Procurement Decisions on the Transportation of Food Aid in Humanitarian Operations

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to see how purchasing decisions affect food aid transit in humanitarian operations. In this context, the four criteria of transportation time, transportation costs, transportation capacity, and food loss and waste are assessed in relation to local and global procurement procedures, as well as the usage of pre-positioned stock. As a result, this research establishes the correlations between the criteria and gives implications for improvement. Design/Methodology/Approach Within the mono-method quantitative study, a single data collection method is used. We gathered data from respondents working in food aid using a survey, namely an online questionnaire. The data is then examined using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP), which is a multi-criteria decision-making technique. Findings Based on the four factors analyzed, the fuzzy AHP findings show that the preferred procurement approach, considering the four criteria studied, is local procurement, followed by the use of pre-positioned stock, and global procurement takes last place. According to the results of the cross-comparisons, humanitarian supply chain departments that focus on development aid allocate a relatively comparable percentage of pre-positioned stock and local procurement. However, in disaster relief, local procurement is by far the most favored sourcing method. Research Implications The result of the analysis shows that due to the time-sensitive nature of disaster relief, where the number of people rescued determines the response time, finding a way to increase the efficiency of humanitarian supply chain through local procurement to prevent food loss and waste and reduce transportation time is necessary. These results provide suggestions and implications for humanitarian organizations and academics. Regarding industrial implications, both development assistance and disaster relief managers and non-governmental organizations can benefit from this paper.