EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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4165. Impact of Information Availability in Processing Unsolicited Donations

Invited abstract in session WD-23: Information sharing in sustainable supply chains, stream Circular Economy, Remanufacturing and Recycling .

Wednesday, 14:30-16:00
Room: 82 (building: 116)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Adhurim Imeri
Institute for Production Management, WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business
2. Gerald Reiner
Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Abstract

Unsolicited in-kind donations, such as textiles, pose significant challenges to humanitarian organisations (HOs) due to the uncertainty of donor supply in terms of quantity and quality of items. To enable flexible operations, HOs deploy donation containers in urban areas. These are processed and the items which they collect are sold as second-hand textiles in retail outlets. However, labour-intensive processing, sorting and waste make it difficult for HOs to sell all donations through retail outlets. Instead, a portion is exported in bulk without sorting to reduce costs. This paper presents a simulation model to understand the processes behind unsolicited textile donations. The results show that the critical process factors are the interplay between local demand for used clothing, the holding costs of storage, and the proportion of waste in donations. The challenge is to avoid shortages in emergency situations without incurring additional storage or disposal costs. In this context, the paper uses an allocation problem to prioritise the sorting of donation containers. This would be facilitated by a platform that processes donor information before the items are dumped in the containers. Understanding sorting processes and donor behaviour is essential to optimise the impact of unsolicited donations on HOs. This study derives actionable implications for such operations and the critical role of donor education in reducing wasteful donations. It also highlights the need for policy

Keywords

Status: accepted

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