What is the impact of COVID-19 on warehousing?
While more and more businesses have to close due to the virus, some are essential to the survival of people around the world. Goods need to be delivered to grocery stores and hospitals desperately need their medical supplies.
How are deliveries impacted?
Traffic restrictions
Borders around the world are partially or even completely closed. Fortunately, the movement of goods is not affected by this decision. In fact, countries need to maintain their stocks in order to maintain access to groceries and other important supplies. However, specific security measures Truck Dispatching Services were taken which impacted air freight capacities, rates, speed of processing operations and delivery times for virtually every country in the world.
Air, sea and road freight, as well as railways and customs had to undergo some changes. Charter flights now make it possible to adapt needs to capacities by making maximum use of their spaces, shipping companies add surcharges for goods, land transport is subject to more control for products, delays are expected for railways in particular at the borders and the customs take restrictive measures which lead to delays in processing.
Storage Complications
As a result, it will now take more time for the goods to be delivered to the countries. But the stocks will arrive in greater quantities. To store all these goods, warehousing companies are more needed than before. Usually, supply chain managers prefer to have low inventory in warehouses. But for now, optimal storage will be in place. Demands for spaces and merchandise management will increase in the coming weeks to deal with future issues.
Also, as people follow the lockdown order to observe social distancing, an increase in e-commerce goods has been anticipated. People can no longer shop, so the goods will have to be delivered to them. Fortunately, there have also been reports of companies filling warehouses with inventory to get ahead of Chinese prices or Brexit-related slowdowns, which is good news.
Worker safety
Right now, businesses need to adapt to the situation to ensure their warehouses can meet the high demand for food and essential supplies. But the safety and health of workers is also a top priority. Warehouses have never been busier, and employees have been overwork to ensure requests are met for food, medical supplies and more. To ensure that workers are safe at work, a safety system has been implement. There is now a very elaborate disinfection protocol, social distancing rules to be observed and staggered lunch breaks.
But we must be fully aware that the workforce has limits. Not all staff can work at the same time, some workers are afraid to go to work even though safety measures are in place and with all the travel restrictions, it is also complicated to go to work, especially for those who don’t don’t have a car.
Should we worry about stocks and deliveries?
As you can see, storage is currently in a very good situation. In fact, it would be impossible for companies to store and deliver their products to customers without it. It will take longer for the goods to be delivered, but it won’t stop anytime soon. It is also important to say that the employees work enormously and as fast as they can. At present, all deliveries depend on them.
Only one problem can be considered in the future: the lack of space in warehouses. Each space is used to store the goods and all means to deliver them are used. But many companies are going to need it. Thus, the lack of space can become problematic.
Also, since no one can know for sure when the crisis will be over, we can’t help but wonder if there will be a time when warehouses can no longer support this type of work. Specialists are convince that this will never happen. Only delays are to be expect. According to them, long-term shortages are practically impossible, and that is all we can hope for. Goods rotation should always be punctual and fully functional.
Who should you contact to hold and deliver your goods?
Many warehousing companies exist around the world. But in this time of crisis, it is important to choose the best possible warehouse to store your goods. Elite Logix has been in warehouse management for a very long time.
They give you short or long term storage, custom crating and palletizing, location flexibility and much more. They have the most cost-effective warehousing and logistics solutions.
From cross-border trucking to warehousing, they have everything you need. They will keep your goods safe in their warehouses and deliver them anywhere in Canada and the United States. Even better, they have a 3pl warehouse in Montreal , which means they take care of storage and delivery as soon as they receive your products. So, if you are looking for a 3pl warehouse in Montreal , Elite Logix is the best choice for you.