Title: A two-stage scheduling method for global humanitarian logistics in large-scale disaster response

Authors: Yong Ye; Lingle Pan; Jiaqi Fang; Bin Pan

Addresses: College of Humanities and Management, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China ' School of Education Science, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Nanning 530006, China ' College of Humanities and Management, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China ' Academy of Finance Research, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China

Abstract: Large-scale disaster response is a global issue. Planners must make effective logistics plans to deliver vital first-aid resources (e.g., medicine, food, clothing, machinery) to affected areas from all over the world. Furthermore, planners must consider surging demand and uncertain transportation situations. To explain the efficiency of distribution plans, this study addresses the resource allocation effectiveness losses, which are the losses caused by the mismatch between supply and demand in affected areas, and the emergency logistics time losses, which are the time losses caused by logistics processes under emergency conditions. A two-stage scheduling method is then proposed that considers random demand and travel time. In consideration of the incompleteness or lack of information in real situations, the scheduling method with Bayesian information updates is proposed by assuming that demand and transportation uncertainty are represented by population transfer rate (PTR) and road affected level (RAL), respectively. Next, a simulation study on Wenchuan earthquake response is conducted to illustrate the proposed method. Finally, the insights derived from the study are provided in the conclusion.

Keywords: emergency management; global humanitarian logistics; disaster response; Bayesian analysis; scheduling; emergency response; emergency planning; resource allocation; random demand; travel time; demand uncertainty; transport uncertainty; population transfer rate; road affected level; simulation; Wenchuan earthquake; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2017.080572

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2017 Vol.9 No.1, pp.54 - 84

Received: 01 May 2015
Accepted: 04 Dec 2015
Published online: 30 Nov 2016 *

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