Factors Affecting the Performance of Humanitarian Logistics the Case of IRC Ethiopia

Abstract

A well-managed and effective logistics is central to any disaster response. Humanitarian logistics is the back bone of any emergency support and plays key roles in rendering relief aid services to the disaster affected people yet it is challenged by various factors. Previous studies undergone content analysis and identified four major factors and suggested case studies and survey methodologies in order to learn the statistical effect of these factors on performance of humanitarian logistics. Accordingly, this study is the first to combine internal & external factors together and examine their effects using survey data analyzed through empirical study and identified seven statistically significant variables both from internal & external factors. The factors are listed in descending order from highest to lowest as: donors' funds, environmental situational factors, professional staff, infrastructure situational factors, socioeconomic situational factors, Institutional learning and government situational factors. Moreover, so far, these variables were not investigated in the IRC Ethiopia context and hence this study is the first and the original in the case of this organization. Based on the findings it was recommended that IRC Ethiopia to consider: allocating adequate funds for long term logistics infrastructures and systems as well as for long term disaster preparedness, prepare for challenges of rain season transportation through heavy duty four wheel drive trucks or liaising with partner organization which have air plane facilities , increase capacity of logisticians through secondment and advanced field training, continue investing on backups for utilities, changing view of suppliers from transactional to collaborative, increasing partnership with the government both at regional and federal level and make records of failure or success stories of past logistics experiences and performances. Finally, this study has filled to important research gaps: .The empirical methodological gap that previous studies have failed but suggested to, and . Assessment of the current situation in the effect of logistics performance and its associated factors at IRC Ethiopia. Key words: humanitarian logistics, internal factors, external factors, performance of humanitarian logistics