INVENTORY MODELS IN HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS: APPLICABILITY OF COMMERCIAL INVENTORY THEORIES

Abstract

A dramatic global increase in natural disasters has attracted attention to humanitarian logistics for the rapid and proper distribution of relief goods. This paper presents research directions for relief inventory models, which determine how much to store and when to order, based on the theoretical foundations of commercial logistics. We first outline the mathematical properties of typical approaches to commercial inventory models-stochastic service models and guaranteed service models-. It then reviews state-of-the-art research on relief inventory models and discusses the applicability of commercial insights.