Coordination and collaboration for humanitarian operational excellence : big data and modern information processing systems

Akhtar, Pervaiz; Osburg, Victoria-Sophie; Kabra, Gaurav; Ullah, Subhan; Shabbir, Haseeb; Kumari, Sushma

Abstract

Humanitarian operational excellence depends on effective coordination and collaboration not only
between supply chain partners but also among other actors such as host government, local and
international non-government organizations (NGOs), and donors. Importantly, effective coordination and
collaboration are facilitated by big data and modern information processing (BDMIP) systems that are
complex and interlocked with contemporary information and communication technology (ICT). This
study simplifies BDMIP systems by using a comprehensive methodology (literature review and a multicriteria decision-making approach, called the analytic network process) and explores its key determinants
and other interconnected factors. The data were collected from humanitarian managers, working in
horizontally (e.g., governments, local and international humanitarian organizations) and vertically (e.g.,
supply chain partners) collaborated organizations. Three systems (manual, semi-automated, and fully
automated) are investigated, which depend on various determinants for operational excellence interlinked
with modern big data technology and its components. The results indicate that dynamic compatibility is
the most important determinant for such systems to support operational excellence, followed by real-time
response, cost, end-to-end visibility, and operational service quality. The implementation of fully
automated systems is less cost-effective. This attributes to contemporary dimensions and enablers (e.g.
the internet of things, big data collection and analytics, effective data and information sharing, modern
unmanned aerial vehicles (called drones), skills for mining structured and unstructured data, among
others). Semi-automated systems are also imperative for certain enablers (e.g. data accuracy, data
reliability, and personalized data exchange). This study concludes by discussing these findings and their
implications for practitioners; how they can combine these technical and operational foundations to
execute humanitarian operational excellence and to build effective coordination and collaboration among
involved parties. It further provides suggestions for future research.

Citation

Akhtar, P., Osburg, V., Kabra, G., Ullah, S., Shabbir, H., & Kumari, S. (in press). Coordination and collaboration for humanitarian operational excellence : big data and modern information processing systems. Production planning & control,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 19, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2020
• Journal: Production planning & control
• Print ISSN: 0953-7287
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Coordination and collaboration; Humanitarian operational excellence; ICT and big data applications in humanitarian operations; Big data and information processing systems; Analytic network process
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3541406
• Related Public URLs: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/160006/