Improving the efficiency of last mile humanitarian logistics operations during flood disasters in Matara district

Abstract

This study is focused on improving the efficiency of last mile humanitarian logistics operations during flood situations in Matara district. It is a well-known fact Matara district one of the worst affected districts from recent flood situations in Sri Lanka. Especially, flooding becomes a routine experience of the people dwelling in Matara district. Hence, it is a timely requirement that a proper relief mechanism to be established in the district whilst taking measures for the prevention of flooding. This study mainly focused on few objectives, especially identifying the critical factors which affect the efficiency of the humanitarian logistics operation and _ provide recommendations for improving the efficiency of the relief operations. Due to the fact that the last mile delivery plays an important role in the humanitarian supply chain, it was decided to obtain inputs from the Grama Seva Officials to conduct the research as these officials are the ground level administrators in the relief operations. Quantitative analysis was followed subsequent to obtaining data from a self-administered questionnaire distributed among 96 respondents and evaluated the questionnaire through seven variables. SPSS platform was used to conduct the data analysis and identified the critical factors which have made a tremendous impact towards the efficiency of the humanitarian logistics operations. The limitations identified in this study point toward the need for future research that expands the sample size, incorporates longitudinal data, and integrates qualitative insights. By doing so, subsequent studies can validate the findings presented here and contribute to the development of best practices, in humanitarian logistics which is critically important for mitigating the adverse impacts of natural disasters. The findings reveal that while several aspects such as infrastructure, human resource, and information flow are relatively strong, there are critical gaps, especially in the areas of emergency air support, timely consignment arrivals, and financial transparency, that need to be addressed.