Optimal Stock Relocation under Uncertainty in Post-Disaster Humanitarian Operations

The number of world-wide emergencies and disasters which trigger humanitarian operations is ever-increasing. Although general research contributions to supply chain management in the context of humanitarian operations have risen significantly, operations research techniques have not yet comprehensively been applied in this context. A literature review categorizes existing approaches in the pre- and post-disaster phases. Filling an identified gap in current literature, a model for optimal stock relocation under uncertainty in risk-prone post-disaster scenarios is formulated. The model is solved with an optimal and a heuristic approach. It is found that overall costs can be significantly reduced compared to a benchmark model when the uncertainty of demand in post-disaster scenarios is taken into account.