Strategic planning for disaster relief logistics: lessons from supply chain management

Abstract

Management of disaster relief logistics requires different techniques at different levels. We identify four stages: 1 strategic planning which concerns high level decisions such as supplier selection and confirmation of communication protocols 2 preparedness which concerns decisions regarding the amount and location of relief supplies to be stored 3 pre-event response which concerns decisions during those occasions when an approaching disaster, such as a hurricane, has been detected 4 post-event response which concerns what needs to be done immediately after a disaster has occurred. In this article, we concentrate on the strategic planning stage and build an integrated logistics model based on elements of supply chain management theory. This model provides specific recommendations to practitioners and identifies important areas to be researched. We also point out the applicable techniques at each of the other stages and cite relevant literature.