A review of lean and agile management in humanitarian supply chains: analysing the pre-disaster and post-disaster phases and future directions

Abstract

Disasters have quadrupled over the last two decades leading to unprecedented loss of life. The objective of disaster-focussed humanitarian supply chains (HSCs) is to ensure saving maximum lives with limited resources; despite severe uncertainties. Therefore, significant research has investigated lean and agile in HSCs; to effectively source and speedily deploy resources, with minimum wastage; in each disaster life-cycle phase. However, the literature and research findings are currently highly disjointed regarding how lean and agile principles may be aligned with different HSC activities in the disaster management lifecycle; and do not provide a collective understanding for practitioners and researchers. This paper reviews and organises the literature on HSCs in relation to lean and agile paradigms, focussing on the pre-disaster (mitigation and preparedness) and post-disaster (response and recovery) phases. Findings reveal, all phases benefit from both lean and agile, with agile benefitting the response phase most. The phases are inter-dependent and identifying optimum decoupling points for lean and agile principles are crucial. Majority research has focussed on individual or a couple of phases. Therefore, authors recommend research on integrating the functions of the different phases by employing lean and agile principles, to generate rapid response, economies of scale and cost minimisation.

Keywords:

• Lean
• agile
• disaster phases
• disaster lifecycle
• humanitarian supply chains
• review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 GHA – Global Humanitarian Assistance

2 United Nations Joint Logistics Centre

3 Formerly known as TPG is a large logistics organisation spread across 60 countries

4 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

5 Department for International Development

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Arvind Upadhyay

Dr Arvind Upadhyay is a Senior Lecturer in Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, UK. His teaching, research and consulting stretches across the management spectrum, with an emphasis on integrating operations and supply chain with other management subject areas. His research papers were published in Production Planning and Control (PPC), Journal of Cleaner Production, Resources Policy, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management (JMTM), Strategic Change, Journal of Enterprise Information Management (JEIM), The TQM Journal, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (IJLSS) and presented at international conferences including European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Conference, Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) Conference, British Academy of Management (BAM), etc.

Sumona Mukhuty

Dr Sumona Mukhuty is a Principal Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research interests include humanitarian issues, supply chain, SME growth, healthcare, leadership and workplace emotions. She has worked on projects funded by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, UK and the European Fund. She is a member of the Research Centre for Decent Work and Productivity, and leads the Work in Small Enterprise platform. She is also Chair of the Organisational Psychology, special interest group at the British Academy of Management (BAM). She has received awards for her research, from the Northern Leadership Academy and BAM.

Sushma Kumari

Dr Sushma Kumari is a full-time lecturer at the University of Hull, UK. Prior to that, she worked in different international firms as HR executive. She has also worked as a research assistant on numerous projects funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), British Academy (BA), Horizon 20-20, Innovate UK, Higher Education Academy (HEA). Her research articles have been published in various renowned journals of Operations Research and Operations & Supply Chain Management. Her research interest includes SMEs' supply chain management, food supply chain management, knowledge management and general operations management.

Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes

Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes is a professor of Operations Management and Head of the Centre for Supply Chain Improvement at the University of Derby, UK. He is actively involved in industrial projects where he combines his knowledge, expertise and industrial experience in operations management to help organisations achieve excellence in their internal functions and supply chains. He has also led and managed international research projects funded by the British Academy, British Council, European Commission and Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT). As a leading academic, he has published over 150 articles in leading scientific journals, international conferences and six books. Prof. Garza-Reyes is Associate Editor of the Int. J. of Operations and Production Management, Associate Editor of the Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Editor of the Int. J. of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience and Editor-in-Chief of the Int. J. of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. Areas of expertise and interest for Professor Garza-Reyes include general aspects of operations and manufacturing management, business excellence, quality improvement, and performance measurement.

Vinaya Shukla

Dr Vinaya Shukla is a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Middlesex University Business School, London. He has a PhD from Cardiff Business School, an MSc in Operations Research from Lancaster University and an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management and Research in India. Prior to academia, he spent many years as a Management Consultant advising clients on how to improve their operations performance. His research interests are in green supply chain management, supply chain systems and supply chain risk management. He has published in several prestigious journals including the International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, Supply Chain Management-An International Journal, Production Planning and Control & Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management.