Supply Chain of a UAE or a Global Humanitarian Organization
Report Topic:
Supply Chain of a UAE or a Global Humanitarian Organization
Study the supply chain structure of any humanitarian organization in the United Arab Emirates or in any other country worldwide. Identify its main supply chain components and show how the organization is striving to deliver the right supplies in the right quantities to the right locations at the right time.
Organization Name:
Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation
Humanitarian supply chain management (SCM) is defined by the IFRC as ‘acquiring and delivering requested supplies and services at the places and times they are needed, whilst ensuring best value for money; in the immediate aftermath of any [type of] disaster or reconstruction situation, including items that are vital for survival, such as food, water, temporary shelter, and medicine’.
Humanitarian Logistics is part and parcel of the wider humanitarian SCM. Recent research has shown a need for multi-dimensional understanding of humanitarian SCM. Both from a technical perspective (logistics, information gathering, warehousing, pre-positioning, transportation, distribution) as well as from a strategic perspective (decision making, co-ordination, inter-organizational cooperation, public-private partnerships, contribution to long-term recovery through knowledge transfer) conceptualisation and field-sustained research has been conducted for the benefit of producing deeper knowledge of global humanitarian SCM.
With an estimated 19 billion USD spent in 2016 on humanitarian aid (GHA report 2017; calculations based on both public as well as private spending) in response to natural disasters and complex emergencies one can easily see the need for professional and efficient humanitarian SCM, which is involved in 80% of all relief activities. Asia and South-East Asia over the past decade have become increasingly prone to especially natural disasters. Be it because of climate change, manmade interference with nature or ‘simple’ geological circumstances, more frequently hazards have materialized into disasters, affecting the lives of millions and demanding increasing national and international humanitarian response.
Indonesia is certainly an example in kind. From Tsunami’s to earthquakes, landslides, volcano eruptions and flooding, the vulnerability of the Indonesian population is quite high. Over the past decade international humanitarian aid to Indonesia amounted to 242 million USD annually on average, leaving aside the sizeable amounts the Indonesian government spent on disaster response, risk reduction and preparedness.
Given the size of the country, the state of its infrastructure and therefore issues of accessibility proper attention to humanitarian logistics has been of prime importance. An interesting development here is the growing role of ASEAN´s AHA Centre, the coordinating centre for humanitarian assistance on disaster management.
Located in Jakarta, the AHA Centre progressively facilitates co-operation and co-ordination among the parties involved in disaster situations, and promotes regional collaboration with relevant United Nations and international organizations. Especially in the field of humanitarian logistics ASEAN´s AHA Centre has rapidly become a factor of influence over the past years.