Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries globally, frequently affected by floods, cyclones, and landslides that severely disrupt humanitarian response operations. An efficient disaster relief supply chain is critical to ensure timely distribution of food, medicine, and shelter to affected communities. However, current practices often face bottlenecks such as poor coordination among stakeholders, inadequate pre-positioned warehouses, lack of real-time information, and transportation breakdowns during emergencies. These gaps result in delayed delivery and uneven distribution of relief materials. This paper investigates the challenges of the disaster relief supply chain in Bangladesh and proposes a framework to improve its efficiency. The study emphasizes three key strategies: (1) establishing decentralized and pre-positioned regional warehouses in disaster-prone areas to reduce lead time, (2) implementing digital tracking and mobile-based information systems for real-time monitoring of relief distribution, and (3) applying route optimization techniques to identify alternative transport networks when primary routes fail. A hypothetical case analysis of the Sylhet flood scenario demonstrates that pre-positioning warehouses near vulnerable zones could reduce average delivery time significantly, minimizing the degree of loss that is common in such cases. The findings highlight that adopting industrial engineering and operations management approaches can significantly enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian logistics in Bangladesh, ensuring faster, fairer, and more reliable relief distribution during disasters.
Published in: 8th IEOM Bangladesh International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Publisher: IEOM Society International
Date of Conference: December 20
-21
, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-3507-4441-5
ISSN/E-ISSN: 2169-8767