Temporary Facility Location Problem in Humanitarian Logistics: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Facility location is a crucial aspect of humanitarian logistics, particularly in disaster response. In this field, temporary facilities are a cost-effective alternative, as they can be quickly deployed and offer flexibility to address increased demand and the dynamic nature of post-disaster conditions. Methods: This study performs a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines to examine facility location problems involving temporary or modular facilities in humanitarian logistics. A total of 63 articles were analyzed from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. To reduce risk of bias, each article was classified by 2 researchers. Results: Most studies focus on earthquake-related scenarios in Asian countries. Despite being temporary, only 6\% of the articles consider both opening and closing decisions for facilities, and only 36\% include decisions regarding modular capacity. Conclusions: Research in this field should incorporate multi-period planning, addressing both opening and closing decisions, which would allow for the transfer of modules between facilities to enhance flexibility and responsiveness. Additionally, further study is needed on the location of temporary donation-related facilities.