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 organisations (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 multi-criteria 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 organisations) and vertically (e.g. supply chain partners) collaborated organisations. 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 personalised 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.

摘要

人道主义运营的卓越性不仅取决于供应链合作伙伴之间的有效协调与协作，还取决于东道国政府、当地和国际非政府组织 (NGO) 以及捐助者等其他参与者之间的有效协调与协作。重要的是，大数据和现代信息处理 (BDMIP) 系统促进了有效的协调和协作，这些系统复杂并与当代信息和通信技术 (ICT) 相互关联。本研究通过使用综合方法（文献综述和多标准决策方法，称为分析网络过程）简化了 BDMIP 系统，并探讨了其关键决定因素和其他相互关联的因素。这些数据是从横向工作的人道主义管理人员那里收集的（例如政府、当地和国际人道主义组织）和垂直（例如供应链合作伙伴）合作组织。研究了三个系统（手动、半自动和全自动），它们取决于与现代大数据技术及其组件相关联的卓越运营的各种决定因素。结果表明，动态兼容性是此类系统支持卓越运营的最重要决定因素，其次是实时响应、成本、端到端可见性和运营服务质量。全自动系统的实施成本效益较低。这归因于当代维度和促成因素（例如物联网、大数据收集和分析、有效的数据和信息共享、现代无人机（称为无人机）、挖掘结构化和非结构化数据等的技能）。对于某些促成因素（例如数据准确性、数据可靠性和个性化数据交换），半自动化系统也是必不可少的。本研究最后讨论了这些发现及其对从业者的影响；他们如何将这些技术和运营基础结合起来，以执行卓越的人道主义运营，并在相关各方之间建立有效的协调与协作。进一步为今后的研究提供了建议。他们如何将这些技术和运营基础结合起来，以执行卓越的人道主义运营，并在相关各方之间建立有效的协调与协作。进一步为今后的研究提供了建议。他们如何将这些技术和运营基础结合起来，以执行卓越的人道主义运营，并在相关各方之间建立有效的协调与协作。进一步为今后的研究提供了建议。