Appropriate co-ordination mechanisms and tools for collaboration between suppliers, manufacturers, relief agencies and the government help improve supply chain agility and efficiency. Co-ordination helps in better demand management, procurement, optimal use of storage and logistic resources, removal of redundancy in the relief chain.

Transportation forms a predominant component of lead time for relief chains. Cost minimizing techniques like Traveling salesman Problem, Vehicle Routing Problem can be modified to include minimum time of delivery to minimize the lead time

Risk pooling between different disaster locations, trans-shipments between various distribution centers at a relief site would reduce demand variability

Transportation networks such as Milk Runs can be designed to ensure high responsiveness at low costs

The military typically have their own logistics network and operate in areas that are away from the normal transportation networks. Moreover, the military generally is the first to react to any disaster by reviving the destroyed logistics infrastructure and providing basic supplies initially to the aid victims.
e.g.: Indian Military Logistics and BRO in the Kashmir terrain

The following represent some aspects of the military supply chain that can be used in relief chains -
      * Centralized relief network
         (a) Well defined command structure and size of military logistics network gives the ability to respond faster to large scale emergencies
         (b) Provides the ability to act independently
      * Modeling concepts
      * Novel organizational structures