Implications of a pandemic outbreak risk: A discussion on china's emergency logistics in the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Abstract

Emergency logistics is an important means to deal with disasters and public crises. Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in 2003, China has established and developed an emergency logistics management system. With the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China, its emergency logistics system is facing unfolded challenges. The main purposes of this study are to explore the development of China's emergency logistics system in this context and identify the critical success factors for such systems. A series of focus groups are organized to collect the opinions of 24 interviewees from three Chinese cities, namely Wuhan, Shanghai, and Xi'an. Through the analysis, a framework of the critical success factors for emergency logistics in China is recreated. The key elements are demand forecasting and planning, inventory management, distribution network, and systematic information management. Findings suggest critical points on the design and imple-mentation of the emergency logistics operations during a chaotic period.