One Step Ahead of the Crisis: Evaluating Digital Solutions for Improving Humanitarian Logistics Based on Literature-Informed Insights Relevant to Humanitarian Organizations

Digitalization represents an important potential for improving humanitarian logistics (HL) and supporting humanitarian organizations (HOs) in shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach, i.e., acting “one step ahead of the crisis”. The aim of this study is to identify the most suitable digital solution for improving HL by considering it as a complex adaptive socio-technical system and applying a new hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model. The model integrates the CILOS (Criterion Impact Loss) method for determining the objective weights of the criteria and the COBRA (Comprehensive Distance-Based Ranking) method for evaluating and ranking the alternatives. Four digital technologies were analyzed—Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data technologies, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and mobile technologies—based on six criteria: preparedness and resilience, logistics efficiency, integration and adaptability, economic feasibility, reliability and information security, and social acceptability. The results indicate that the Internet of Things represents the most suitable solution for HOs, followed by ERP systems, mobile technologies, and Big Data technologies. The main contributions of the study include establishing a new systemic framework for evaluating digital technologies in HL that supports a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach (“one step ahead of the crisis”) under conditions of crisis-related uncertainty, as well as introducing a hybrid CILOS-COBRA Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model for evaluating digital solutions in HL. The selection of a digital solution should be based on its contribution to the operational capabilities of HOs, particularly in terms of preparedness, efficiency, reliability, and resilience, thereby supporting a “one step ahead of the crisis” approach.