaborate in various problems, such as locating temporary relief distribution centres (RDCs). Several studies have argued that maximising demand coverage, reducing logistics costs and minimising response time are among the critical objectives when locating RDCs after a sudden-onset disaster. However, these objectives are often conflicting and the trade-offs can considerably complicate the situation for finding a consensus.To address the challenge and support the DMs, we suggest investigating the stability of non-dominated alternatives derived from a multi-objective model based on Monte Carlo Simulations. Our approach supports determining what trade-offs actually matter to facilitate discussions in the presence of multiple stakeholders. To validate our proposal, we extend a location-allocation model and apply our approach to an actual data-set from the 2015 Nepal earthquake response. Our analyses show that with the relative importance of covering demands, the trade-offs between logistics costs and response time affects the numbers and locations of RDCs considerably. We show through a small experiment that the outputs of our approach can effectively support group decision-making to develop relief plans in disasters response

Making decisions for effective humanitarian actions: a conceptual framework for relief distribution

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