Customer service in emergency relief chains

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyse and discuss the published concepts of "the customer" and "customer service" in the context of managing international emergency relief chains. Design/methodology/approach -This is a literature-based approach that extends concepts usually applied in a commercial context to the area of humanitarian aid and emergency relief chains in particular.Findings -Based on the most common associations of the terms in the literature, the paper proposes adopting a customer and customer-service perspective in managing international emergency relief chains. An understanding of the various perspectives of customers described in this paper provides a starting point in the development of emergency relief chains that can deliver customer service and satisfaction to all concerned. Practical implications -As managers of emergency relief chains strive to improve the performance of their organizations and supply chains in a highly challenging environment, the paper provides a useful and enhanced understanding of the roles that the "customer" and "customer service" play in their operations strategies. Although it is sometimes assumed that all participants in emergency relief chains are highly co-operative, this is often not the case. Therefore, the concept of "humanitarian competitive advantage" is also presented to enable a better practical focus for managers of emergency relief chains. Originality/value -The paper is believed to be the first to apply the terms "customer" and "customer service" systematically in a humanitarian context and thereby propose a customer service perspective in emergency relief chains.

Emergency preparedness planning in developed countries: the Swedish case

“…In earlier studies, higher demands were placed on legislators and other authorities (Pfeffer, et al, 1978) to address democratic shortages, e.g., efficient guides toward a reformed system. One complication in the Swedish system in particular, however, stems from the requirement for civil-military coordination and combining different concepts, e.g., humanitarian, doctrines, policies, and business concepts Spens, 2009, 2007;Byman et al, 2000;Oloruntoba and Gray, 2009). To respond to the call for more-efficient coordination and integration in the supply chain and between different supply chains (Jahre, et al, 2009), the current system must quickly modernize the bulk of its legislation and regulation in the field.…”

“…Supply chain preparedness involves anticipating situations described as clearly unpredictable, turbulent and requiring flexibility (Oloruntoba and Gray, 2009;Hong, Jeong, and Feng, 2015). In sudden failures, supply chains can resolve multiple infrastructural breakdowns across geographical and functional borders (Rosenthal, Boin and Comfort, 2001;Quarantelli, Lagadec, and Boin, 2006).…”

A community-based approach to supply chain design

“…Previous experience thus contributes positively to disaster preparedness and thus, to the mobilisation of disaster relief (Kovács and Tatham, 2009b). Not surprisingly, this poses the question of "who is the customer" in the humanitarian supply chain (Oloruntoba and Gray, 2009). Even the assessment of beneficiary needs can be performed without actual beneficiary participation through e.g.…”

“…Needs are then matched with supplies. More recently, the push thinking of donors and suppliers has also been challenged (Oloruntoba and Gray, 2009), and is starting to be replaced with pull thinking that originates from needs assessment.…”

Gestión de la logística humanitaria en las etapas previas al desastre: revisión sistemática de la literatura

“…Los efectos de los desastres son devastadores en pérdidas humanas y materiales (Barbarosoğlu & Arda, 2004;Oloruntoba & Gray, 2009;Kunz, et al, 2014), y ponen a prueba la capacidad de las naciones para proteger de manera efectiva su infraestructura y población y recuperarse rápi-damente (Altay & Green, 2006). La logística humanitaria se encarga de estimar, proveer, almacenar, transportar y distribuir el personal y servicios requeridos en la zona afectada por un desastre (Sharif & Salari, 2015), a través de una gran diversidad de actividades desarrolladas en distintos momentos, que tienen como fin asistir a las personas sobrevivientes de un desastre (Kovács & Spens, 2007).…”