Abstract
The infectious disease COVID-19 has swept across the world in 2020, and it continues to cause massive losses of life and severe economic problems in all countries. Providing emergency supplies such as protective medical equipment and materials required to secure people’s livelihood is thus currently prioritized by governments. Establishing a reliable emergency logistics system is critical in this regard. This paper used the Delphi method to design a formal decision structure to assess emergency logistics system reliability (ELSR) by obtaining a consensus from a panel of experts. Assessing ELSR is a typical multiple-attribute decision making (MADM) problem, and the related MADM methods are usually on the basis of symmetry principles. A hybrid MADM model, called the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)-based Analytical Network Process (D-ANP), was developed to identify the critical factors influencing ELSR. An analysis of empirical evidence showed that the emergency logistics command and coordination system and the emergency material supply system play important roles in ELSR, while the emergency logistics transportation and distribution system and the emergency information system are not so important. This conclusion is different from previous research about traditional disaster emergency logistics. Moreover, the cause–effect relationships among the key factors indicated that the system of command and coordination for emergency logistics and the supply system for emergency materials should be improved. Accordingly, effective suggestions for emergency logistics services for epidemic prevention are provided in this paper. The main contributions of this paper are (1) establishing a comprehensive and systematic evaluating index of ELSR for epidemic prevention; (2) employing a kind of structured, namely D-ANP, to identify the critical factors with non-commensurable and conflicting (competing) characteristics; and (3) comparing the differences of reliable criteria between the emergency logistics of epidemic prevention and the traditional disaster emergency logistics.
Highlights
The disease COVID-19 has swept across the globe in recent months and poses a serious threat to life
We explore the answers to the following research questions: What factors should be included in the evaluation index of emergency logistics system reliability (ELSR), and which of them are the critical factors, and is there causal relationship between key factors? Answering these questions can be beneficial for providing effective suggestions for emergency logistics services
The results showed that the command and coordination system for emergency logistics and the emergency material supply system played an important role in ensuring ELSR
Summary
The disease COVID-19 has swept across the globe in recent months and poses a serious threat to life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 17 June 2020, there have been. 8,061,550 people infected with COVID-19 worldwide, 440,290 of who have died [1]. Epidemic experts believe that the number will continue to rise until a vaccine is available. Though all governments have responded to the epidemic, shortages of supplies has led to a series of problems. Medical resources, such as N95-type masks, isolation gowns, life-support machines, and extracorporeal Membrane
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