A commentary on agility in humanitarian aid supply chains

Purpose - This paper aims to provide a commentary and an overview of developments in the field of humanitarianism that could impact theoretical understanding of agility in humanitarian aid supply chains over the past decade. Design/methodology/approach Authors review papers published on agility in humanitarian aid supply chains from 2006 to 2015 in the four leading Emerald-published logistics and supply chain management journals. These are: Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (SCMIJ); International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (LIPDLM); International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM); and Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (JHLSCM). This paper presents an overview and update of developments that have the potential to influence current thinking and understanding about agility in humanitarian aid supply chains, and humanitarian aid supply chains in general. Findings Humanitarianism and the environment of Humanitarian organisations are evolving. Such evolution has potential impacts on theoretical discussions and understanding of agility in humanitarian aid supply chains and humanitarian aid supply chains in general. Research limitations/implications This is not a critical literature review but an overview. The paper is based on four logistics and supply chain management journals only. However, the paper is based on the work published over a decade. Practical implications Points scholars and practitioners to the impacts of Humanitarian Organisations using the relief-development continuum on supply chain design decisions including the pursuit of agility. Social implications It may be the time to consider the relief-development continuum in fresh light and its implications for agility in humanitarian aid supply chains. Originality/value This paper seems to be the first paper that highlights the influence of the relief-development continuum model on humanitarian aid supply chain design strategies.