An Assessment of the Inventory Management Practices of a Humanitarian Relief Agency in Ghana: a Case Study of United Nations Humanitarian Relief Depot

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2008-08-16
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The objective of this study is to assess inventory management practices in a warehouse supporting a complex emergency relief operation. Terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and regional power outages from the past several years have all highlighted the low levels of disaster preparedness that exist at many firms. Supply chain disruptions caused by external events can have a significant financial and operational impact on organizations not properly prepared. Therefore, improving disaster preparedness in humanitarian relief operations is critical. One critical component of disaster management planning in relief operations is the storage of emergency supplies, equipment, and vital documents that will be needed in times of crisis. The goal of this paper is establishing an efficient network of secure storage facilities that can effectively support operations in disaster relief and also aim to further the understanding of planning and carrying out logistics operations in disaster relief. Quick response to the urgent relief needs right after natural disasters through efficient emergency logistics distribution is vital to the alleviation of disaster impact in the affected areas, which remains challenging in the field of humanitarian logistics. The paper builds on the idea that private sector logistics can and should be applied to improve the performance of disaster logistics but that before embarking on this the private sector needs to understand the core capabilities of humanitarian logistics. With this in mind, the paper walks us through the complexities of managing supply chains in humanitarian settings. It pinpoints the cross learning potential for both the humanitarian and private sectors in emergency relief operations as well as possibilities of getting involved through corporate social responsibility. It also outlines strategies for better preparedness and the need for supply chains to be agile, adaptable and aligned—a core competency of many humanitarian organizations involved in disaster relief and an area which the private sector could draw on to improve their own competitive edge. This study can not only make the proposed emergency logistics system available with more benefits to the development of emergency logistics systems for the urgent needs of disaster areas around the world but also stimulate more excellent research concerning emergency logistics management. Finally, the paper states the case for closer collaboration between humanitarian relief agencies to achieve better and more effective supply chains to respond to the complexities of today's logistics for relieving the lives of those blighted by disaster.  
Description
A Thesis submitted to the Department of Information and Decision Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration (Logistics and Supply Chain Management), 2008
Keywords
Citation
Collections