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The internal and external environment of relief supply chains provides scope for learnings, improvements and modifications that can improve the efficiency and responsiveness of relief chains. In this scenario, a framework has been identified which addresses the issues facing relief supply chains. Some of the recommendations from this framework are -
Use of e-commerce, internet and other information technology tools to manage information and logistics flow through the relief chain
Better co-ordination between various relief supply chain participants
Public-private partnerships for increasing efficiency of operations
Inventory reduction strategies to stop the low priority goods from reaching the disaster site
Use of mathematical techniques for optimal routing thus reducing lead times
Learnings from the military supply chain
Learning from past experiences for government, and NGOs
Introduction
Supply Chains and Disaster Management
Supply Chains are of three types - Commercial, Military and Relief Supply Chains. Relief supply chains are central to relief activities, during disaster management. Unlike the commercial supply chains, relief chains are multi-commodity, multi-modal networks. Disaster Management involves various phases which are - preparedness, impact, response, recovery, development, and mitigation1. In this context, Relief supply chains, are driven by the available supply (Push strategy), during the initial response and recovery phases, by actual demand (Pull strategy) during the development phase.
Figure 1: Disaster Management Cycle
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1 Carter, 1991.
* Contributed by: -
G. Vamsee Chandra,
IIM, Lucknow.
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