I can’t help but notice that many logistics operators are under pressure currently, principally driven by increased demand but also the changed order patterns driven by stay at home orders, again the right thing to do to try and break the back of this dreaded COVID-19.
This is non-more so than the fresh food product suppliers, specifically their ability to provide efficient “pick & pack” operations. The problem is that their existing back of warehouse operations are used to delivering a B2B model.
The current COVID driven environment more people are ordering from home, so the B2B model must adjust to a direct to consumer or B2C model, not easy.
This is a challenge faced by a number of clients & some potential solutions that we have considered; are to aggregate B2C customer deliveries under one roof, by either re-purposing existing facilities or taking advantage of on demand warehousing platforms like “MOSPAZE” which can alleviate long term lease commitments and expensive build- outs, and get people up and running quickly.
The Indonesian marketplace has numerous digital logistics platforms and hi-tech last mile delivery capabilities, I know they are collectively trying hard to help resolve this issue. So utilizing the small army of newly available motorbike taxi operators to carry goods, as they are able to handle smaller loads and make more frequent deliveries, which is adding capacity and potentially relieve some of the existing bottlenecks.
These initiatives will help in the here and now but more importantly can provide the springboard for growth in the post- COVID world.