Paul D. Larson, Ph.D.CN Professor of SCM

Director, Transport InstituteHead, SCM DepartmentUniversity of Manitoba

larson@cc.umanitoba.ca

Risk and Relationships in Humanitarian Supply Chains

Wilfrid Laurier University

November 26, 2010

ProsperityMobility

Sustainability

The PMAC Project

Public Sector SCM

BusinessLogistics

HumanitarianLogistics

“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.”

Business and Relief Logistics

Source: Pettit and Beresford (2005, p. 314)

Factor Business Logistics Relief Logistics

Purpose Economic profit Social impact

Context Uninterrupted Interrupted

Time Time is money Time is life

Source of $ Customers Donors

Business Logistics vs. Relief Logistics

Multiple Stakeholders

Adapted from: Kovács and Spens (2007, p. 106)

Donors

Governments

3PLs Aid agencies

Military Other NGOs

Humanitarianaid supplynetwork

RecipientsSuppliers

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.

HUMLOG Group (www.humloggroup.org)

Cardiff University, UKCranfield University, UKHanken School of Economics, FinlandJönköping International Business School, SwedenKwame Nkrumah Univ. of Science & Technology, GhanaNational Defence University of FinlandNorwegian Defence Command and Staff CollegeNorwegian School of ManagementThammasat University, ThailandUnited Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC)University of Manitoba, Canada

854 million people do not have enoughto eat - more than the populations ofUSA, Canada and the European Union.

Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006, FAO.

Every five seconds a child diesbecause she or he is hungry.

“… a whopping 32% of all American children now carry more pounds than they should.”

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)

“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.”

(http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/227.cfm)

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 AgricultureOrganization of theUN (www.fao.org)

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 andTNT bring the delivery of emergency aid into the 21st century?”Newsweek International Edition, September 11, 2006.

Urgent needs; lagging practices

Sector

Environment

Uninterrupted Interrupted

For-profit Business Business at Risk

Not-for-profit Development Aid Disaster Relief

The Four Quadrants

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 Manage-ment, 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

8:00 a.m. Breakfast and Registration 8:25 a.m. Opening Remarks – Paul D. Larson, Director, Transport Institute 8:30 a.m. Opening Keynote – Kevin McCort, President and CEO, CARE Canada 9:00 a.m. 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 Institute6:15 p.m. Reception, with art exhibit; Laura Archer, Artist

HUMLOGGroup

Relationship Building in Humanitarian Supply Chains

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

NGOs

MilitaryBusiness

United Nations

humanitarian

humilitarianhumoneytarian

humanitariUN

Types ofRelationships

B2B

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

www.mcc.org

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

http://ochaonline.un.org

OCHA’s mission is to mobilise and coordinateeffective and principled humanitarian action inpartnership with national and internationalactors in order to:

• alleviate human suffering in disasters & emergencies• advocate for the rights of people in need• promote preparedness and prevention• facilitate sustainable solutions

Office for the Coordinationof Humanitarian Affairs

“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, non-governmental 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

• But …– Massive workload & information overload– Trust & information sharing

Seybolt (2009, p. 1029)

Informationsharing

Coordination

Supply chainperformance

Trust

Informationoverload

CompatibilityComplementarity

Supply Chain Risk ManagementIn the Humanitarian World

ABI/Inform articles on “supply chain” and “risk management”

Types of Risk

• Matching supply and demand• Late shipments; inaccurate forecasts• Stock-outs, back orders, and lost sales

• Volatility (fuel, currency, commodities)

• Interruptions- Earthquakes - Labour strikes- Hurricanes - Terrorist attacks- Tsunamis - Pandemics

Risk Management vs. Crisis Management

Interruption

Approach

occurs fails to occur

proactive

reactive Crisismanagement

Riskmanagement

Resourcesconserved

Resourcessquandered?

“Natural disasters exert an enormous toll on develop-ment. 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.”

Reducing disaster risk: A challenge for development

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.

Four natural disaster categories (earthquake, cyclone, flood and drought), are responsible for 94% of deaths.

“… the translation of drought into famine ismediated by armed conflict, internal displacement,HIV/AIDS, poor governance and economic crisis.”

Patterns of Risk

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.

Dormant

In action

Lean Agile

Peace

War

Preparation

Relief

Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)

Dormant

In action

Lean Agile

Peace

War

Preparation

ReliefDevelopment

Intelligence

Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)

Dormant

In action

Lean Agile

Peace

War

Preparation

ReliefDevelopment

Intelligence

Adapted from: Kovács & Tatham (2009)

Localpresence

Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009), p. 142.

Adapted from: Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009)

Catastrophic event;business world

Catastrophic event;humanitarian space

Knemeyer, Zinn and Eroglu (2009), p. 147

Likelihood vs. Impact

Likelihood

Impact

low high

LARGE

small

Proactive

Reactive

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?

H5N1

H1N1

H15N1

“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.

* H1N1 – WHO may conquer it by 2011

* E. coli – new strain, resistant to nearly all antibiotics, present in Canada

MacLean’s, January 18, 2010.

A New Pandemic?

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 A Organisation B

Humanitarian 1 Humanitarian 2

• Compatibility

• Complementarity

• motives• skills

• agenda• activities

• agenda• activities

• motives• skills

Gayle Williams was shot dead by the Taliban as she walked towork in Kabul on October 20, 2008. Gayle, 34, a UK and SouthAfrican national, was a volunteer for Serve Afghanistan, a UK-registered charity providing education and training for peoplewith 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 ofDarren Stratti, our building foreman and friend, who wasshot 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-profitorganisation: an Australian, non-denominational,non-governmental organisation that builds andruns eco-friendly children's villages with education,social, health and community facilities for childrenin developing countries.

Yes, but who are we, really? Well, we're simply fiveAussie 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 fwsbelieve that while a person is on earth, theyeither get a dodge deal or a great deal. If youget a great deal, then it only seems fair thatyou help those who got the dodge deal.”

http://www.foodwatershelter.org.au/what-we-do.aspx

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)

foodwatershelter inc draws its name from theteachings of psychologist Abraham Maslow.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – unless a person’sfirst-level needs (health, food, water, sleep) andsecond-level needs (shelter, safety) are met, s/heis unable to climb the ladder (and reach happiness).

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 killingsbring the total number of aid-related workers killed in Somalia since January to 29.

Somalia: Situation Report No. 42 – 24 Oct 2008

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

http://www.theirc.org/about/

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.

Mohammad Aimal,25, Afghan

Shirley Case, 30, Canadian

Nicole Dial, 31,Trinidadian-American

Dr. Jacqueline Kirk,40, British-Canadian

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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/

Source: Stoddard, Abby, Adele Harmer and Victoria DiDomenico,Providing aid in insecure environments: 2009 update, HumanitarianPolicy Group (HPG) Policy Brief 34, April 2009.

Harming humanitarians

Life and death on canvas:

A Montreal nurse paints the faces of a forgotten war

“Through this experience, the difference between being a touristand a humanitarian became apparent to me - and I knew whichI wanted to be.”

Archer, Laura (2007), “Humanitarians among Us,”UPEI Magazine, Summer, pp. 10-12.

Catherine Solyom, “Canadian aid worker kidnapped,”Canwest News Service, March 13, 2009. 

Kidnapped!

“Montreal nurse and three others freed after two days ofcaptivity in Darfur,” The Canadian Press, March 13, 2009.

Freed!

• Well-armed rebels

• Highway bandits

• 82 vehicles hijacked or stolen since Oct. 2005

• Level-E duty station (UN)

Eastern Chad

Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.

“In May (2008), a Frenchman named PascalMarlinge was travelling in a convoy of threevehicles on the Farchana road. He was forty-nine years old, the director of Save the ChildrenU.K. in Chad. His convoy was stopped by threearmed 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.

Eastern Chad

• Young, well-educated

• In search of adventure in an exotic locale

• Inspired by a vague desire to do good

Profile of aid workers

Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.

1. Runners – fleeing past lives

2. Seekers – looking for adventure or enlightenment

Categories of aid workers

Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.

Three M’s

Harr, Jonathan (2009), “Lives of the Saints,”The New Yorker, January 5, pp. 47-59.

• Missionaries

• Misfits

• Mercenaries• tax-free salaries• hardship pay• expenses covered• vacation time

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 Supply-Chain 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?

General Mgmt Skills

Functional Logistics Skills

Problem Solving Skills

Inter-personal Skills

Finance & Accounting

Legal Problem Identification Listening

Information Technology

Customs, Import & Export

Information Gathering Oral Comm.

Change Mgt Transport. Mgmt Problem Analysis Written Comm.

Marketing Inventory Mgmt Information Sharing People Mgmt

Project Mgmt Warehousing Problem Solving Mtg Facilitation

Strategic Mgt Purchasing & Procurement

Negotiation

CRM Forecasting Stress Mgmt

SRM Reverse Logistics HRM

Risk Mgmt Port/Airport Mgmt Leadership

Logistics IS

Breakdown of Skill Sets within the “T” shaped model

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 / LogisticianEnfants du Monde - Droits de l'Homme (EMDH) Closing date: 31 May 2010Location: 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 inter-personal 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

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