How has COVID-19 impacted the warehouse and logistics industry

According to you.

We don’t need to tell you that this year has been a game-changer in more ways than none. The impact of the global pandemic to the warehouse and logistics industry has been huge, and we have seen a shift in the way supply chain leaders are operating to keep up with erratic demands and to manage changing consumer expectations.

uTenant went out and spoke to the industry to get more of an idea of what challenges businesses saw, and how warehouse and logistics leaders have pivoted to manage these changes, both on a personal and professional level.

We found that there are a few running themes across multiple industries and organisations.

It seems many supply chain professionals have experienced similar challenges, and many have seen the same impact to their business.

95% of respondents say that this year has been a huge learning curve for their business. 17% of these said they needed to change their entire operations to manage COVID’s impact.

One of the most common solutions to these challenges was to streamline processes and remove any that were redundant and realistically not needed. Businesses needed to achieve high results with limited resources, and by identifying and eliminating inefficiency, this could be achieved.

39% of respondents agreed that process and strategy was their saving grace during the pandemic disruption, and found that by streamlining and fixing processes they were able to improve operational flow and remove bottlenecks.

Technology was number two in the list of priorities, with 28% of respondents increasing their reliance on technology, especially when it came to Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) that, according to this research, led to greater efficiencies and structural changes. This reliance on technology seemed to greatly help supply chain leaders to have full visibility of operations, meaning better risk management protocols were put in place. Proactive operations like this were a huge advantage to these businesses.

When asking what changes these leaders would have made if they knew the impact COVID had, these were the most common responses:

> Larger, more optimised warehouse space

> Process changes to streamline efficient picking and packing

> Operations could have been more consistent with a hugely reduced number of SKUs

> Drastically enhancing visual management

We also asked what businesses were prioritising for 2021. Here are the top 4 results:

> A more appropriate warehouse space to manage inventory needs

> A more appropriate 3PL partnership to suit changing business requirements

> Investing in a powerful Warehouse Management System (WMS)

> Creating strategies to operate more sustainable & green warehouses

Connect with uTenant today if you're looking for a more appropriate warehouse space or a 3PL to manage these demands in 2021. We are proud to say we're fully confidential.

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Published: 2 November 2020