Seminar by Bahar Y. Kara Department of Industrial Engineering
According to World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, “Humanitarian logistics is the process of planning, implementing, controlling the efficient, cost effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the end beneficiary’s requirements.” In addition to man-made and natural disasters, there are also long-term issues due to lack of basic necessities, including shelter, water, food, and access to healthcare where humanitarian actions are required. Given the complexity of the problems faced, there is a tremendous need and potential for academic research in this area. In this tutorial we will first provide an overview of some of the current research areas in humanitarian logistics and continue with some research examples from different categories of the humanitarian logistics applications including mobile blood collection, shelter area location, and debris management.
