Integrated capacity and inventory management in disaster relief operations

Humanitarian logistics describes the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of relief items, goods and information in a disaster prone area in order to alleviate the suffering of affected people. For improving the quality of disaster relief operations, the scientific literature offers strategies, such as pre-positioning of relief items or investments in disaster management capabilities. Published research results of such disaster management strategies indicate that pre-positioning inventory generates the best results in terms of service level but causes higher costs compared to investments in disaster management capabilities. This constitutes the basis for our paper. The main focus of our research is put on the identification and analysis of capacity constraints in disaster management activities that primarily result from customs clearance processes and limited transport capacities. The knowledge about capacity constraints during disaster relief operations is crucial in order to use and allocate resources more efficiently. Therefore, we integrated dynamic replenishment policies, forecasting, stochastic transportation times, etc. into a dynamic model. These extensions to the model allow researchers to test various transport capacity levels as well as their impact on supply chain performance, i.e. satisfaction of beneficiaries. 1. Introduction The reason for giving attention to the research on humanitarian logistics can be explained by the importance of developing more efficient and effective humanitarian relief systems to provide better emergency aid in disaster situations. Up to now, the scientific literature offers instruments and strategies to improve the performance of humanitarian relief, with a special focus on the preparedness and immediate response phases after catastrophic events. A concentration on research activities may have positive effects on the overall results of emergency operations.