Logistic Management: Humanitarian Aid Logistics - Case Study Example

Logistic Management: Case Study Humanitarian Aid Logistics Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive summary 4 1.0 Introduction 5 1.1 Purpose of the study 6 1.2 Definition of key terms 6 1.2.1 Form utility 6 1.2.2 Place utility 7 1.2.3 Time utility 7 2.0 Humanitarian aid and logistics 8 3.0 Logistics management 9 4.0 Matrix of logistics management activities 10 4.1 Packaging and materials handling 10 4.2 Warehousing 11 4.3 Transportation 12 4.4 Coordination 12 5.0 Conclusion and recommendation 13 References 14 Executive summary Humanitarian aid is not a new concept in the world history. This is because for over years, different disasters are occurring with millions of people throughout the world being affected and thousands losing their lives. The aftermath of disasters are usually enormous and are characterized by huge loss of property and lives as well as displacement of persons. The underscore is that, majority of the affected persons have their livelihood destabilized and to help them return to normal life, support of any kind is very essential However, what has been established in the study of the humanitarian cases is that, logistics is major issue. This is because even if the required support like food, shelter and clothing as well medicine is available, it has remained a big challenge to channel this support to the victims and ensure it reaches them at the most appropriate time. This has made it very difficult to attain high levels of time and place utility which are all very critical. Because of the breakdown in communication as a result of poor information management, form utility in some occasions is not attained because the sourcing is done based on very little information. It is with this regard therefore that, the four important logistics activities which include packaging and material handling, warehousing, transportation and coordination are considered critical for supporting the whole process of humanitarian logistics and add to its value. More important among this is coordination as it allows for integration of all activities from sourcing to delivery. 1.0 Introduction In the current world, it cannot go without mentioning that mankind is subject to situations that may impact on their livelihood and those that cannot be managed given their own capacity and resources they have at their disposal. In the living environment, as human beings, we are always prone to such incidences like civil wars which have continued to increase the displacement of people from their homes and forcing them to seek refuge in neighboring countries where refugee camps are established. In addition, there are also some elements of disasters which can be grouped into two major categories namely human caused disasters like terrorism and natural ones that include earthquakes, Tsunamis, and drought among others (Balcik et al 2010). All these factors are a threat to human life as in some situations they occur in extremes, prompting for intervention from various institutions both private or NGOs and public or government institutions of respective countries. A good example is the occurrence of the earthquake in the South parts of Asia which resulted into a very momentous Tsunami in the region. It is noted that, approximately 230,000 people lost their lives while 1.7 million others were displaced. The occurrence was a major shock not only to the affected countries but the world community as majority of the people affected and rescued were in need of urgent aid in terms of humanitarian assistance. The response of aid came from over 40 countries across the world in addition to 700 NGOs which in one way or the other supported the process of providing necessary assistance. For example, various companies from the United States alone contributed US$565 million both in cash and other forms towards the affected parties. Therefore, from this point of view, humanitarian aid can be described as any support that is given to a person, community or country that has had an emergence and that cannot endure on its own aftermath (Charles et al 2010). Humanitarian aid can be inform of food, medicine, shelter, clothing, water and even psychological counseling aftermath with the aim of ensuring that the affected community or people are able to recover back to their normal lives. On the other hand, humanitarian logistics is "the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the beneficiary's requirements" (Kovacs & Spens 2009, pp. 5). In other worlds, humanitarian logistics is used to support the delivery of humanitarian aid to the beneficiary. The definition for humanitarian logistics with the exclusion of beneficiary could be used to refer to business logistics. 1.1 Purpose of the study This analysis is aimed at taking a critical view of the concept of humanitarian aid and logistics and how it applies in today’s lives towards providing support for affected people and how four main important logistics stated earlier could be used to improve on this value. The ultimate objective is to try and demonstrate how humanitarian aid logistics is working with the advent of these activities so as to show some direction on how its supply could be improved. 1.2 Definition of key terms 1.2.1 Form utility Form utility is one of the most important utilities of a product and this is because it ensures that the products are meaningful and can meet a certain expectation by the user. Form utility according to (Kovács & Spens 2009) entails the process of making something and this can be done from assembling of different products parts to make one product which has more value. If it is in business, the products are made based on the market research. However, in the case of humanitarian aid, the product that is being created is determined by the expectations of the beneficiary who is the affected person and is dire need of support. For instance, in the case of humanitarian aid, form utility can be applied in manufacturing certain foods, emergency types of shelters and medicine. So form utility in this case is applied by the provider to make what the beneficiary needs to improve on his livelihood. 1.2.2 Place utility Place utility refers to the process committing different activities so as to make sure that a given product is made at a certain point. This is particularly important in ensuring that it is accessible by the user. In the case of humanitarian aid supply, place utility comes into being at a point where supply is made available to the needy persons. Let’s take an example in humanitarian aid, the food, shelter and clothing for the victims of an earthquake or disaster are not useful if are not delivered to the site where the victims are able to have easy accessibility. In some case, to attain place utilities in the commercial sector, wholesale stores and retails shops are established in regions where the target market does exist. However, in the case of humanitarian aid, place utility is increased by establishing distribution sites near to the camp sites. This is a very important strategy towards ensuring that the affected people do not have to walk for miles to get the aid (Pettit & Beresford 2009). 1.2.3 Time utility Time utility on the other hand, is very critical as it determines that the product or service is made available for the user at the most appropriate time. Time utility can therefore be defined as the time taken before the needy person gets the product. In the market situation, in some occasions, customers are likely to become impatient if the product they want delays. This is because it may not be that useful like when delivered at the right time. In the case of humanitarian aid, time is important because it will ensure that the aid whether food, clothing or shelter reach the beneficiaries at the time when they need them most (Kovács & Spens 2009). 2.0 Humanitarian aid and logistics To provide humanitarian aid is a responsibility of many parties. Some of the world’s commonly known agencies that provide humanitarian aid include UN agencies, NGOs, and other international organizations. However, despite the good efforts by the different bodies to ensure that those people or communities that are in need of humanitarian aid are reached, there is major obstacle which has been the process of logistics. This process is expected to play a central role in sourcing for different humanitarian support by involving different systems and making it available for use by the beneficiaries (Pettit & Beresford 2009). Several reports and especially from the United Nations, have shown that humanitarian aid logistics has remained to be a very complex situation for many of the organizations because of the unpredictable nature of events and more especially those that are natural like earthquakes, Tsunamis, drought and hunger which are very difficult to plan for. These kinds of events can be very enormous and to some extent have proved to be complex especially when they occur on large scale (Kovács & Spens 2009). A good example is the 2004 earthquake which shook various parts of South Asia and who effects were felt by millions of people while thousands of people lost their lives. However, despite the great effort by different organizations and governments from various parts of the world to donate their support, to some extent, it proved to be very futile and this is because of the failure in logistics. Logistics involves a number of stakeholders and several activities which all need proper planning and implementation. However, in some cases and especially in the case of emergencies and in particular where humanitarian aid is required, this may not be a smooth undertaking because of the timeframe and the gap between the time the event happens and the time the aid is required (Oloruntoba and Gray 2006). Nevertheless, to help improve on humanitarian aid, different activities have been proposed as major interventions that could be used to improve this important process and they include packaging and material handling, warehousing, transportation and coordination. 3.0 Logistics management Logistics plays a very significant role in delivering humanitarian assistance. However, the speed and the quality of services provided, greatly depends on the way different chains are operated. Further, logistic activities appears throughout the process from purchase to the final delivery to the beneficiary and the cost incurred is very critical as it will be factored in the final cost of the relief operation. Any improvement in humanitarian aid logistics is likely to play a key role in delivering huge and positive impact to the people affected by disasters. As research continued to show, humanitarian logistics and other related supply chain management have continued to remain underestimated in many of the countries that are mostly affected by natural disasters and which are found in the Asian-Pacific region, where natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricane as well as Tsunamis occurs. Like in the case of the commercial sector, the concepts of logistics management have continued to be significant and vibrant. They are various aspects in logistics management concepts and strategies that are common with those in the commercial sector. They that have continued to gain more recognition in the humanitarian aid logistics and such include information management and coordination (Pettit & Beresford 2009). To start with, information management is the primary responsibility of those organization that are involved in rescue and relief missions of the affected persons since communication has been central aspect in all operations related to delivering human aid. This is because information management is used as a link between the affected persons and the communities that deliver humanitarian aid. This helps give direction on the continuity of the operations and the levels of aid that are required and as when and who should be involved. On the other hand, coordination entails the process of harmonizing different activities that are involved in humanitarian logistics from sourcing to consumption (Van Wassenhove 2006). This leads to four elaborate and comprehensive logistic activities that are used by different organizations in the contemporary world to add value to humanitarian aid logistics and which include packaging and material handling, warehousing, transportation and coordination. 4.0 Matrix of logistics management activities 4.1 Packaging and materials handling While different logistical operations in humanitarian aid are intended at ensuring that certain products and services have reached the intended consumers, packaging and materials handling is known to influence the effectiveness in delivery (Hale 1999). This is because with proper packaging, it is easier to classify different products and thus making the process of sorting easy and consequently quick delivery to the intended user. In the humanitarian aid logistics case, this is especially important because nearly every supply made to the affected people is emergence. Therefore, its delivery on time is of great significance if the aid is to make any positive impact. This is important in attaining high levels of place and time utilities since all deliverables are like to be delivered into the intended destinations. This is because of labeling on the packaging on such a way to show the destinations of various products. Further, packaging and material handling could be improved by ensuring that materials are packaged in rightful containers that can allow easy handling and also that can adapt to the extreme weather conditions. This is particularly so because different products might be handled several times something that might compromise its quality standards and consequently the health of the users (Van Wassenhove 2006). 4.2 Warehousing Warehousing in the contemporary business environment is part of the big business strategy to support the supply chain that has been established in order to help deliver different products and services to the final user. Warehousing is used to store different products strategically at certain points in the case of the commercial sector. However, in the case of humanitarian aid logistics, the major challenge has been storage and distribution of humanitarian aid. This is because even though there may be established distribution centers, the disasters can strike in very different and unexpected areas. This makes it very difficult to coordinate the movement of different products and services to the affected places (Scholten et al 2010). This is the reason as to why even though a lot of donation and different support was available to the victims of the South Asia when hit by the Tsunami in 2004, logistics was a major issue as it proved difficult to control costs and improve on its effectiveness as some of the support was to be flown from different parts of the world. In this case therefore, it is regarded that warehousing is an important logistic activity and could be used to improve on the value of humanitarian aid if established in those areas that are commonly hit by different disasters like Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Gold Coast. 4.3 Transportation Transportation is required in humanitarian aid logistics in supporting the movement of products and services that are needed by the affected community. Transportation to a greater extent adds value to important utilities which are place and time. This is because with proper planning and implementation, most suitable transportation means could be used which could ensure that urgent aid is delivered to the victims at the right time. Sea and air are some of the common used means of transport. However, the effectiveness of the two greatly has depended on the location of the beneficiary, the magnitude of the need and the urgency (Cozzolino et al 2012). In such cases therefore, logistics is intended to play a central role in ensuring that the required aid is made available for the user when needed. Transportation therefore, has been given priority in ensuring efficient and effectiveness in delivering the most suitable commodities and other people who support the process of rescue to the affected persons. However, this calls for a great deal in planning and implementation as well as control because different teams involved need to be drawn in. If appropriate means of transport are identified on time and which best suit the needs of the beneficiaries, it then becomes very easy to deliver on time the required aid. 4.4 Coordination In humanitarian aid logistics, coordination is a very important logistic activity to be used in facilitating the process. This is because in providing humanitarian aid, there are different parties involved and activities which all run concurrently. It is with this regard that it has been recognized by the humanitarian aid providers that, to optimize performance and add value to the process, coordination must be top priority. This is because it ensures that all relationships that are involved are well integrated to support the efficient and effective delivery of aid. This is because the whole idea of logistics is to help move a product or service from one point to another where needed through a given supply chain which involves different parties. Focus on relationships is therefore critical in making movements a possible undertaking and increase in response to the victims (Whiting et al 2009). Despite having different logistical activities that can add value to humanitarian aid supply packaging and materials handling and coordination, seem to play a very central role. To start with, packaging and material handling allows for easy distribution by ensuring that appropriate aid is channeled to the right people and supported with proper handling which to some extent may be involving loading and unloading. Without this logistic activity, it is absolutely difficult to attain high level of effectiveness. Coordination, on the other hand, is required to bring together all activities starting with sourcing, managing information, managing materials, storing, transporting and controlling all operations (Cozzolino et al 2012). 5.0 Conclusion and recommendation This study has established that humanitarian aid logistics is a very complex process as it involves a number of activities and stakeholders. This could be established from the past experiences where failed logistics have led to failure in delivery of aid to the victims. Like in the case of commercial sector, in humanitarian world, supply involves four major logistics which include packaging and material handling, warehousing, transportation and coordination. It is with this regard therefore that it is recommended that packaging and material handling and coordination. This is because the two logistic activities ensure that all commodities are handled properly and all operations as well as relationships integrated to support efficient and effective delivery. Further, since efficiency is a very important aspect in humanitarian aid supply, coordination is critical in enhancing inter-organizational performance, eliminating the element of redundancy and consequently maximizing on efficiency all along the aid supply chain. To some extent, this could be improved with proper information management that allows collection of reliable data and then process it to make informed choice on the approach to use in supplying aid. References Balcik, B., Beamon, BM., Krejci, CC., Muramatsu, KM & Ramirez, M 2010, Coordination in humanitarian relief chains: Practices, challenges and opportunities, International Journal of Production Economics, 126(1), p. 22–34. Charles, A., Lauras, M & Van Wassenhove, L 2010, A model to define and assess the agility of supply chains: Building on humanitarian experience, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 40(8/9), p. 722–741. Cozzolino, A., Rossi, S & Conforti, A 2012, Agile and Lean Principles in the humanitarian supply chain. The case of the United Nations world food programme, Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 2(1), p. 16–33. Hale, H 1999, Commodity Manangement Enhancement Project - Food Aid Logistics Operational Handbook, Care USA. Kovács, G & Spens, K 2009. Identifying challenges in humanitarian logistics, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 39(6), p. 506–528. 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