EURO 2025 Leeds
Abstract Submission

473. A Simulation-Optimization Approach for Resilient Humanitarian Supply Chain Focusing on Elderly Populations During Pandemics

Invited abstract in session TC-55: Humanitarian Supply Chain and Network Design, stream Humanitarian Operations.

Tuesday, 12:30-14:00
Room: Liberty 1.09

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Behzad Mosalla Nezhad
Industrial Engineering, Tecnologico de Monterrey
2. Mostafa Hajiaghaeikeshteli
Tecnologico de Monterrey
3. Fatemeh Gholiyanjouybari
Universidad de las Américas Puebla
4. Neale Smith
Tecnologico de Monterrey

Abstract

Pandemics are disruptive events that put severe pressure on people, especially the elderly, while also making it very difficult for supply chains to respond and meet demands. This study develops a sustainable humanitarian supply chain network that prioritizes timely and equitable resource distribution for elderly communities. Moreover, an age-structured Susceptible-Infected-Recovered system dynamics model is employed to estimate the demand of different age-specific for critical medical supplies. The proposed multi-objective stochastic optimization model aims to minimize costs, reduce unmet demand, and mitigate environmental impacts. A case study based on the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is presented, focusing on the distribution of personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and test kits to hospitals, pharmacies, and other demand points. It can be concluded that the proposed model effectively prioritizes the demand of the elderly population, resulting in the resilience of the supply chain for pandemics.

Keywords

Status: accepted


Back to the list of papers