In June 1998, The Board of Directors of INSEAD, a leading international business school based in Fontainebleau (France) had to decide to proceed with an investment in a second campus in Singapore. Over the past 20 years INSEAD had established an international reputation and had developed some expertise on Asian business.

The case illustrates the efforts of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) in the area of emergency response preparedness. It provides an anecdotal description of IFRC’s failure in promptly responding to the 1998 Hurricane Mitch disaster that swept through Central America.

The case by utilizing the example of the Gujarat earthquake, illustrates the role of The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) as a choreographer of disaster management and the nature of the supply chain - multiple, global, dynamic, and temporary - it coordinates.