Risk and Relationships in Humanitarian Supply Chains
Paul D. Larson, Ph.D.
CN Professor of SCM
Director, Transport Institute
Head, SCM Department
University of Manitoba
larson@cc.umanitoba.ca
Wilfrid Laurier University
November 26, 2010
Prosperity
Mobility
Sustainability
The PMAC Project
Public Sector SCM
Business
Logistics
Humanitarian
Logistics
Business and Relief Logistics
“There are clear parallels between business
logistics and relief logistics, but the transfer of
knowledge between the two has been limited and
the latter remains relatively unsophisticated.”
Source: Pettit and Beresford (2005, p. 314)
Business Logistics vs. Relief Logistics
Factor
Business Logistics
Relief Logistics
Purpose
Economic profit
Social impact
Context
Uninterrupted
Interrupted
Time
Time is money
Time is life
Customers
Donors
Source of $
Multiple Stakeholders
Donors
3PLs
Suppliers
Aid agencies
Humanitarian
aid supply
network
Military
Recipients
Other NGOs
Governments
Adapted from: Kovács and Spens (2007, p. 106)
HUMLOG Group
(www.humloggroup.org)
Aim: To research the area of humanitarian logistics in
disaster preparedness, response and recovery with the
intention of influencing future activities in a way that will
provide measurable benefit to persons requiring
assistance.
Cardiff University, UK
Cranfield University, UK
Hanken School of Economics, Finland
Jönköping International Business School, Sweden
Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Science & Technology, Ghana
National Defence University of Finland
Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College
Norwegian School of Management
Thammasat University, Thailand
United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC)
University of Manitoba, Canada
854 million people do not have enough
to eat - more than the populations of
USA, Canada and the European Union.
Every five seconds a child dies
because she or he is hungry.
Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006, FAO.
Kluger, Jeffrey (2008), “How America's Children Packed On the Pounds,” Time,
June 12. (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1813700,00.html)
“… a whopping 32% of all American children
now carry more pounds than they should.”
(http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/227.cfm)
“More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight
and 30 per cent suffer from obesity but there has
been a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. In
the United States, the percentage of overweight or
obese children has doubled over the past 30 years
to 25 per cent of the under-19 population.”
Some numbers
540 = the number of children who will
die during the next 45 minutes
due to hunger and malnutrition.
1/6 = the portion of people in the world
today who are undernourished.
122 = the number of humanitarian aid
workers murdered in 2008.
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
UN (www.fao.org)
Urgent needs; lagging practices
Humanitarian aid agencies are twenty years
behind the large corporations in adopting
today’s fundamental tools of logistics and
SCM (Fritz Institute).
Silvia Spring, “Relief When You Need It: Can FedEx, DHL and
TNT bring the delivery of emergency aid into the 21st century?”
Newsweek International Edition, September 11, 2006.
The Four Quadrants
Environment
Sector
For-profit
Not-for-profit
Uninterrupted
Interrupted
Business
Business at Risk
Development Aid
Disaster Relief
Humanitarian NGOs engage in two broad types of activities:
(1) Relief activities: relief for victims of large-scale emergencies.
These short-term activities focus on providing goods and
services to minimize immediate risks to human health and
survival.
(2) Development activities: longer-term aid, focusing on
community self-sufficiency and sustainability. These activities
include establishing permanent and reliable transportation,
healthcare, housing, and food.
Beamon, Benita M. & Burcu Balcik (2008), “Performance measurement in
humanitarian relief chains,” International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 4-25.
Monument to Canadian Aid Workers,
Rideau Falls Park, Ottawa, Canada
2009 Humanitarian Logistics Conference:
Relationship Building in Humanitarian Relief Supply Chains
October 15-16, Ottawa
Relationship Building in Humanitarian Supply Chains
8:00 a.m.
8:25 a.m.
8:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Breakfast and Registration
HUMLOG
Opening Remarks – Paul D. Larson, Director, Transport Institute
Group
Opening Keynote – Kevin McCort, President and CEO, CARE Canada
Session One
Vanessa Brown, Logistics Officer, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Dave Carlstrom, President and CEO, Air Serv International
10:15 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. Session Two
Birgitte Olsen, Head of Logistics, IFRC
Nancy Rivard, President, Airline Ambassadors International
12:00 p.m. Luncheon, with keynote speaker
George Fenton, Associate Supply Chain Director, World Vision International
1:30 p.m. Session Three
Mary Ennis, Executive Director, Disabled Peoples’ International
Major Paul Gillies, Canadian Forces Joint HQ/DART
2:45 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. Session Four
Amreen Choudhury, Sr. Program Officer – Roster Unit, CANADEM
Jeff Ashcroft, Founder, World Org. for Relief Logistics Development (WORLD)
4:15 p.m. Closing Remarks – Gyöngyi Kovács, Director, HumLog Institute
6:15 p.m. Reception, with art exhibit; Laura Archer, Artist
A Note on Methodology
• Case-based research (Yin, 2003, 2009)
• "how" or "why" questions
• cannot control behavioural events
• focus on contemporary events
• Grounded research (Strauss & Corbin, 1998)
• The two work well together (Locke, 2001)
• Data: mostly qualitative interviews (~ 1 hr.)
• plus documents, observations, etc.
• Analysis aided by qualitative software (NVivo8)
Humanitarian Supply Chain Relationships
Types of
Relationships
humanitarian
NGOs
humoneytarian
humilitarian
Business
Military
humanitariUN
B2B
United Nations
Internal (intra-NGO) Relationships
• Relief vs. development
• Global (HQ) vs. local (in the field)
• Cross-functional
Partnership Characteristics
• High level of cooperation
• Costly to implement
• Extra communication
• Coordination
• Risk sharing
Source: Lambert and Knemeyer (2004)
Partnership Drivers
• Asset and cost efficiencies
• Customer service enhancements
• Marketing advantages
• Profit growth or stability
Source: Lambert and Knemeyer (2004)
Partnership Facilitators
• Compatibility of corporate cultures
• Compatibility of management philosophy and
techniques
• Strong sense of mutuality
• Symmetry between the two parties
Source: Lambert and Knemeyer (2004)
Management Components (for Partnerships)
• Planning
• Joint operating controls
• Communications
• Risk/reward sharing
Source: Lambert and Knemeyer (2004)
Relationships
Organisation A
Organisation B
• Compatibility
• mission/strategy/agenda
• organisational culture
• technology
• Complementarity
• administration
• advocacy
• fund-raising
• operations (e.g. logistics)
Department of National Defence/
Canadian Forces
Protecting Canada. Protecting Canadians and
defending our sovereignty is our first priority.
Defending North America. We work with
Canada’s closest ally (USA) to defend North
America.
Contributing to International Peace and Security.
We contribute to international peace and security
through operations around the world.
www.forces.gc.ca
Canadian Red Cross
Mission: to improve the lives of vulnerable people
by mobilizing the power of humanity in
Canada and around the world.
• Fundamental Principles
• humanity
• impartiality
• neutrality
• independence
www.redcross.ca
To demonstrate God’s love by working among people
suffering from poverty, conflict, oppression and natural
disaster. MCC strives for peace, justice and the dignity of
all people by sharing our experiences, resources and faith
in Jesus Christ.
I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matthew 25:35-36
www.mcc.org
Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs
OCHA’s mission is to mobilise and coordinate
effective and principled humanitarian action in
partnership with national and international
actors in order to:
• alleviate human suffering in disasters & emergencies
• advocate for the rights of people in need
• promote preparedness and prevention
• facilitate sustainable solutions
http://ochaonline.un.org
“To cut through the inefficiency and unintended
consequences of aid efforts, observers have long
called for better coordination among humanitarian,
political, and military organizations.” (p. 1027)
Seybolt, Taylor B. (2009), “Harmonizing the Humanitarian Aid Network:
Adaptive Change in a Complex System,” International Studies Quarterly,
Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 1027–1050.
“… the humanitarian assistance community—people
in need, national governments, UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations, political missions,
military contingents and donors—as a complex, open,
adaptive system.” (p. 1028)
Seybolt (2009)
Seybolt (2009)
Constraints on network development
• Sudden, massive workload; urgency
• Lack of trust among the players
• Political interests of donor governments
Seybolt (2009, p. 1029)
How to overcome the constraints?
• Exchange information
– Quantity
– Quality
Seybolt (2009, p. 1029)
• But …
– Massive workload & information overload
– Trust & information sharing
Compatibility
Complementarity
Information
sharing
Trust
Coordination
Information
overload
Supply chain
performance
Supply Chain Risk Management
In the Humanitarian World
ABI/Inform articles on “supply chain” and “risk management”
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
articles
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Types of Risk
• Matching supply and demand
• Late shipments; inaccurate forecasts
• Stock-outs, back orders, and lost sales
• Volatility (fuel, currency, commodities)
• Interruptions
- Earthquakes
- Hurricanes
- Tsunamis
- Labour strikes
- Terrorist attacks
- Pandemics
Risk Management vs. Crisis Management
proactive
Risk
management
Resources
squandered?
Crisis
management
Resources
conserved
occurs
fails to occur
Approach
reactive
Interruption
Reducing disaster risk: A challenge for development
“Natural disasters exert an enormous toll on development. In doing so, they pose a significant threat to
prospects for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals … of halving extreme poverty by 2015.”
“… the process of development itself has a huge impact
— both positive and negative — on disaster risk.”
UNDP (2004), Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, New York.
Two types of disaster risk management:
•
Prospective – integrated into sustainable development
planning; medium-term disaster risk reduction.
•
Compensatory – disaster preparedness and response;
immediate-term risk reduction.
UNDP (2004), Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, New York.
Bringing disaster risk reduction and development
concerns closer together requires three steps:
1. Data and tools to track the relationship between
development policy and disaster risk.
2. Best development practices that reduce disaster risk.
3. Political will to re-orient the development and disaster
management sectors.
UNDP (2004), Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, New York.
Patterns of Risk
Four natural disaster categories (earthquake, cyclone,
flood and drought), are responsible for 94% of deaths.
“… the translation of drought into famine is
mediated by armed conflict, internal displacement,
HIV/AIDS, poor governance and economic crisis.”
UNDP (2004), Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, New York.
UNDP (2004), Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, New York.
Kovács, Gyöngyi & Peter Tatham (2009), Responding to Disruptions in the Supply Network
– from Dormant to Action,” Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 215-229.
War
In action
Relief
Peace
Dormant
Preparation
Lean
Agile
Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)
Intelligence
War
Development
Relief
In action
Peace
Dormant
Preparation
Lean
Agile
Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)
Intelligence
War
Development
Relief
In action
Peace
Dormant
Preparation
Local
presence
Lean
Agile
Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)
Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009), p. 142.
Catastrophic event;
humanitarian space
Catastrophic event;
business world
Adapted from: Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009)
Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009), p. 147
Likelihood vs. Impact
H15N1
LARGE
H5N1
?
Proactive
Reactive
H1N1
?
low
high
Impact
small
Likelihood
“The last time such a severe flu
pandemic hit Canada was in 1918.
That year, the city of Winnipeg
literally shut down for 46 days -businesses, theatres and churches
were closed. About 9,000 people
died in Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba.”
John Longhurst, “Planning for a pandemic,”
Winnipeg Free Press, July 15, 2006.
A New Pandemic?
* H1N1 – WHO may conquer it by 2011
* E. coli – new strain, resistant to nearly
all antibiotics, present in Canada
MacLean’s, January 18, 2010.
What if?
• A volcano in Iceland stranded your
leadership team in eastern Europe?
• A mosquito-transmitted plague swept across
western Canada?
• Your confidential, strategic corporate data
was compromised by a new computer virus?
The Making of a Humanitarian
Relationships
Organisation B
Organisation A
• agenda
• activities
Humanitarian 1
• motives
• skills
• Compatibility
• Complementarity
• agenda
• activities
Humanitarian 2
• motives
• skills
Gayle Williams was shot dead by the Taliban as she walked to
work in Kabul on October 20, 2008. Gayle, 34, a UK and South
African national, was a volunteer for Serve Afghanistan, a UKregistered charity providing education and training for people
with disabilities.
http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/williams/2928081
SERVE Afghanistan
SERVE Afghanistan’s purpose is to express God’s love
and bring hope by serving the people of Afghanistan,
especially the needy, as we seek to address personal,
social and environmental needs.
SERVE Afghanistan is a Christian charity registered in
the UK (no. 1105086), has been working with Afghan
refugees since 1980 in Pakistan and has gradually
moved both its project work and its head office into
Afghanistan itself.
http://www.serveafghanistan.org/index.html
foodwatershelter are extremely saddened by the death of
Darren Stratti, our building foreman and friend, who was
shot during a burglary in Arusha, Tanzania on June 30, 2008.
Darren gave his life bravely to protect those around him.
Nobody else was injured in the incident.
http://www.foodwatershelter.org.au/darrenstratti.aspx
food water shelter inc. (fws) is a not-for-profit
organisation: an Australian, non-denominational,
non-governmental organisation that builds and
runs eco-friendly children's villages with education,
social, health and community facilities for children
in developing countries.
Yes, but who are we, really? Well, we're simply five
Aussie women who want to make a difference.
http://www.foodwatershelter.org.au/default.aspx
TANZANIA
Why we do it
“Well…it’s like this: those involved with fws
believe that while a person is on earth, they
either get a dodge deal or a great deal. If you
get a great deal, then it only seems fair that
you help those who got the dodge deal.”
http://www.foodwatershelter.org.au/what-we-do.aspx
foodwatershelter inc draws its name from the
teachings of psychologist Abraham Maslow.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – unless a person’s
first-level needs (health, food, water, sleep) and
second-level needs (shelter, safety) are met, s/he
is unable to climb the ladder (and reach happiness).
1. Physiological (biological needs - food, water, health)
2. Safety (shelter, removal from danger)
3. Love/belonging (affection, being a part of groups)
4. Status (self esteem and esteem from others)
5. Actualization (achieving individual potential)
Somalia: Situation Report No. 42 – 24 Oct 2008
The death of two United Nations workers during the week
deeply distressed the humanitarian community in Somalia.
Abdinasir Aden Muse, a senior programme assistant for
WFP, was killed after evening prayers on October 17, 2008
in Marka, Lower Shabelle region. This comes at a time
when WFP is delivering at least 35,000 metric tons of food
on a monthly basis reaching 3 million people all over the
country. Two days later, on October 19, Muqtar Mohamed
Hassan, an engineer with UNICEF's water and sanitation
activities, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Xudur,
Bakool region. Water and sanitation projects are essential
in a country where only 29% have access to clean drinking
water and 37% to sanitation facilities. This week’s killings
bring the total number of aid-related workers killed in
Somalia since January to 29.
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
IRC aid workers Mohammad Aimal, Shirley Case,
Nicole Dial and Jackie Kirk were killed on 13 August
2008 in an ambush in Afghanistan, where the IRC
has been working for 20 years, providing lifesaving
aid and recovery assistance to the Afghan people.
They were returning from meetings with the local
community in Logar Province about an IRC project
that aids children with disabilities.
http://www.theirc.org/about/
Nicole Dial, 31,
Trinidadian-American
Shirley Case,
30, Canadian
Dr. Jacqueline Kirk,
40, British-Canadian
http://www.theirc.org/where/afghanistan/in-memoriam.html
Mohammad Aimal,
25, Afghan
We are the International Rescue Committee –
a critical global network of first responders,
humanitarian relief workers, healthcare
providers, educators, community leaders,
activists, and volunteers. Working together,
we provide access to safety, sanctuary, and
sustainable change for millions of people
whose lives have been shattered by violence
and oppression.
http://www.theirc.org/about/
Harming humanitarians
Source: Stoddard, Abby, Adele Harmer and Victoria DiDomenico,
Providing aid in insecure environments: 2009 update, Humanitarian
Policy Group (HPG) Policy Brief 34, April 2009.
Life and death on canvas:
A Montreal nurse paints the faces of a forgotten war
“Through this experience, the difference between being a tourist
and a humanitarian became apparent to me - and I knew which
I wanted to be.”
Archer, Laura (2007), “Humanitarians among Us,”
UPEI Magazine, Summer, pp. 10-12.
Kidnapped!
Catherine Solyom, “Canadian aid worker kidnapped,”
Canwest News Service, March 13, 2009.
Freed!
“Montreal nurse and three others freed after two days of
captivity in Darfur,” The Canadian Press, March 13, 2009.
Eastern Chad
• Well-armed rebels
• Highway bandits
• 82 vehicles hijacked or stolen since Oct. 2005
• Level-E duty station (UN)
Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”
The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.
Eastern Chad
“In May (2008), a Frenchman named Pascal
Marlinge was travelling in a convoy of three
vehicles on the Farchana road. He was fortynine years old, the director of Save the Children
U.K. in Chad. His convoy was stopped by three
armed men. One of them shot him in the head,
killing him. No one else was injured.”
Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”
The New Yorker, January 5, p. 59.
Profile of aid workers
• Young, well-educated
• In search of adventure in an exotic locale
• Inspired by a vague desire to do good
Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”
The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.
Categories of aid workers
1. Runners – fleeing past lives
2. Seekers – looking for adventure
or enlightenment
Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”
The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.
Three M’s
• Missionaries
• Misfits
• Mercenaries
• tax-free salaries
• hardship pay
• expenses covered
• vacation time
Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”
The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.
Skills and Competencies
• Technical knowledge
• Soft skills (leadership, communication)
• Motives
What skills and attributes are required to be a
successful humanitarian logistician?
• Part of a project addressing a question posed by
the President of the Women’s Institute for SupplyChain Excellence (WISE):
“Why are there so few female humanitarian
logisticians?
• In many NGOs, the gender balance is 50:50 or
60:40 in favour of females – except in logistics,
where the ratio is 25:75 at best.
• WISE: Is this due to HR policies (e.g. recruitment,
retention, etc.) or due to external factors?
• NGO as proxy for those affected by disaster who are
unwilling or unable to articulate their needs.
• Greater presence of female humanitarian logisticians
would be of value in:
• Improving quality of logistics decisions that may fail to
consider needs and concerns of female beneficiaries.
• Reaching female beneficiaries given cultural sensitivities in
many areas of the world.
Existing research on logistics skills and attributes:
• Training & education programmes (Mangan et al 2001)
• Career development (Murphy & Poist 2007)
• Logisticians vs. supply chain managers (Gammelgaard & Larson
2001)
• Logistics, business and problem solving skills (Mangan &
Christopher 2005)
“supply chain managers regard themselves as managers first
and logisticians second”
• Market winning vs. market entry skills?
Breakdown of Skill Sets within the “T” shaped model
General
Mgmt Skills
Functional
Logistics Skills
Problem Solving
Skills
Finance &
Accounting
Legal
Information
Technology
Customs, Import & Information Gathering
Export
Oral Comm.
Change Mgt
Transport. Mgmt
Problem Analysis
Written Comm.
Marketing
Inventory Mgmt
Information Sharing
People Mgmt
Problem Solving
Mtg Facilitation
Project Mgmt Warehousing
Problem Identification
Inter-personal
Skills
Listening
Strategic Mgt Purchasing &
Procurement
Negotiation
CRM
Forecasting
Stress Mgmt
SRM
Reverse Logistics
HRM
Risk Mgmt
Port/Airport Mgmt
Leadership
Logistics IS
Content Analysis: Hum. Logistics Job Vacancy Notices
• ReliefWeb (managed by UN Office of Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs – OCHA)
• >1,000 VNs each month, of which some 20 are for logisticians.
• 62 VNs analysed covering Oct.-Dec. 2009.
• In same period only 4 VNs sought people with “SCM” skills!!
http://www.reliefweb.int
Administrator / Logistician
Enfants du Monde - Droits de l'Homme (EMDH)
Closing date: 31 May 2010
Location: Sudan (the)
Programme : As part of the implementation of the mandate of Children of
the World – Human Rights in the concerned country and in compliance with
EMDH rules and procedures and national laws, he/she is responsible for:
- ensuring smooth management of administrative, financial, logistics and
HR aspects of the mission; capitalizing EMDH previous experiences and
knowledge of the country; sharing tools and expertise
- ensuring smooth management of equipment and supplies of the program
- ensuring security of human and material resources
- implementation of the financial and administrative strategy
...
Methodology
• 3 independent coders
• Two pilot rounds which led to amplification of skill
sets within “T” shaped model and additional skills
• Overarching rule was to code “manifest” (as distinct
from “latent”) content
General Management
Skills
Functional Logistics
Skills
Problem Solving
Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Additional Skills
Finance & Accounting
(inc Budget Mgmt)
Legal
Problem
Identification
Listening
Reporting
Management of
Information Technology
Customs, Import and
Export
Information
Gathering
Oral Communication
Emergency Preparedness
Change Management
Transport
Management
Problem Analysis
Written
Communication
Training of Others
Marketing
Inventory & Asset
Management
Information Sharing
People (& Line)
Management
Fleet Management
Project Management
Warehousing
Problem Solving
Meeting Facilitation
Liaison with Others
Strategic Management
Purchasing &
Procurement
Negotiation
Design and Implementation
of policies, procedures and
standards
CRM
Forecasting
Personal Stress
Management
Security management
SRM
Reverse Logistics
Human Resource
Management (e.g.
Recruiting)
Mechanics and maintenance
Risk Management
Port/Airport Mgt
Leadership
Team player
Logistics Information
Systems
Ability to work independently
IS literacy
Premises Management
Working Under Pressure/In a
Harsh Environment
Knowledge of Donor
Regulations
Ethical Conduct
• Due to hierarchical/nested content of some
categories (e.g. problem solving and interpersonal skills), overall inter-coder reliability
= 0.76 (vs. target of 0.85).
• “T” shaped model needs to be amended to reflect
specific requirements of humanitarian logistics jobs,
e.g. security, management of communication
systems, premises management.
Next Steps
• Amend “T” shaped model to “Pi” (π) shaped variant to
include a broader range of skill requirements for the
humanitarian logistician
• Develop “rules” for coding hierarchical sets
• Apply process to January-March 2010
• Due to Haiti Earthquake and famine in South Sudan,
number of VNs has doubled
• To differentiate better between skills required by
logisticians in rapid vs. slow onset scenarios
Further Research
• What is the motivation for humanitarian logisticians to work
for low pay in challenging conditions?
• Interview those who have been recruited to a job that is part
of our data set to ascertain differences (if any) between
advertised job and reality.
• Interview NGOs to understand relative weighting between
the skills/attributes.
Research Opportunities
• Empirical (case studies and surveys)
• Relationship model
• Risk management model
• Modelling
•
•
•
•
Forecasting requirements
Pre-positioning
Facility location
Transportation—modes and routes
?
larson@cc.umanitoba.ca