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Supply chain issues will arise when a large natural disaster inhibits the ability of emergency operations managers to move supplies into an area. More pointedly, when the general infrastructure is damaged, supply chain operations are seriously hindered.

Some of the quickest emergency assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina did not come from the American Red Cross or FEMA but it came from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart moved faster than traditional emergency aid groups because the retail giant has mastered logistics and supply chain management. The learning from this example is that hospitals and their group purchasing organizations (GPOs) must carefully develop their own supply chain management (SCM) strategies and infrastructure to ensure essential provisions are available during a natural disaster.

Also, the lessons learned from previous disasters should be being incorporated into best practices by a variety of means, including expert systems software. These systems can act as a mentor and guide before, during, and after a crisis and can be configured for a specific facility, customized for a specific incident, and can be accessed as soft ware on demand.

In the case of supply chain management, these systems can help develop the supply chain management component of the Disaster Management Plan provide supply chain related job action sheets, and support supply chain management interaction with local public health agencies. Relevant data can be captured, analyzed and tracked to ensure that important action steps are not over looked.

The detection stage involves forecasting the disasters for proper planning. Early Warning System for cyclones (Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is mandated to monitor and give warnings regarding Tropical Cyclone) is already in place. There should be a warning system for Tsunamis also where the reaction time for the affected population is even critical.

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* Contributed by: -
Anshuman Harjai & Ibin Issac Abraham,
Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.