Design principles of ERP systems for HOs
| Challenges of humanitarian environment | Effects | Requirement to enable Triple-A supply chain | Design principle | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lack of telecommunication and electricity infrastructure | Inability to communicate electronically limits the use of standard ERP systems, which leads to paper-based work and results in inefficient and unadaptable response | Adaptability to local infrastructure | Principle 1: Design for using replication and synchronization technology that allows online and offline transactions and data storage | Widely available offline synchronization |
| Diverse political and social conditions Varied national and international regulations | Unitary information systems that cannot adapt to diverse requirements imposed by different laws and social conditions | Adaptability to local laws and regulations | Principle 2: Design for activation and deactivation of encrypted data transfers, support of multi-currency and exchange rates, preset customs, and clearance | Flexible and adaptable in the political and governmental regulations of hosting countries |
| Volunteer nature of the business leads to high personnel turnover and lack of trained and skilled personnel | Continued flow of inexperienced users that lead to the need of frequent trainings and mistakes | Adaptability to users' skill level | Principle 3: Design for multi-language support, online training, user friendliness, and easy, centralized installation and maintenance | ERP system can be used by all users efficiently |
| High dependency on donor funding | Need high level of transparency and accountability not supported by standard ERP systems | Alignment with donors | Principle 4: Design for high transparency, reporting and grant management specifications and requirements | Automatically generated reports based on donor requirements |
| Decentralized governance and organizational structure | Lack of intra-organizational functional coordination and integration | Alignment with organizational entities | Principle 5: Design for decentralized governance by connecting and integrating diverse internal systems | Integration of internal systems |
| Lack of coordination and collaboration among multitude of actors involved | Lack of cross-linking systems and information exchanges between actors | Alignment with other HOs | Principle 6: Design for inter-organizational collaboration between HOs | Integration and data exchange with external systems |
| Unpredictable demand | Inability to expand and adapt to emergency needs | Agility to respond to uncertainty in demand | Principle 7: Design for scalability across a wide range of needs from field to HQ and modularity allowing local and regional customization | Quick and flexible response to operational requirements in terms of users and volume of data and transactions |
| Need to bundle items for quick distribution in emergency situation | Inefficient distribution and duplication of efforts | Agility to respond to variant relief item specifications | Principle 8: Design for relief items specifications and stock management (KITs, in-kind donations) | Ability to manage specifications of relief items |
| Highly variant routing and transportation needs | Inabilities to deliver on time | Agility to respond to uncertainty in transportation needs | Principle 9: Design for supporting relief vehicle routing and scheduling in the field operations (fleet management module) | Support for vehicle tracking and routing |
| Insecure and dangerous conditions and lack of asset visibility | Poor asset management Duplication resulting in higher costs | Agility to respond to uncertain conditions for relief assets | Principle 10: Design for tracking assets and valuable items in insecure and dangerous conditions (asset management module) | Support for asset tracking |
| Rapid needs assessment, in-kind and monetary relief | Fragmented and unreliable systems to deliver aid that may not meet the need | Agility to respond to uncertainty with respect to beneficiaries' needs and type of intervention | Principle 11: Design assessment modules and modules for beneficiary registration and Cash Transfer Programs | Support for tracking in-kind and monetary relief to beneficiaries |
| High amount of data and information in time of emergencies | Inefficient use of existing data | Agility to respond to uncertainty with respect to data amount and quality | Principle 12: Design for big data analytics and simulations for humanitarian operations | Support for analyzing big data and conducting simulations |
| Challenges of humanitarian environment | Effects | Requirement to enable Triple-A supply chain | Design principle | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lack of telecommunication and electricity infrastructure | Inability to communicate electronically limits the use of standard ERP systems, which leads to paper-based work and results in inefficient and unadaptable response | Adaptability to local infrastructure | Principle 1: Design for using replication and synchronization technology that allows online and offline transactions and data storage | Widely available offline synchronization |
| Diverse political and social conditions | Unitary information systems that cannot adapt to diverse requirements imposed by different laws and social conditions | Adaptability to local laws and regulations | Principle 2: Design for activation and deactivation of encrypted data transfers, support of multi-currency and exchange rates, preset customs, and clearance | Flexible and adaptable in the political and governmental regulations of hosting countries |
| Volunteer nature of the business leads to high personnel turnover and lack of trained and skilled personnel | Continued flow of inexperienced users that lead to the need of frequent trainings and mistakes | Adaptability to users' skill level | Principle 3: Design for multi-language support, online training, user friendliness, and easy, centralized installation and maintenance | ERP system can be used by all users efficiently |
| High dependency on donor funding | Need high level of transparency and accountability not supported by standard ERP systems | Alignment with donors | Principle 4: Design for high transparency, reporting and grant management specifications and requirements | Automatically generated reports based on donor requirements |
| Decentralized governance and organizational structure | Lack of intra-organizational functional coordination and integration | Alignment with organizational entities | Principle 5: Design for decentralized governance by connecting and integrating diverse internal systems | Integration of internal systems |
| Lack of coordination and collaboration among multitude of actors involved | Lack of cross-linking systems and information exchanges between actors | Alignment with other HOs | Principle 6: Design for inter-organizational collaboration between HOs | Integration and data exchange with external systems |
| Unpredictable demand | Inability to expand and adapt to emergency needs | Agility to respond to uncertainty in demand | Principle 7: Design for scalability across a wide range of needs from field to HQ and modularity allowing local and regional customization | Quick and flexible response to operational requirements in terms of users and volume of data and transactions |
| Need to bundle items for quick distribution in emergency situation | Inefficient distribution and duplication of efforts | Agility to respond to variant relief item specifications | Principle 8: Design for relief items specifications and stock management (KITs, in-kind donations) | Ability to manage specifications of relief items |
| Highly variant routing and transportation needs | Inabilities to deliver on time | Agility to respond to uncertainty in transportation needs | Principle 9: Design for supporting relief vehicle routing and scheduling in the field operations (fleet management module) | Support for vehicle tracking and routing |
| Insecure and dangerous conditions and lack of asset visibility | Poor asset management | Agility to respond to uncertain conditions for relief assets | Principle 10: Design for tracking assets and valuable items in insecure and dangerous conditions (asset management module) | Support for asset tracking |
| Rapid needs assessment, in-kind and monetary relief | Fragmented and unreliable systems to deliver aid that may not meet the need | Agility to respond to uncertainty with respect to beneficiaries' needs and type of intervention | Principle 11: Design assessment modules and modules for beneficiary registration and Cash Transfer Programs | Support for tracking in-kind and monetary relief to beneficiaries |
| High amount of data and information in time of emergencies | Inefficient use of existing data | Agility to respond to uncertainty with respect to data amount and quality | Principle 12: Design for big data analytics and simulations for humanitarian operations | Support for analyzing big data and conducting simulations |
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