Track: Undergraduate Research Competition

Abstract

Humanitarian logistics management has recently become a trendy buzzword because of the number of natural
disasters in recent years. Managing relief & logistics networks properly when disaster strikes are of great
importance, as any negligence may result in a severe penalty such as loss of precious lives & public property. The
unpredictable and unexpected nature of natural calamities is another concern. In a catastrophic event, decision-
making usually involves choosing the best locations for aid distribution, distributing relief goods to different
demand nodes, and managing the appropriate routes for transportation of relief goods, medicines, etc. This study
proposes a multi-echelon multi-objective logistics model based on a multi-objective approach to finding optimal
locations for setting up regional relief distribution centers with the minimum facility set up cost and to see the
optimal quantity of goods to be flowed between nodes and stages of the relief supply chain to minimize distribution
and supply costs, and the unmet Demand under uncertain conditions.
Key Words
Humanitarian logistics, Emergency facility location, Relief distribution, Multi-objective optimization