Assessing the feasibility of just in time inventory management strategiy on effective humanitarian aid delivery during lean seasons in Zimbabwe

Author

Philemon, Brandon.

Title

Assessing the feasibility of just in time inventory management strategiy on effective humanitarian aid delivery during lean seasons in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Humanitarian aid delivery in Zimbabwe faces mounting challenges during lean seasons, a period marked by heightened food insecurity and logistical strain. Traditional stockpiling approaches often lead to high storage costs, delayed responses, and inventory wastage. This study investigates the feasibility of adopting Just in Time inventory management strategies as an alternative for improving humanitarian logistics performance. A descriptive case study research design was employed, using a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to 46 supply chain personnel across key humanitarian organizations operating in Zimbabwe. A mixed method of data analysis was used for this paper and the data gathered was analyzed through the SPSS system and several findings were obtained. It was overall quantified that JIT inventory management system strongly enhances agility and effectiveness is supported to a moderate extent while efficiency has no considerable impact to JIT inventory management system. It was also concluded that the geographical scope of the organization influences largely on logistics performance while nature of organization has a smaller effect towards logistics performance. The study contributes to the academic understanding of lean logistics in humanitarian settings and provides practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners aiming to optimize aid delivery during critical lean seasons. The study then recommends humanitarian organizations to adapt JIT inventory management system in order to achieve agility and effectiveness. It further recommends that organizations should structure in a way that strongly supports and uphold efficiency in order to achieve service excellency and successfully meet organizational goals as JIT proved to impact less to efficiency.
Humanitarian aid delivery in Zimbabwe faces mounting challenges during lean seasons, a period marked by heightened food insecurity and logistical strain. Traditional stockpiling approaches often lead to high storage costs, delayed responses, and inventory wastage. This study investigates the feasibility of adopting Just in Time inventory management strategies as an alternative for improving humanitarian logistics performance. A descriptive case study research design was employed, using a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to 46 supply chain personnel across key humanitarian organizations operating in Zimbabwe. A mixed method of data analysis was used for this paper and the data gathered was analyzed through the SPSS system and several findings were obtained. It was overall quantified that JIT inventory management system strongly enhances agility and effectiveness is supported to a moderate extent while efficiency has no considerable impact to JIT inventory management system. It was also concluded that the geographical scope of the organization influences largely on logistics performance while nature of organization has a smaller effect towards logistics performance. The study contributes to the academic understanding of lean logistics in humanitarian settings and provides practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners aiming to optimize aid delivery during critical lean seasons. The study then recommends humanitarian organizations to adapt JIT inventory management system in order to achieve agility and effectiveness. It further recommends that organizations should structure in a way that strongly supports and uphold efficiency in order to achieve service excellency and successfully meet organizational goals as JIT proved to impact less to efficiency.
Humanitarian aid delivery in Zimbabwe faces mounting challenges during lean seasons, a period marked by heightened food insecurity and logistical strain. Traditional stockpiling approaches often lead to high storage costs, delayed responses, and inventory wastage. This study investigates the feasibility of adopting Just in Time inventory management strategies as an alternative for improving humanitarian logistics performance. A descriptive case study research design was employed, using a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to 46 supply chain personnel across key humanitarian organizations operating in Zimbabwe. A mixed method of data analysis was used for this paper and the data gathered was analyzed through the SPSS system and several findings were obtained. It was overall quantified that JIT inventory management system strongly enhances agility and effectiveness is supported to a moderate extent while efficiency has no considerable impact to JIT inventory management system. It was also concluded that the geographical scope of the organization influences largely on logistics performance while nature of organization has a smaller effect towards logistics performance. The study contributes to the academic understanding of lean logistics in humanitarian settings and provides practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners aiming to optimize aid delivery during critical lean seasons. The study then recommends humanitarian organizations to adapt JIT inventory management system in order to achieve agility and effectiveness. It further recommends that organizations should structure in a way that strongly supports and uphold efficiency in order to achieve service excellency and successfully meet organizational goals as JIT proved to impact less to efficiency.







Humanitarian aid delivery in Zimbabwe faces mounting challenges during lean seasons, a period marked by heightened food insecurity and logistical strain. Traditional stockpiling approaches often lead to high storage costs, delayed responses, and inventory wastage. This study investigates the feasibility of adopting Just in Time inventory management strategies as an alternative for improving humanitarian logistics performance. A descriptive case study research design was employed, using a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to 46 supply chain personnel across key humanitarian organizations operating in Zimbabwe. A mixed method of data analysis was used for this paper and the data gathered was analyzed through the SPSS system and several findings were obtained. It was overall quantified that JIT inventory management system strongly enhances agility and effectiveness is supported to a moderate extent while efficiency has no considerable impact to JIT inventory management system. It was also concluded that the geographical scope of the organization influences largely on logistics performance while nature of organization has a smaller effect towards logistics performance. The study contributes to the academic understanding of lean logistics in humanitarian settings and provides practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners aiming to optimize aid delivery during critical lean seasons. The study then recommends humanitarian organizations to adapt JIT inventory management system in order to achieve agility and effectiveness. It further recommends that organizations should structure in a way that strongly supports and uphold efficiency in order to achieve service excellency and successfully meet organizational goals as JIT proved to impact less to efficiency.


Humanitarian aid delivery in Zimbabwe faces mounting challenges during lean seasons, a period marked by heightened food insecurity and logistical strain. Traditional stockpiling approaches often lead to high storage costs, delayed responses, and inventory wastage. This study investigates the feasibility of adopting Just in Time inventory management strategies as an alternative for improving humanitarian logistics performance. A descriptive case study research design was employed, using a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to 46 supply chain personnel across key humanitarian organizations operating in Zimbabwe. A mixed method of data analysis was used for this paper and the data gathered was analyzed through the SPSS system and several findings were obtained. It was overall quantified that JIT inventory management system strongly enhances agility and effectiveness is supported to a moderate extent while efficiency has no considerable impact to JIT inventory management system. It was also concluded that the geographical scope of the organization influences largely on logistics performance while nature of organization has a smaller effect towards logistics performance. The study contributes to the academic understanding of lean logistics in humanitarian settings and provides practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners aiming to optimize aid delivery during critical lean seasons. The study then recommends humanitarian organizations to adapt JIT inventory management system in order to achieve agility and effectiveness. It further recommends that organizations should structure in a way that strongly supports and uphold efficiency in order to achieve service excellency and successfully meet organizational goals as JIT proved to impact less to efficiency.

Date

June 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Humanitarian logistics

Lean seasons

Aid delivery performance

Inventory management

Just in Time (JIT) inventory management

Supervisor

Dr Chari