Experimentation with procurement to design and model supply chains in developing economies

Abstract

This thesis proposes experimentation with procurement as a convenient tool to generate data, reveal supply chain phenomena, and garner access to stakeholders in developing economies. Based on experimentation with procurement, stylized analytical models of supply chains in developing economies can then be generated. In particular this thesis explores experimentation with procurement in the context of food aid supply chains. In local and regional procurement, in which food is bought in a developing economy, and transoceanic procurement, in which food is bought in a developed economy and shipped to a developing economy, supply chain design is central to the humanitarian outcomes of food aid. Designing food aid supply chains involves weighing trade-offs between cost, quality, lead time, and the various interests that shape food aid policy. This thesis relies on two food aid supply chain case studies to build generalizable theory about experimentation with procurement.