Structural analysis of the challenges in operating pre-positioned warehouses for humanitarian relief logistics

Purpose : Operating pre-positioned warehouses for humanitarian relief logistics is often considered to be a high-risk strategy despite its advantages regarding the ability to respond to crises more rapidly. This study aims to analyze the critical challenges involved in operating such facilities to understand how such challenges arise, interact, and amplify. Research design, data, and methodology : An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) method integrated with empirical data collection is adopted to analyze seventeen representative challenges. These are deemed to be isolated as primary threats to the efficient management of pre-positioned warehouses, but are interpreted by examining their interconnectedness in a graphical model. Results : The ISM-based model shows that the challenges are split into three groups, namely: disturbances in humanitarian relief, issues with logistics decisions, and disruptions by external factors. Elements in the second group are exacerbated by two self-enhancing loops of interactions mainly focused on high transport costs. Conclusions : This study provides insights into the benefits and disbenefits of operating pre-positioned warehouses, which will improve the effectiveness of the pre-positioning of aid for humanitarian logistics.