Towards understanding key enablers to green humanitarian supply chain management practices

Abstract

PurposeHumanitarian supply chains (HSCs) by their very nature require urgent reaction to unforeseeable needs, making it difficult to properly plan for the support of actual demands. As such, integrating sustainability into traditional HSC practices continues to present a challenge to governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other humanitarian-related agencies. This study focuses on identifying and categorizing the leading enablers to green humanitarian supply chains (GHSCs) and proposes a model for improving the responsiveness based upon a fuzzy total interpretive structural modelling approach.Design/methodology/approachTotal interpretive structural modelling (TISM) uses group decision-making to identify contextual relationships among each pair of enablers and elucidates the nature of each underlying relationship. The fuzzy TISM shows the level of strength (very high influence, high influence, low influence and very low influence) of each enabler in relation to other enablers, which can help to inform management decision-making.FindingsGHSC management requires strategic planning of inventory and logistics management. The importance of collaborative relationship building with HSC partners for developing capability and the effective use of available resources are keys to success. These improved relationships also help to promote postponement and similar speculation-based logistics strategies, as well as advanced purchasing and pre-positioning strategies. Finally, the speed and quality of response is found to be the top enabler in GHSC management.Research limitations/implicationsOne noted shortcoming of the chosen research method is its reliance on subjective expert judgement. However, collecting judgements is at the basis of many research methods, and the research team took utmost care throughout the research process to allay biases. Future empirical research can further examine the relationships suggested herein. Managers can use the model developed in this research to consider impactful ways to design and execute sustainable HSCs.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a novel attempt to identify enablers to GHSC management. Secondly, the research team has used an advanced methodology (fuzzy TISM) to develop the contextual inter-relationships among the enablers which has not been used earlier in this direction before and thus advances the GHSC literature.

Supply chain sustainability learning: the COVID-19 impact on emerging economy suppliers

“…Thus, it is important to understand how learning associated with sustainability initiatives has occurred at multiple levels. More specifically, there is a research gap to study changes in the knowledge, values and behaviours of emerging economy suppliers as essential participants in these SC learning loops, where these changes may include their level of awareness of sustainable operations (Geldermann et al , 2007; Faisal, 2010), and especially their agility to adapt their sustainability initiatives within a turbulent environment (Bag et al , 2020).…”

Assessing the role of industry 4.0 for enhancing swift trust and coordination in humanitarian supply chain

“…The previous studies have already mentioned and highlighted the important role of Industry 4.0 for improving coordination between actors within commercial supply chain but the role of Industry 4.0 for HSC is scarce and not well-explored (Ho et al, 2021 ; Singh et al, 2018 ). A few studies have highlighted the critical role of industry 4.0 in providing better coordination and swift trust between stakeholders (Bag et al 2020a ; b ). Prior to implementation of Industry 4.0 for improving swift trust and coordination, there is a dire need to evaluate the readiness status of coordination and swift trust based on the most valid "Critical Success Factors".…”

“…It is seen as one of the main aspects of agile supply chain to provide assistance to affected population. Bag et al ( 2020a ; b ) believe that Big Data Analytics can bring higher visibility to supply chain actors by accessing to real-time information. Accurate information can accelerate relief operations as well as to coordinate between aid organizations.…”

Feedback Loops and Facilitation: Catalyzing Transformational Multi-Stakeholder Refugee Response Partnerships

“…Multi-stakeholder partnerships are regarded as fundamental to the transformation called for in the UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals [7,8]. At the same time, interest in the application of partnerships in humanitarian logistics has grown [9][10][11][12][13], particularly in relation to the exploration of motivations for partnering and outcomes in different contexts [14][15][16][17][18][19]. However, the adaptation of multi-stakeholder partnership models to the new trends of refugee response, and the dynamics among partners in these complex and diverse arrangements, requires more attention [5,6,20].…”

“…As some of the authors have been actively involved in the creation and development of the Alianza Shire, particularly undertaking a facilitation function, the paper uses an action-case methodology, and builds upon preliminary studies con-ducted by the authors (see Appendix A). The paper aims to contribute to the research on multi-stakeholder collaboration in humanitarian logistics [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]; particularly, the research adopts a life-cycle perspective and aims to contribute to the stream of research devoted to exploring the key elements associated to the establishment of transformational collaborations [7,8]. The findings offer practical insights on the effective formation of refugee response partnerships among different actors seeking to provide basic services and market integration.…”