A Review on Main Challenges of Disaster Relief Supply Chain to Reduce Casualties in Case of Natural Disasters

Iran is among the ten disaster-prone countries and, in terms of the earthquake, it has been ranked the sixth in the world. Although the damages caused by the disasters are not irreversible from different aspects, they could be minimized by performing appropriate preventions as well as preparing plans to counteract the impacts of such incidents. According to the increasing trend of disasters and crises, which hardly damage businesses and communities, providing relief supply chain for crisis situations (HDRSC) is necessary and vital in the wide field of supply chain management (SCM). Even though considerable attempts have been performed in the field of supply chain focusing on the disaster relief, few studies have addressed its complex features and properties. This paper concentrates on the activities such as demand determination and supply chain coordination by field study and best review of best-related research. This research provides a framework for supply chain managers in crisis, who face similar problems in other environments, with valuable insights.