Humanitarian Logistics

As part of a research trip, two members of the research team travelled to Central Africa for a month in July 2015 to analyse logistical supply chains in practice. In addition to three weeks in Rwanda, the researchers also spent a week in Goma, DR Congo, as guests of the UN World Food Programme. The aim of the trip was to collect key data on humanitarian (and also commercial!) logistics. To this end, interviews and discussions were held with aid organisations, logistics service providers and freight forwarders in Rwanda and the DR Congo, and a survey was conducted. A visit to the University of Rwanda and discussions with representatives of the university were part of the programme to record logistics education and training in Central Africa. The trip also included a visit to the Rwandan refugee camp Mahama for Burundian refugees on the border with Tanzania.

In May 2015, an article by Dipl.-Ing. Hendrik Blome and Nico Passaro, M. Sc. was published in the rail journal "Deine Bahn". The article deals with the possibilities of rail transport in sub-Saharan Africa and highlights its potentials and challenges in humanitarian provision. Mr. Passaro wrote his master's thesis on a rail transport project in Tanzania, which serves as the basis for the article.

On 20 November 2014, the conference "Future of International Logistics Networks", supported by the Swiss Kühne Foundation, took place at the Technical University of Berlin. In the morning, humanitarian logistics was the focus of the event. After an introductory lecture by Professor Baumgarten, Dr. Jennifer Schwarz and Olaf Janßen from the Kühne Foundation reported on their current missions in Africa and the Middle East respectively. In the subsequent panel discussion with MinR Franz-Birger Marré (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), Ralf Südhoff (UN World Food Programme) and Jan-Mirko Kanzleiter (Ärzte ohne Grenzen), various aspects of humanitarian aid were discussed, including the importance of education and training for humanitarian aid and long-term strategies and possibilities for combating hunger worldwide.

The afternoon presentations dealt with challenges of international logistics networks with a focus on China.

The development policy journal D+C (Development and Cooperation) published an article by the research team in its November issue. Under the title "Better Aid Operations", the challenges of humanitarian aid operations are addressed.

The journal is significantly supported by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and is considered one of the most important media in the field of humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian logistics was also represented at the 31st International Supply Chain Conference with its own event, this year in the form of a workshop on the afternoon of the first day of the congress. Moderated by Martin Willhaus (Kühne Foundation), Prof. Dr Thomas Schmidt (Flensburg University of Applied Sciences) Jörn Osterthun (Johanniter), Wolf-Christian Noske (Kühne Foundation) and Alexandra Bäumel (Kühne+Nagel E&R Logistics) discussed current developments in humanitarian logistics under the title "Ethiopia, Jordan, Sudan - what's it to me?". The workshop was very well attended and was rated by the participants as one of the best workshops of the congress.

Poor roads, lack of connections, too much bureaucracy: freight transport in large parts of Africa is at a standstill - yet it can be vital for survival. An article by the research team was published in Afrikapost (3/14). The article deals with infrastructural and institutional hurdles in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular the special logistical challenges of landlocked countries are explained.

Dipl.-Ing. Hendrik Blome gave a presentation on the potential of logistics to alleviate humanitarian emergencies at the Cusanuswerk Mathematics Student Council Meeting in Eichsfeld.

On 19 February 2014, the Kühne Foundation invited to an evening event entitled "Humanitarian logistics - how does it become aid for people?" at the premises of the Swiss Embassy in Berlin. The evening was moderated by Mr Martin Willhaus (Kühne Foundation). Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. H. Baumgarten was a participant in the panel discussion. Other participants were Mr Peter Schatzer (Senior Advisor to the Director General, IOM), Mr Charles M. Huber (Member of the German Bundestag), Mr Clemens Pott (Head of Logistics, DRK) and Mr Christoph Harnisch (Head of External Resources Division, ICRC).

In November 2013, the 3rd African Logistics Conference, hosted by the Kühne Foundation, took place in cooperation with the University of Dar es Salaam and the National Institute of Transport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Over 200 participants from the logistics sector, aid organisations, politics, administration and academia discussed current developments in logistics for two days.

The conference focused on the challenges of maritime transport, the organisation of ports and logistics in Africa and the importance of multimodal transport in developing countries. Part of the conference was also a tour of the port of Dar es Salam.

Just in time for the 30th German Logistics Congress in Berlin, an edited volume with the results of the 2nd Humanitarian Logistics Working Group has been published. Part of the English-language documentation is also a contribution by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. H. Baumgarten and Dipl.-Ing. Hendrik Blome with a review of humanitarian logistics.

The book "Managing Humanitarian Supply chains: Strategies, Practices and Research" was edited by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Hellingrath, Daniel Link and Adam Widera and can be purchased from DVV Media Group.

This year's Logistics Science Award goes to two scientists from the Technische Universität Berlin. The prize is awarded for work with outstanding scientific expertise, high practical relevance and novelty character. The prize, which is endowed with 20,000 €, was awarded to the winners

Dr. Jennifer Schwarz and Dr.-Ing. Martin Keßler

and to the supervising

Chair of Logistics, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Helmut Baumgarten.

The titles of the dissertations are "Humanitarian logistics for the supply problem in sub-Saharan Africa - building logistics capacity through knowledge transfer" (Dr. Jennifer Schwarz), and "Designing logistics networks for humanitarian supply in developing countries in Africa" (Dr.-Ing. Martin Keßler).

The dissertations were written as part of the Kühne Foundation-funded research project "Humanitarian Logistics for the Supply of Hunger Regions in Africa" from 2009 to 2012 under the direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Helmut Baumgarten at the Chair of Logistics of the TU Berlin. Currently, the results achieved in the project are being implemented in the project countries Tanzania and Ethiopia.

The award was presented on 19 October 2012 during the 29th German Logistics Congress in Berlin.

On 30 May 2012, the disputations of project staff members Martin Keßler and Jennifer Schwarz took place. The title of Dr Schwarz's thesis is "Humanitarian logistics for the supply problem in sub-Saharan Africa - building logistics capacity through knowledge transfer". Dr.-Ing. Keßler wrote his doctoral thesis on "Designing logistics networks for humanitarian supply in developing countries in Africa". Both theses were of excellent quality and provide lasting testimony to the relevance of the research project.

The documentation "Humanitarian Logistics" of the BVL working group of the same name was published at the end of October.

In addition to the results of the working group, the book contains contributions from representatives of aid organisations, logisticians and scientists. It provides assistance and suggestions on how to identify and solve logistical problems in relief operations. The following topics are covered

•     Training and further education
•     Handling of logistical processes
•     Setting up IT systems