Information and Communication Technologies in Humanitarian Logistics:
A Literature Review von Jaclyn Daggett
The importance of humanitarian relief efforts, and thus of humanitarian logistics, is ever-present, and only expected to increase. As logistics is dependent on adequate systems and information, so is the case in the humanitarian sector as well. This poses special challenges as the environment is chaotic, difficult to plan and the data is at times unreliable and the time needed to assess it is not available. The importance of adequate systems to assist in these efforts is measured in lives lost.
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Deutscher Übersichtsartikel aus dem Magazin 370° der Hochschule Kaiserslautern |
This work overviewed the present field of literature with regards to information and communication technologies in humanitarian logistics. The methodology used was both a narrative review and content analysis. Results show a lack in interdisciplinary work and an overabundance of qualitative research. As the common themes throughout the review were the importance of coordination, cooperation and collaboration, this work suggests these approaches to be mirrored in the research as well, bringing together experts from fields of ICT, logistics (commercial and humanitarian) and the behavioral/social sciences. These unique difficulties require the collaboration of all involved actors, the adequate informing of donors as to the importance of ICT and the support of the academic community.
Research questions and hypotheses
- Which topics, with specific regard to the use of ICT in humanitarian logistics, are covered in the present literature and how?
- Which topics, with specific regard to the use of ICT in humanitarian logistics, are lacking, either in entirety or in depth, in the present literature?
- Which topics, with specific regard to the use of ICT in humanitarian logistics, require further research?
The answering of each research question should establish an indepth picture of the current status in the field of HL, allowing a basis to be built for further research. This in-depth analysis will further assist in the either supporting or refuting of the following hypotheses:
- Research in the field of humanitarian logistics, with specific regard to ICT, is mostly theoretical or observational in nature, lacking implementation of theory into practice.
- Research in the field of humanitarian logistics, with specific regard to the use of ICT, lacks adequate input from the (commercial) logistics community.
- Interdisciplinary research bringing together the social and technical aspects of implementation of ICT in HL is insufficient.
The conclusions of this Bachelothesis demonstrate the validity of two of three hypotheses. The majority of works were qualitative in nature, based on observations or interviews and surveys. Only one article implemented theory into practice, using a case study to test a decision support system tool. Interdisciplinary works were also limited to only 6 from 31.
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Relationships between Humanitarian Organizations and "Customers" It is important to note that donors in this context refer to those who give monetary donations, not in-kind donations such as clothing or overstock from companies. |
However, it was seen that 12 from 18 researches with a had a background in logistics and/or supply chain from the classical perspective. This training is focused on the commercial sector, which has more so shown that insufficient input is coming from experts from the humanitarian logistics field with regards to research.
The question then should be posed: what can be done?
Firstly, donors must be brought on board to adequately informed. The barrier of donors not understanding the importance of ICT in the HSC and HL as a whole can be tackled from the outset. Long-term relationships with donors, allowing them to follow along in the improvements garnered by such systems would be beneficial not only to the beneficiaries in the next relief effort but also the efforts for future disaster relief.
Workers in the humanitarian relief sector tend to have a relatively low IT knowledge, which was mentioned throughout the literature. As upwards of 80% of total budget in this sector goes towards logistics, research should be conducted into the training programs or possibilities with regards to bringing all employees/volunteers up to a certain standard. This research should further show the benefits associated and the costs that could be saved through such an approach.
Quelle
Als Jaclyn Dagget die Arbeit im Wintersemester 19/20 begann, da spielte die Corona-Pandemie noch keine Rolle. Bei Kolloquium im Februar war es eine Katastrophe im fernen China. Nun sind wir in der 2. Welle. Corona ist global und die "normalen" Katastrophen machen für Corona keine Pause. Das stellt die gesamte Arbeit der vornehmlich NGOs vor noch größere Schwirigkeites, als es ohnehin schon immer der Fall war. Martin Wölker P.S. Leider zeigt sich in dieser Kriese wieder mal, in Unvernunft und Inkompetenz breiter Bevölkerungsschichten, meist in Kombination mit Populisten, die daraus Vorteile ziehen ... Mist
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