Chapter 31: Humanitarian Logistics

Humanitarian logistics is a kind of logistics focused on alleviates suffering of vulnerable people. This logistics historically appears after military and commercial logistics, being in the field of disaster management where its specificity is greater. These specific characteristics can be grouped in three big features: decision makers, strategic goals and uncertainty. Main stakeholders are identified (classified into local, national and international level), showing the large number of decision makers involved and the urgent need for coordination between them. Strategic goals and performance measures of humanitarian logistics also are specific, being the most characteristic priority of effectiveness over efficiency. Thus, when designing decision support models in this context it is important to note that a humanitarian logistician cannot value economically the performance and goals achievement as they are lives and suffering. Finally, uncertainty and time pressure are variables that determine the environment in which decisions must be made, with different relevance throughout the process of decision making in disaster management. A brief overview of decision aid models and management systems for humanitarian logistics allows realizing that currently there is a booming of decision models, but a lack of integration of these with the information systems available for disaster management.