Sustainable humanitarian operations: Closed-loop supply chain

Abstract

This paper explores the closed loop supply chain (CLSC) topic by providing a model and evaluating regular humanitarian logistics (R-HL) where the main objective of the operation moves from the reduction of population needs to a minimisation of the overall impact of the disaster and operations. The research focuses on the logistic facility management coupled with material distribution modalities in a situation where items are not just delivered using 'forward channels'. It considers others flows that usually have not been faced by the humanitarian literature, as 'reverse channels' on the management of operations waste. Constraints related to transportation resources in a complex environment, transportation vehicle capacities and delivery time restrictions are considered and different scenarios are analysed. The proposed model optimises resources allocation and prepositioning decisions on a number of test problems. The impact of each proposed practice is evaluated in order to understand its applicability in this particular context.