34 research outputs found
Outsourcing of humanitarian logistics to commercial logistics service providers: An empirical investigation
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian
logistics activities to commercial logistics service providers (LSPs) throughout the different disaster phases.
The authors identify incentives for initiating outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial
logistics providers, humanitarian logistics activities to be outsourced and selection criteria for partners.
Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on empirical data collected by interviewing 12
practitioners from commercial LSPs and 12 practitioners from humanitarian organizations (HOs). A review of
related literature guided this research.
Findings – This research shows that incentives for initiating outsourcing engagements, partner selection
criteria and activities to be outsourced are changing throughout the different disaster phases. A number of
research propositions are presented.
Research limitations/implications – This research constitutes a first step towards the goal of a
comprehensive analysis of humanitarian logistics outsourcing throughout the different disaster phases. The
authors collected data from practitioners and large organizations based mainly in Europe and the USA.
Hence, insights from national and local organizations of other parts of the world are missing.
Practical implications – This research provides a deeper understanding of outsourcing of humanitarian
logistics activities. As the main implication for practice, the research suggests a strategic use of outsourcing
during the three disaster phases. The authors acknowledge that business objectives, risks, stakeholder
agendas and requirements, as well as costs play a vital and changing role for outsourcing decision-making
during the three disaster stages. The managerial implications arising from the research can provide support
to commercial LSPs and HOs that initiate or develop strategic outsourcing relationships.
Originality/value – This study covers the gap in the humanitarian literature related to context-specific
factors of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics by empirically investigating the phenomenon. This is one of
the first studies that empirically investigate the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities
throughout the disaster phases
Integrated service selection, pricing and fullfillment planning for express parcel carriers - Enriching service network design with customer choice and endogenous delivery time restrictions
Express parcel carriers offer a wide range of guaranteed delivery times in order to separate
customers who value quick delivery from those that are less time but more price sensitive. Such
segmentation, however, adds a whole new layer of complexity to the task of optimizing the logistics
operations. While many sophisticated models have been developed to assist network planners
in minimizing costs, few approaches account for the interplay between service pricing, customer
decisions and the associated restrictions in the distribution process. This paper attempts to fill
this research gap by introducing a heuristic solution approach that simultaneously determines the
ideal set of services, the associated pricing and the fulfillment plan in order to maximize profit. By
integrating revenue management techniques into vehicle routing and
eet planning, we derive a new
type of formulation called service selection, pricing and fulfillment problem (SSPFP). It combines
a multi-product pricing problem with a cycle-based service network design formulation. In order
derive good-quality solutions for realistically-sized instances we use an asynchronous parallel genetic
algorithm and follow the intuition that small changes to prices and customer assignments cause
minor changes in the distribution process. We thus base every new solution on the most similar
already evaluated fulfillment plan. This adapted initial solution is then iteratively improved by a
newly-developed route-pattern exchange heuristic. The performance of the developed algorithm is
demonstrated on a number of randomly created test instances and is compared to the solutions of
a commercial MIP-solver.Series: Schriftenreihe des Instituts fĂĽr Transportwirtschaft und Logistik - Supply Chain Managemen
Funds allocation in NPOs: the role of administrative cost ratios
Performance measurement of Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) is of
increasing importance for aid agencies, policy-makers and donors. A widely used
benchmark for measuring the efficiency of NPOs is the overhead cost ratio, consisting
of the total money spent on administration and fundraising relative to the budget.
Donors generally favor a lower overhead cost ratio as it ensures that more Money
directly reaches beneficiaries. Unlike fundraising expenses, administrative costs do
not contribute to advertising the actions of an NPO even though they account for a
significant proportion of overhead cost. Reducing administrative expenses is a logical
consequence from a financial viewpoint, but might negatively affect NPOs through the
resulting administrative capacities. This phenomenon is known as "Nonprofit Starvation Cycle" This work provides an analytical framework for analyzing NPO decision
making concerning administrative costs. The paper provides answers to important research questions on the optimal level of administrative spending, the influencing
factors and the effects of available information on NPOs. The research shows that focusing on financial performance measurements can result in reduced utility created
for NPOs. Less transparency often leads to increased utility for NPOs, but more transparency can increase NPOs' utility if the information available exceeds a certain threshold. Fluctuating donations are challenging for NPOs' planning and may Impact
administrative capacities negatively
Outsourcing in humanitarian logistics – status quo and future directions
Purpose – Outsourcing of logistics has great importance in disaster relief. Aid agencies spend several billion
US dollars every year on logistics services. However, the concept of outsourcing has not been established
adequately in literature on humanitarian logistics, leading to a fragmented view of the practice. This paper
provides a holistic perspective of the concept by constructing a conceptual framework to analyze both practice
and research of outsourcing in humanitarian operations. Based on this analysis, we explore future trends and
identify research gaps.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a structured review of academic literature, a tworound
Delphi study with 31 experts from aid agencies and a complementary full-day focus group with twelve
experts from aid agencies and logistics service providers.
Findings – The paper systemizes the current practice of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics according to a
conceptual framework of five dimensions: subject, object, partner, design and context. In addition, it reveals ten
probable developments of the practice over the next years. Finally, it describes eight important research gaps
and presents a research agenda for the field.
Research limitations/implications – The literature review considered peer-reviewed academic papers.
Practitioner papers could provide additional insights into the practice. Moreover, the Delphi study focused on
the perspective of aid agencies. Capturing the views of logistics service providers in more detail would be a
valuable addition.
Originality/value – The paper establishes the academic basis for the important practice of outsourcing in
humanitarian logistics. It highlights essential research gaps and, thereby, opens up the field for future research
IT-enabled Interorganizational Information Sharing Under Co-opetition in Disasters: A Game-Theoretic Framework
Increasing uncertainty in the business world requires organizations to establish temporary, IT-enabled interorganizational information exchanges on short notice. Information sharing among disaster relief organizations represents an extreme case of these ad hoc interorganizational information exchanges, and therefore provides a good reference point for analyzing firms’ strategic competitive and cooperative considerations (co-opetition). While ad hoc IT-enabled interorganizational information sharing is particularly crucial in facilitating efficient disaster response, little research has outlined the main barriers and benefits of participation in these ad hoc information relationships, with the existing literature often overlooking the competitive aspects. We demonstrate that the ad hoc humanitarian context of natural disasters provides additional insights to existing understandings of information sharing costs and benefits under co-opetition. An elaborated game-theoretic model is developed that provides a theoretical foundation for empirical and modeling research on IT-enabled interorganizational information sharing, under co-opetition in disaster relief, as well as in other business contexts
Citylogistik und intermodaler Transport als UnterstĂĽtzer grĂĽner Logistik
Logistik ist ein wichtiger Eckpfeiler der Wirtschaft, ist aber mit sehr starken
negativen Auswirkungen fĂĽr die Umwelt verbunden. Innovative Ideen, die die
negativen ökologischen Auswirkungen der Logistik reduzieren und gleichzeitig
die wirtschaftlich notwendige Gestaltung der Logistik ermöglichen, sind
essenziell. In diesem Artikel werden zwei Ansätze beschrieben, wie Logistik
nachhaltiger gestaltet werden kann. Auf der einen Seite wird ĂĽber Citylogistik
berichtet, auf der anderen Seite werden die Besonderheiten des intermodalen
Verkehrs analysiert. AnschlieĂźend werden Projekte, die in letzter Zeit zu diesem
Thema abgeschlossen wurden, vorgestellt. Dabei wird ein besonderer Fokus auf
die Rolle quantitativer Modelle gelegt
Applying the Delphi method to determine best practices for outsourcing logistics in disaster relief
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine best practices of aid agencies for outsourcing logistics tocommercial logistics service providers (LSPs) in disaster relief. Moreover, it evaluates the application of the Delphi method for research in humanitarian logistics. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a two-round Delphi study with 31 experts from aid agencies and a complementary full-day focus group with 12 experts from aid agencies and LSPs.
Findings: The study revealed 12 best practices for outsourcing logistics in disaster relief and a compilation of more than 100 activities for putting these practices into action. Experts consider a proper balance between efficiency and compliance, a detailed contract and a detailed service request most important. Additionally, the Delphi method was found to be a promising technique for research on humanitarian logistics.
Research limitations/implications: By critically examining the Delphi method, this study establishes the basis for a wider application of the technique in the field of humanitarian logistics. Furthermore, it can help to prioritize future research as the ranking of practices reflects the priorities of practitioners.
Practical implications: The paper provides guidance to practitioners at aid agencies in charge ofoutsourcing logistics.
Originality/value: This research is one of the first in the field of humanitarian logistics to apply the Delphi method. Moreover, it addresses the lack of literature dealing with approaches for building successful cross-sectoral partnerships
Digitizing the field: designing ERP systems for Triple-A humanitarian supply chains
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore what design principles need to be considered in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for humanitarian organizations (HOs) to enable agile, adaptive and aligned (Triple-A) humanitarian supply chain capabilities and digitize humanitarian operations. Design/methodology/approach: This study follows an embedded case study approach with ahumanitarian medical relief organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which engaged in a multiyear ERP design at its humanitarian field missions. Findings: This research shows that ERP systems for humanitarian organizations should be designed asunique systems addressing humanitarian organizations' challenges and unique missions, their valuegeneration processes, and resource base in an effort to improve organizational performance. This study presents 12 general design principles that are unique for humanitarian organizations. These design principle sprovide a high-level structure of guidance under which specific requirements can be further defined and engineered to achieve success. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study are based on a single case study limiting generalizability. However, the case study was analyzed and presented as an embedded case study with five autonomous subunits using different business processes and following different adoption and implementation approaches. Therefore, the findings are derived based on considerable variance reflective of humanitarian organizations beyond MSF. Practical implications: This study recognizes that HOs have unique routines that standard commercial ERP packages do not address easily at the field level. The primary contribution of this research is a set of design principles that consider these unique routines and guide ERP development in practice. National and international HOs that are planning to implement information systems, private companies that are trading partners of HOs as well as vendors of ERP systems that are looking for new opportunities would all benefitfrom this research. Originality/value: This study fills the gap in the humanitarian literature regarding the design of ERPsystems for humanitarian organizations that enable Triple–A supply chain capabilities and it advances the knowledge of the challenges of ERP design by HOs in the context of humanitarian operations
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How to increase the impact of disaster relief: A study of transportation rates, framework agreements and product distribution
Due to restricted budgets of relief organizations, costs of hiring transportation service providers steer distribution decisions and limit the impact of disaster relief. To improve the success of future humanitarian operations, it is of paramount importance to understand this relationship in detail and to identify mitigation actions, always considering the interdependencies between multiple independent actors in humanitarian logistics. In this paper, we develop a game-theoretic model in order to investigate the influence of transportation costs on distribution decisions in long-term relief operations and to evaluate measures for improving the fulfillment of beneficiary needs. The equilibrium of the model is a Generalized Nash Equilibrium, which has had few applications in the supply chain context to date. We formulate it, utilizing the construct of a Variational Equilibrium, as a Variational Inequality and perform numerical simulations in order to study the effects of three interventions: an increase in carrier competition, a reduction of transportation costs and an extension of framework agreements. The results yield important implications for policy makers and humanitarian organizations (HOs). Increasing the number of preselected carriers strengthens the bargaining power of HOs and improves impact up to a certain limit. The limit is reached when carriers set framework rates equal to transportation unit costs. Reductions of transportation costs have a consistently positive, but decreasing marginal benefit without any upper bound. They provide the highest benefit when the bargaining power of HOs is weak. On the contrary, extending framework agreements enables most improvements when the bargaining power of HOs is strong
Mikrodepots und Lastenräder zur innerstädtischen Güterlieferung. Eine Betrachtung am Beispiel der Stadt Wien
Die Smart City Rahmenstrategie der Stadt Wien definiert das Ziel, den Verkehr mit konventionell betriebenen Fahrzeugen zu reduzieren. Eine Möglichkeit dafür ist die Verwendung von Lastenrädern für den Gütertransport im urbanen Bereich. Doch obwohl sich das Radfahren per se in Wien immer größerer Beliebtheit erfreut, werden Lastenräder im gewerblichen Bereich noch in eher geringem Ausmaß eingesetzt. Anhand einer Literaturrecherche und ExpertInneninterviews wird aufgezeigt, wie die Situation für den kommerziellen Einsatz von Lastenrädern in Wien verglichen mit dem in Budapest, München und Kopenhagen aussieht und mit welchen Maßnahmen der gewerbliche Einsatz von Lastenrädern in Wien verstärkt werden kann.
Eine zentrale Frage für den Einsatz von Lastenrädern im Speziellen zur Güterlieferung ist die der Zwischenlagerung der zu befördernden Pakete. Dieser Frage wird im zweiten Teil des Beitrags nachgegangen, wobei der Bedarf an derartigen Mikrodepots in Wien analysiert und der Bestand an adaptierbaren leerstehenden Lokalen evaluiert wird. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen einerseits Schwächen in der Radinfrastruktur in Wien, andererseits aber auch das Potential für den Lastenradeinsatz zur innerstädtischen Güterlieferung