Purchasing strategies for relief items in humanitarian operations

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a Humanitarian Purchasing Matrix to guide purchasing strategies for relief items in humanitarian operations. Design/methodology/approach: The research synthesizes the structures of a Purchasing Portfolio Model and the characteristics of purchasing in humanitarian operations, validating them with academics and practitioners to develop a Humanitarian Purchasing Matrix. Then, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process to classify the relief items in the matrix, an illustrative example is used as an empirical test for the proposed Humanitarian Purchasing Matrix. Findings: The academic literature on purchasing in general and purchasing in humanitarian operations share some similarities in terms of “Importance of Purchasing” and “Complexity of Supply Market” dimensions. Moreover, the analysis of such criteria supports the definition of purchasing strategies for different relief items in humanitarian operations. Practical implications: The Humanitarian Purchasing Matrix can be considered a tool/guide for professionals of humanitarian organizations in the adoption of purchasing strategies for the different relief items purchased for humanitarian operations. Originality/value: Considering a scenario of a constant increase in the variety of relief items, the high purchasing volume and the pressure to more efficient relief operations, the research discusses the intersectionality of business purchasing models and the purchasing characteristics of humanitarian operations. Moreover, the research deliveries a tool/guide to the adoption of purchasing strategies that are composed of criteria observed in the literature and suggested by both humanitarian logistic academics and practitioners.