Maik Mati – Purchase Analyst at Intergas Verwarming B.V. –Graduated from the University of Groningen – Master Supply Chain Management
13:00 CET – 14:00 CET
Currently, logistics clusters operating in natural disaster zones find it a challenge to coordinate procurement, warehousing, and logistics activities with other humanitarian clusters. The purpose of my paper is to extend the shared services model to improve the coordinating capability of logistics clusters.
A two-stage, qualitative modeling methodology was adopted. During the first stage, an initial shared services model was developed based on secondary data analysis. During the second stage, this initial model was validated using primary data collected from 7 experts in humanitarian logistics. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection tool.
It was found that the constructs of a conventional shared services model including leadership, services/process, technology, and people management can be applied to humanitarian logistics clusters to enhance coordination of logistics activities. However, each of these constructs must contain specific elements to maximize coordination. For example, the shared services unit must comprise of a central coordinator or lead and representatives from all other humanitarian clusters. There must be representatives from the government, the military, and involvement from local leaders. These and other findings have been further discussed in the paper.
So far, the shared services model as a means to improve coordination has not been applied to humanitarian logistics clusters.