Defining and measuring the network flexibility of humanitarian supply chains: insights from the 2015 Nepal earthquake

Abstract

The efficient and effective response to disasters critically depends on humanitarian supply chains (HSCs). HSCs need to be flexible to adapt to uncertainties in needs, infrastructure conditions, and behavior of other organizations. The concept of 'network flexibility' is, however, not clearly defined. The lack of an unanimous definition has led to a lack of consistent understanding and comparisons. This paper makes a threefold contribution: first, it defines the concept of network flexibility for HSC in the context of sudden onset disasters. Second, it proposes a framework to measure network flexibility in HSCs. Third, we apply our framework to the 2015 Nepal earthquake case and provide evidence-based insights regarding how humanitarian organizations can improve network flexibility in HSCs. Our analyses for Nepal case show that delivery, IT support, and fleet criteria have the most influence on flexibility. Also, the application of our framework on the downstream network of nine humanitarian organizations shows low levels of network flexibility in all but one. This finding explains why several disruptions happened in relief distributions during the Nepal response.

Sustainable supply chain management towards disruption and organizational ambidexterity: A data driven analysis

“… I15 Supply chain flexibility SC flexibility is the capability to react to long-term or essential SC fluctuations or market environment such as technological, ecological, demand and supply changes by adjusting the sc configuration. Eckstein et al (2015) ; Blome et al (2014) ; Rojo-Gallego-Burin et al (2020) ; Burin et al (2020) ; Mandal (2015) ; Sahu et al (2015) ; Huang & Lu (2020) ; Pu et al (2018) ; Shekarian et al (2020) ; Shekarian & Mellat Parast (2020) ; Baharmand et al (2019) ; Shen et al (2019) . I16 Supply chain integration SC integration is defined as the strategic collaboration with supply chain partners besides aligning intra-organizational practices related to flow and production of products, services, information and joint decision-making in various functional areas inside (internal integration) and outside firm boundaries (supplier and customer integration) Shah et al (2020) ; Scott (2016) ; Munir et al (2020) ; Shukor et al (2020) , Syed et al (2019) ; da Silva Poberschnigg et al (2020) ; Durowoju et al (2020) ; de Freitas et al (2019) ; Palm et al (2020) ; Magill et al (2020) .…”

A collaboration–resilience framework for disaster management supply networks: a case study of the Philippines

“…Ergun et al, 2004;Juttner and Maklan, 2011) Velocity The pace of response to a disruption (Jüttner and Maklan, 2011) Visibility The ability to see all relevant information such as the location of supply network members or the status of products and services (Johnson et al, 2013) Flexibility Flexibility refers to having viable alternatives such as back-up suppliers, manufacturing facilities, and a multiskilled workforce (Sheffi and Jr, 2005). See Baharmand et al (2017) for a flexibility assessment of DMSN in 2015 Nepal earthquake.…”

Supply chain disruptions and resilience: a major review and future research agenda

“…Another example of flexibility importance is the case of the 2015 Nepal earthquake in which humanitarian organizations offering aid to locals were met with great disruptions (delays) in relief delivery. They identified the significance of developing a flexible network with the most influential factors being IT support, fleets' (re) scheduling, and relief packages' volume (Baharmand et al 2019).…”

“…Development of trust between humanitarian organisations and other partners/stakeholders is necessary for coping with complex tasks during disaster relief and following standard code of ethics (Awasthy et al 2019). Therefore, a focus on metrics and performance measurement such as delivery time, number of saved lives, the quantity of distributed relief items, and operations' costs is essential in order to empower the effectiveness and long-term relationships of the humanitarian aids and relief SCs (Baharmand et al 2019). Foremost, research emphasizes the development of flexible resiliency strategies with assisting technological solutions, such as BDA and AI technologies offering open-source imagery tools and analytic mapping tools in humanitarian logistics, for improving responsiveness through information and materials pipeline visibility and increased effectiveness of processes through better management of the scene (Griffith et al 2019).…”