Using transportation problem in humanitarian supply chain to prepositioned facility locations: a case study in the Democ
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CASE STUDIES
Using transportation problem in humanitarian supply chain to prepositioned facility locations: a case study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Jean-Claude Baraka Munyaka1
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Venkata Seshachala Sarma Yadavalli1
Received: 9 June 2020 / Revised: 15 August 2020 The Society for Reliability Engineering, Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM), India and The Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden 2020
Abstract Over the last two decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been plague by conflicts that has caused the lives of millions of Congolese in the eastern parts of the country while displacing many more. These multifaceted man-made conflicts have contributed to the crumbling of the regional infrastructures and transportation system, to insecurity, poverty and many more. Despite the region huge human, minerals, forestry and energy potential for development, the DRC authorities and international organizations operating in the region have largely failed to ensure farmers, miners, scholars of the Eastern Congo safety during their day to day routine. It is for such reason, humanitarian reliefs are needed to supplement any shortfalls in term of foods, medicines, shelters and others. This research aimed at optimizing prepositioned relief supply to the region. This study intends first to identify potential prepositioned relief locations in the three most conflicts heated provinces in the Eastern Congo (Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu). Then, the study uses transportation problem in minimizing the total costs and the total time of distributing goods from supply points (sources) to a number of demand points (destinations). The model outcome reveals that by incorporating all transportation modes into the operation, humanitarian organizations are more flexible against infrastructures, health or security challenges that often ravage Eastern Congo.
& Jean-Claude Baraka Munyaka [email protected] 1
University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Keywords Humanitarian logistics Disaster relief operations Democratic Republic of Congo Lean manufacturing Prepositioned facility locations
1 Introduction Disaster relief supply chain is the movement of personnel and humanitarian supplies to affected zones in order to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable (Strawderman and Eksioglu 2009). As documented by several accredited researches, the impacts of natural and man-made disasters in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region have been in the rise, with the latest prediction pointing towards more events in the future. However, Starr and Van Wassenhove (2014) note at a source an apparent lack of organized plan to reach victims and especially in the aftermath of a disaster. Among the SADC country most affected by natural and man-made disasters is the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC). This resource rich country in the central Africa, a country in the size of a continent is the access point between the East and the West of the Afri
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