HumOSCM Lab wins grant to apply AI to Humanitarian supply chains
The ETH4D has awarded a competitive research grant to the HumOSCM Lab to investigate how AI can be used to improve forecasting in the humanitarian sector. The new project builds on the team's successful development of a supply planning tool, and extends the scope to cover both sides of the supply and demand equation.
external page Demand forecasting using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques has already been successfully implemented by for-profit companies like Amazon, enabling greater efficiency and organization of their distribution networks. However, similar solutions have yet to be be developed for humanitarian organizations, whose resources are scarce, and the stakes are high.
With the 2-year ETH4D grant, the HumOSCM Lab will cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate the potential of AI-based models to improve the efficiency of the distribution of goods and services in emergency response. The joint project will investigate the potential of Machine Learning techniques to enhance how the ICRC forecasts the medical supplies it delivers to health facilities in war zones.
The project builds upon previous work of the HumOSCM Lab, which focussed on supply forecasting and management, and which has already demonstrated measurable impact.
Researchers at MTEC’s Chair of Logistics Management will analyze several years of historical data from the ICRC’s health programs to identify consumption patterns. They will then apply AI models to build a predictive model to improve the accuracy of future forecasts.
Finally, the project will assess the feasibility of implementing these models within the ICRC’s supply chain and compare the potential benefits to the current manual forecasting methods.
The project team includes:
ETH Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner, Chair of Logistics Management at ETH Zurich.
ICRC: Rubén Naval Artal, Head of Global Supply, and Mohsen Hashemi, Supply Chain Purchasing Specialist.
Resarchers: Dr. Bublu Thakur-Weigold, Associate Director of the HumOSCM Lab at the Chair of Logistics Management at ETH Zurich, and Gino Lancho, Doctoral Research Assistant.