Enhancing humanitarian supply chains: the role of interpersonal skills and big data and predictive analytics

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to investigate the role of big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) and social capital on the performance of humanitarian supply chains (HSCs); second, to explore the different performance measurement frameworks and develop a conceptual model for an HSC context that can be used by humanitarian organizations; and third, to provide insights for future research direction.Design/methodology/approachAfter a detailed review of relevant literature, grounded in resource-based view and social capital theory, the paper proposes a conceptual model that depicts the influence of BDPA and social capital on the performance of an HSC.FindingsThe study deliberates that BDPA as a capability improves the effectiveness of humanitarian missions to achieve its goals. It uncovers the fact that social capital binds people, organization or a country to form a network and has a critical role in the form of monetary or non-monetary support in disaster management. Further, it argues that social capital combined with BDPA capability can result in a better HSC performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed model integrating BDPA and social capital for HSC performance is conceptual and it needs to be empirically validated.Practical implicationsOrganizations and practitioners may use this framework by mobilizing social capital, BDPA to enhance their abilities to help victims of calamities.Social implicationsFindings from study can help improve coordination among different stakeholders in HSC, effectiveness of humanitarian operations, which means lives saved and faster reconstruction process after disaster. Second, by implementing performance measurements framework recommended by study, donors and other stakeholders will get much desired transparency at each stage of HSCs.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the missing link of social capital and BDPA to the existing performance of HSC literature, finally leading to a better HSC performance.

Humanitarian supply chain performance (HSCP) derived supportive actions Ensure the implementation of supply chain strategies that help achieve supply chain management objectives. Despite the frequent occurrence of disasters and their huge impact, humanitarian organizations today are still under constant pressure to improve their performance. Based on this need, this research aims to test humanitarian supply chain practices applicable to humanitarian supply chain performance. By adopting humanitarian supply chain practices, it will enable humanitarian supply chain organizations to evaluate and improve humanitarian supply chain performance. This concept paper will discuss the impact of humanitarian supply chain practices, namely the visibility, agility, and utilization of information technology (IT), which in turn attracts a series of improvements to improve humanitarian supply chain performance. Furthermore, the proposed framework is practical in any setting because it is an integral result of previous literature and research. Quantitative survey methods will be used. Research in these areas will provide insights for humanitarian supply chain organizations facing similar problems in other settings.

Even though researchers have immensely contributed in the field of supply chain agility, supply chain adaptability and supply chain alignment, their impact on humanitarian supply chain performance and their relationship is not well known. Leadership is the most discussed and one of the most debated dimensions and little is known about leadership integration with a humanitarian supply chain network design. We carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify variables and their items to design a structured questionnaire, which was pretested with experts in the humanitarian supply chain. We conducted an empirical study on a sample of 306 responses that were collected by us during Allahabad Kumbh from senior officials of the police department, Indian Railways, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and third-party logistics (3PL) companies. We have used the exploratory factor analysis followed by the confirmatory factor analysis to check the construct validity of scales and goodness of fit. We further tested our hypotheses using regression analysis and mediation effect using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) proposed steps. We further checked the mediation significance using the Sobel test. We found that supply chain alignment is a strong determinant of logistics performance and human performance. The supply chain agility is found to completely mediate between supply chain adaptability and human performance and partially mediate between supply chain adaptability and logistics performance. Leadership has a partial mediation effect between supply chain alignment and human performance.

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to deepen the understanding of supply chain performance objectives in the humanitarian context by striving to understand the underlying goals and conceptual variables behind the measurement of performance, such as efficiency.Design/methodology/approach– The research is an in-depth case study with one humanitarian organization. The data are gathered with mixed methods over a two-year period. Interviews were conducted in August 2010 and April 2012, and a survey conducted in October 2012.Findings– Misalignments are detected among different groups in humanitarian operations and between their goals and processes. These misalignments could possibly be corrected through long-term thinking in short-term operations by considering sustainability aspects throughout humanitarian assistance, for example. In addition, efficiency was a commonly identified objective in the case organization, although the definition varied widely and extended beyond the traditional definition of productivity to include planning, accountability and quality.Practical implications– Better communication and definition of terms is necessary to align goals and the power hierarchy in humanitarian supply chains, where operations seem to be structured more according to donor requirements then beneficiary needs.Originality/value– This is an in-depth case study, applying goal-setting theory to study supply chain performance. The study further responds to the public “aid efficiency” discussion by striving to recognize how efficiency is understood and how it can be measured in a humanitarian supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between chain agility, supply chain resilience and humanitarian supply chain performance. In this paper, researchers have attempted to explain supply chain agility and supply chain resilience using oscillation physics theory and further attempted to test the theoretical concept empirically using psychometric tool. The researchers have collected data which represent 20% response rate is subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal component analysis (PCA). The EFA output is further tested using ordinary least-square regression to check the fitness of constructs as a CFA test. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) test output suggests that factors obtained using EFA represent the constructs of the model. The multivariate analysis shows that supply chain agility, supply chain resilience are two important determinants of the pre-disaster and post-disaster supply chain performance measures.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method for measuring performance of decision making units (DMUs). Conventional DEA models view DMUs as black boxes. Network DEA (NDEA) models have been developed to overcome this shortfall. This paper develops a new NDEA model based on modified enhanced Russell measure model. This paper measures performance of humanitarian supply chains (HSCs) by an NDEA model. Capabilities of the proposed model are addressed by theorems. However, in the real world, there might be stochastic data. This paper presents a stochastic version of the proposed NDEA model to measure the performance of HSCs. We analyse main properties of our model. We present a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model.

PurposeThis study aims to understand the role of technology adoption (TA) in improving the efficiency and environmental sustainability (ENS) of humanitarian supply chains through collaboration and supply chain agility. This study made an attempt to explore how technological resources can be used strategically to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to sustainable humanitarian logistics.Design/methodology/approachThe data collected from 274 respondents involved in humanitarian logistics is analyzed using the confirmatory factor analysis and the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. These respondents include logistics managers, coordinators as well as other relevant personnel from different non-governmental organizations, international aid agencies and relief operations.FindingsThe results of this study show that TA plays a critical role in improving both collaboration and supply chain agility in humanitarian operations. It is evidenced that both collaboration and agility significantly moderate the relationship between TA and supply chain outcomes, respectively, improving the effectiveness and ENS of aid delivery. In particular, technology-facilitated collaboration and agility cut down operational costs, reduce the response time and minimize the environmental impact.Originality/valueThis study extends the application of dynamic capabilities view in humanitarian operations and supply chain and elaborates on how technological capability improves humanitarian supply chain performance. This study also highlights the mediation role of agility and collaboration to achieve aid delivery efficiency and ENS.

This study attempts to understand the role of artificial intelligence-driven big data analytics capability in humanitarian relief operations. These disasters play an important role in mobilizing several organizations to counteract them, but the organizations often find it hard to strike a fine balance between agility and resilience. Operations Management Scholars’ opinion remains divided between responsiveness and efficiency. However, to manage unexpected events like disasters, organizations need to be agile and resilient. In previous studies, scholars have adopted the resource-based view or dynamic capability view to explain the combination of resources and capabilities (i.e., technology, agility, and resilience) to explain their performance. However, following some recent scholarly debates, we argue that organizational theories like the resource-based view or dynamic capability view are not suitable enough to explain humanitarian supply chain performance. As the underlying assumptions of the commercial supply chain do not hold true in the case of the humanitarian supply chain. We note this as a potential research gap in the existing literature. Moreover, humanitarian organizations remain sceptical regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence-driven big data analytics capability (AI-BDAC) in the decision-making process. To address these potential gaps, we grounded our theoretical model in the practice-based view which is proposed as an appropriate lens to examine the role of practices that are not rare and are easy to imitate in performance. We used Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test our theoretical model and research hypotheses, using 171 useable responses gathered through a web survey of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The findings of our study suggest that AI-BDAC is a significant determinant of agility, resilience, and performance of the humanitarian supply chain. Furthermore, the reduction of the level of information complexity (IC) on the paths joining agility, resilience, and performance in the humanitarian supply chain. These results offer some useful theoretical contributions to the contingent view of the practice-based view. In a way, we have tried to establish empirically that the humanitarian supply chain designs are quite different from their commercial counterparts. Hence, the use of a resource-based view or dynamic capability view as theoretical lenses may not help capture true perspectives. Thus, the use of a practice-based view as an alternative theoretical lens provides a better understanding of humanitarian supply chains. We have further outlined the limitations and the future research directions of the study.

The logistics service industry has evolved quickly to deliver a variety of services including frequently outsourced warehousing, logistics, and freight forwarding, as well as value-added services which include; order management and fulfillment as well as consultancy in the supply chain. The current study sought to establish the influence of supply risk assessment on the performance of humanitarian supply chains in Somalia with a keen focus on the International Red Cross. The study used a descriptive research design. 102 ICR employees operating in Somalia were the target population. The research adopted a technique of census while using a questionnaire to gather primary data. To guarantee validity and reliability, the questionnaire was pre-tested. Using descriptive and inferential statistics data was analyzed and displayed in tables. Key findings of the study included IRC had developed better dispute resolution mechanisms arising from their strategic partnership with their 3PL providers, the organization had enhanced its procurement processes due to its effective assessment of 3PL providers' capacities resulting in minimal supply risk exposure. From correlation analysis, it was established that there existed a strong and positive correlation between supply risk assessment of 3PL Providers and the performance of the ICR supply chain (r = 0.708**, p=.000). The study concluded that for enhanced performance of the supply chain 3PL providers should deliver requisitions on time and at desired locations as per orders. It is expected the study findings will find use among logistic practitioners and researchers.

Purpose This research aims to shed light on the trend of humanitarian supply chain (HSC) studies in the era of pre, during and post coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreaks. This study provides comprehensive bibliometric mapping published in the 21 top vintage sources globally providing detailed metadata on HSC articles. The manuscript objectives are threefold: to explore the documents that are published in the field of humanitarian logistics and supply chain; second, to identify details of articles in humanitarian logistics and supply chain and thirdly, to explore research the critical area published in the HSC in pre, during and post era of pandemic COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach This research adopts bibliometric analysis of HSC studies using the Biblioshiny, a shiny app for the Bibliometrix R package. The tool employed in this study decodes the data extracted from the Scopus database to various visualized forms. The review of the HSC studies in this research covers all related publications from 2006 to early 2022. The record of the article was scanned and refined accordingly.Findings A multi perspectives of HSC studies were explored, discussed and identified. The bibliometric analysis findings offer significant information on the current and future trend publications in the area of humanitarian logistics and supply chain. Additionally, it also provides significant information on the highly cited documents in humanitarian logistics and supply chain studies, most productive contributors, keywords analysis findings, most productive countries and sources, network analysis data on co-occurrence network and themes mapping information in the field of humanitarian logistics supply chain before and after pandemic COVID-19.Research limitations/implications A multi-perspective of HSC studies was explored only within the online Scopus database. It excludes other articles published in other databases. Future research could explore related articles published in other recognized databases.Practical implications Practitioners can use multi perspectives findings from pre, during and post-pandemic COVID-19 issues discussed in this paper to get new insight and perception of the issue to facilitate their current and future operation and strategy.Originality/value To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first bibliometric study to analyze the trend of HSC studies using Biblioshiny focusing on pre, during and post COVID-19 pandemic. The review highlights annual publication trends, most productive authors, most cited papers, most productive countries, most productive institutions and most productive sources, which leads to a number of future research agendas for future studies.

PurposeThe occurrence of disaster and crisis is increasing. They are complex as well as challenging for humanitarian organizations (HOs) and societies involved in disaster relief operations. This study examined the nexus between supply chain flexibility (SCF) and humanitarian supply chain performance (HSCP) among HOs with empirical evidence from HOs in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the quantitative method to explore the interdependencies among the variables. In congruence with this, the study employed the purposive and convenience sampling technique to obtain information from 168 respondents. The analysis was done using SPSS version 23 and Smart PLS version 3.FindingsThe outcome indicates that intercluster coordination (ICC) plays a significant mediating role between SCF and HSCP.Practical implicationsThe outcome of the study indicates that a closer and stronger relationship ensures proper channel use among the HOs. This will improve the performance of the supply chain of HOs and their ability to deal with supply chain uncertainties.Originality/valueThe discovery of this study provides empirical support to the resource-based view theory. Thus, practitioners in the humanitarian setting give priority to factors that could enhance flexibility in their supply chain as well as implement coordination strategies to achieve a responsive humanitarian supply chain (HSC) system in the quest to minimize the outcome of disasters.

Purpose – Proactive planning strategies for “slow-onset” disruptions that affect humanitarian supply chains (SC) developed to address chronic pressing societal problems, can have a significant impact on boosting the operational and financial performance of these chains. The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that quantifies the impact of a risk mitigation strategy widely employed in commercial SCs, namely emergency sourcing (ES), on the performance of humanitarian SCs taking into account backorders’ clearance time, unsatisfied demand, and cost. Design/methodology/approach – Discrete event simulation is employed in order to evaluate alternative ES strategies based on a total cost criterion, which incorporates inventory-related costs, as well as premium contract costs paid for emergency replenishment. Backorders’ clearance time and time-to-recovery are also employed as a design parameters. Findings – The results document the significant impact of disruptions on expected total cost, and the beneficial role of ES in hedging against disruptions. To that end, the proposed methodology determines the optimal emergency contracted capacity for a given premium, or alternatively the maximum premium cost value that ensures the feasibility of the implemented ES strategy in the long-run, along with the associated cost and time savings, and reduction of the unsatisfied demand. Originality/value – The fundamental objective is to provide a decision-making support methodology for deciding on whether to implement an ES strategy or not in humanitarian SCs, and the level of the optimal contracted reserved capacity. The results could be of great value to aid providers, policy-makers, and regulators.

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, anti-globalization and the digital economy have led to accelerated changes in the market, forcing companies to use big data to achieve precise and agile product or service delivery, thereby improving performance. Existing research has not yet explored the mechanisms for data-driven supply chain agility and supply chain performance. Based on dynamic capacity theory and organizational information processing theory, this paper constructs a conceptual model to investigate how big data analytics can facilitate the implementation of high-level supply chain agility and performance through customer integration, internal integration and collaborative knowledge creation. Design/methodology/approach We collected a sample of the Chinese food industry and conducted an empirical study using partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings The results show that big data analytics has an impact on supply chain agility through three paths. Moreover, big data analytics capability and supply chain agility are considered dynamic capabilities and the effect of configuration under different conditions is empirically tested. Four solutions to improve the performance of the supply chain are obtained. Practical implications This research sheds light on the implementation process of big data-driven supply chain performance, which is of good theoretical and practical value for expanding the theory of organizational information processing and helping enterprises achieve high-level agile supply and performance. Originality/value We provide a new perspective on supply chain agility by exploring the antecedents of supply chain agility and its impact on supply chain performance from the perspective of information processing and dynamic capabilities. Existing studies have not focused on the role of big data analytic capabilities in improving supply chain agility. The purpose of this study is to attempt to establish a clear relationship between the three mediating paths (customer integration, internal integration and collaborative knowledge creation) between big data analytics capabilities and supply chain agility. In addition, we use the empirical methods of PLS-SEM and fsQCA to better substantiate the conclusions.

In this chapter, we theorize and test a model to study the impact of agility and resilience on humanitarian supply chain performance. Here, supply chain agility and supply chain resilience are explained based on existing literature. We have undertaken an extensive literature review to build up the theory and further tested the theory using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The multivariate statistical analyses suggest that supply chain agility is an important property of pre-disaster performance, and supply chain resilience is an important property of the post-disaster performance, in humanitarian supply chain network. The present study attempts to further existing literature, and outlines limitations and further research directions.

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the state of the art of performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains; to categorize performance measurement indicators in the five supply chain phases of Gunasekaran and Kobu (2007) and evaluate them based on the evaluation criteria of Caplice and Sheffi (1995); and to define gaps and challenges in this field and give insights for future research in this domain. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review has been conducted using a structured method based on Denyer and Tranfield (2009) and Rousseau et al. (2008). The state of the art on humanitarian supply chain performance management with a focus on measurement frameworks and indicators and their applications in practice is classified in three categories. The first category is the definition and measurement of success in humanitarian supply chains. The second category is managing performance, which focuses on describing and analyzing the actual practice of managing performance. The third category shows the challenges in performance management that humanitarian supply chain actors deal with. Findings – Findings reveal that performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains is still an open area of research, especially compared to the commercial supply chain sector. Furthermore, the research indicates that performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains has to be developed in support of the supply chain strategy. Based on the findings of the literature review on performance measurement and management in the commercial and humanitarian field, a first classification of 94 performance measurement indicators in humanitarian supply chains is presented. Furthermore, the paper shows key problems why performance measurement and management systems have not been widely developed and systematically implemented in humanitarian supply chains and are not part of the supply chain strategy. The authors propose performance measurement guidelines that include input and output criteria. They develop a research agenda that focuses on four research questions for designing, deploying and disseminating performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains. Practical implications – The result helps the humanitarian supply chain community to conduct further research in this area and to develop performance measurement frameworks and indicators that suit humanitarian supply chains. Originality/value – It is the first systematic approach to categorize research output regarding performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains. The paper shows the state of the art in performance measurement and management in humanitarian supply chains and develops a research agenda.