University of New Haven Disaster Supply Chains Discussion

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Review Kovacs and Spens Chapter 6.

This discusses post disaster supply chains. Assume that your pre- and intra-disaster supply chain is established and now the main activities are winding down. Briefly explain the importance of either maintaining “follow on” supplies or preforming rehab to existing cache of material (pick one only). Keep in mind that you need to support both responders and population.

answer one 

Importance of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation

Reconstruction and rehabilitation of the existing material cache ensure access to local suppliers and capacities. Humanitarian logistics during such a scenario requires prioritizing local information as well as utilizing local expertize and labor for ensuring that local leaders are more interested in the success of the operations. Involving locals boosts the economic situation of the region along with ensuring cultural and regional applicability of solutions and the maintenance of local lifestyles (Kovacs & Spens, 2012). The residents of the area get the necessary employment during the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase that ensures that they get money to boost their livelihood while also building markets for the locality.

Moreover, reconstruction requires checking regional conditions for programs that may include reviewing meteorological conditions as well as assessing the area for potential natural hazards and maintaining an emphasis on the need to use local knowledge during the rehabilitation process. The region would, therefore, get some information regarding hazards that could be available in the area thus taking the necessary precautions in future dealings. Using local knowledge ensures the satisfaction of the residents since they get what they would like to see. Besides, the process becomes cost efficient because of the use of local resources. The availability of materials to use in the local market reduces the need to organize purchase and transport while also mitigating cash flow problems of upstream suppliers since some outside resources might be expensive than the local resources (Kovacs & Spens, 2012). There is also the encouraging of beneficiary participation or ownership from the process and timely delivery because of the readiness of the resources to use. Community-based supply chain design during reconstruction and rehabilitation empowers beneficiaries while also improving effectiveness in meeting their needs.

Reference

Kovacs, G., & Spens, K. M. (2012). Relief supply chain management for disasters: humanitarian aid and emergency logistics. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Answer 2

Following a disaster Logistics is still a heavily active area. Even though the disaster event may be deemed “resolved” Logistics still needs to maintain a level of activity to restock any supplies that were used or deployed via the supply chain process. Restocking is a vital process in the return to normal operations. Restocking allows cache levels to return to pre-disaster numbers to be prepared for the next round of supply chain needs.

Restocking after a disaster has resolved can come with difficulties. Depending on the magnitude and duration of the event, there may be a wait period until supplies will be available in large enough quantities to restock. In addition to supply availability, another consideration for the restocking process is finance. Is the funding immediately available following a disaster to be able to expedite the restocking of a supply cache? Depending on the types of supplies used, restocking could prove to be a costly process. There is also the normal rate of usage to take into consideration when restocking. Is this supply something that is utilized during normal operations? Once normal operations resume, is usage of the supply going to hinder a timely restock process? These are all questions that need to be asked prior to restocking a cache to help devise the most efficient way to do so.

Examples of restocking a cache of supplies can easily be brought into Mass Casualty Incidents at healthcare facilities. As a regulation through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid require acute care hospitals to maintain a 96 hour sustainability supply in the event of an emergency. During an MCI event, a large portion of medical supplies such as gauze, IV supplies, surgical supplies, linens, and food could easily be depleted by both staff and patients. All of these things are also used regularly through the course of patient care. Returning the 96 hour sustainability supplies back to normal may take longer than expected due to the need to continue to provide those supplies during normal operations.

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico it caused a major disaster event and took out the power infrastructure for the island. During the disaster, linemen were brought in to restore power for responders and critical services. After the majority of the initial disaster relief was handled, those lineman still are in Puerto Rico working to create power redundancy and infrastructure in the event of another disaster. 

References:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (January, 5, 2018) Core EP Rule Elements. CMS.gov ; https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-a…

Centro (October 2018) Puerto Rico One Year  After Hurricane Maria. Center for Puerto Rican Studies ; https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/sites/default/fil…