Abstract
PurposeHumanitarian logistics has for a long time been argued to be a new discipline. Now that even the Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (JHLSCM) has existed over a decade, it is time to take a closer look at its evolution. This article provides some understanding for the developments of humanitarian logistics over the past decade, reveals current trends and discovers what lies behind the curtains in the humanitarian logistics and supply chain management discipline.Design/methodology/approachThis article brings in developments and discussions in humanitarian logistics practice into the research domain.FindingsThe article conveys the concerns of humanitarian logistics practitioners to research. These include the backlash from the COVID-19 pandemic as a prime current concern, and also other longer-term issues and developments.Research limitations/implicationsThe themes identified in the article can be used to inform a research agenda in humanitarian logistics and supply chain management. The article revisits a framework of global events and their cascading impacts to include non-linearities and multiple disruptions from evolutionary disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical implicationsThe article argues for more collaborative and co-designed research to increase the relevance and impact of humanitarian logistics.Social implicationsWider societal views are brought into the area of humanitarian logistics.Originality/valueThe article highlights the gaps that remain in humanitarian logistics and supply chain management research.
Highlights
Humanitarian logistics has for a long time been argued to be a new discipline
This article provides some understanding for the developments of humanitarian logistics over the past decade, reveals current trends and discovers what lies behind the curtains in the humanitarian logistics and supply chain management discipline
Humanitarian logistics is a maturing discipline, and we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the entire community contributing to it, and to JHLSCM, in such a solidary, ever constructive manner
Summary
Humanitarian logistics has for a long time been argued to be a new discipline. While research in this discipline was very scant prior to the mid-2000s, it has seen explosive growth. This interest is often (re-)fuelled by specific large disasters, or catastrophes, as Holguın Veras et al (2012) would classify them It has been the COVID-19 pandemic that has drawn more attention to humanitarian logistics, including to what we can learn from humanitarian organisations in responding to larger supply chain disruptions (Kovacs and Falagara Sigala, 2021). Behind the curtains: global new and old concerns To date, much of humanitarian logistics research has been recentred on pandemic response, and not surprisingly, supply chain disruptions. This is visible in some of the most recent special issues of JHLSCM and its upcoming vaccine supply chain special issue. 1.3 Servitisation of humanitarian logistics Procurement of services to one another
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