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Faculty publication - Humanitarian Logistics by Rolando Tomasini, Humanitarian
Research Group Leader at INSEAD & Professor Luk Van Wassenhove
INSEAD: What can private sector companies gain from working with humanitarian organisations?
June 2009
Luk Van Wassenhove: The quick answer is visibility, reputation, and employee motivation. However, this
is only part of it, and sadly this is where many companies stop. What they can really gain is knowledge.
Humanitarians have an exceptional capacity to deal with uncertainty and limited resources as disasters
happen overnight, with different magnitude, affecting different groups. They also have a great ability to
connect with locals to rapidly identify needs, and communicate with them. All desirable qualities for
corporations operating globally.
INSEAD: In which areas can humanitarian organisations benefit the most from collaboration with private
sector companies?
Rolando Tomasini: There are several. Our research shows that humanitarian organisations can benefit
from cash donations (often raised through employee donation programmes, fundraising efforts, or cause
related marketing), visibility from corporate circles, access to trained staff and experts, access to assets
(ranging from a spare office to high-tech equipment), and knowledge.
INSEAD: Can you give a brief outline of how your book can help both private sector companies and
humanitarian organisations in building working relationships?
RT: Chapters one and two define the link between logistics and humanitarianism, two areas that we
connect through our research and work with agencies and companies. Chapter one presents key concepts
from supply chain management that we found most useful to understand and create parallels with the
humanitarian world. Chapter two introduces key concepts from the humanitarian sector that define the
parameters in which an emergency operation takes place.
Chapters three and four focus on the importance of working between (preparedness) and during
(coordination) disasters to respond to the needs of the beneficiaries. Chapter three serves to explain the
aspects of preparedness that need to be addressed to establish supply chain management as a core
function in humanitarian organisations. Chapter four discusses the challenge of coordinating a response
through the different stages of a disaster without command and control or a profit incentive.
Chapters five and six address two of the most crucial issues we encountered in our research: information
and knowledge management. Chapter five discusses how to prioritise the flow of information to attain
transparency and accountability, two very important factors to reduce politicization and manipulation of
aid and improve planning. Chapter six explains how information can be turned into knowledge and
integrated into organisations to improve their performance, an important element in light of high staff
turnover and limited resources.
Chapter seven returns to the departure point to analyse the areas in which supply chain management in
the humanitarian sector can be improved. This time around we examine cross -learning opportunities
between the humanitarian and the private sector through public-private partnerships and corporate social
responsibility initiatives. The chapter explains how these partnerships are designed keeping in mind the
cultural differences between the two sectors and the need to make partnerships sustainable.
INSEAD: Many companies are suffering due to the current economic situation. Are there ways in which a
private sector company can help a humanitarian organisation non-financially?
LVW: Of course. Even though cash is a good way to help, it's not everything. Companies can contribute to
humanitarian organisations with their expertise, their capacity, and their network. For example: when a
disaster happens, humanitarian organisations could rely on their private partners to second highly trained
staff to set up part of the operation. Similarly, between disasters, humanitarian organisations could rely on
their private partners to redesign and optimise their processes with consultants and trained personnel. In
either case, companies can establish connections within their network for humanitarians to find solutions
or increase their visibility. These are all valuable efforts.
INSEAD: How well do private sector companies and humanitarian organisations understand each others