Coronavirus pandemic has caused direct or indirect effects on every industry. Many grappled their way through the lockdown and unlocking stages. Perhaps, the case before and post-COVID-19 has declared a pandemic was different globally. Logistic enterprises impacting movement, storage, and flow of goods have been directly impacted by the pandemic. As a basic piece of the supply chain, interruptions in operations will affect competitiveness, economic growth, and job creation alongside facilitating trade and commerce. 30% of the product cost is held by the last mile thus optimizing it is important. Deliveries have become safe for agents and clients by making contactless last-mile delivery arrangements post lockdown stages.
Covered, simple, contactless deliveries and pickups are preferred by numerous regions worldwide through utilizing lockers and other storages. Drones have become famous as a source to deliver yet are dependent on adaptability and domestic laws.
As B2B endured and evolved, B2C arose as winners during the pandemic, upsurging the online sales of commodities of day-to-day use or costlier ones. Top brands and small businesses to open seven days every week for the convenience of the populace at large. As the demand changed, supply turned out to be heavy online as compared with retail causing the logistics market to change its procedures.
An upsurge for essential living supplies as compared to consumable merchandise has been visible during COVID times. Economies have felt virtually backward as supply chains experience a shift. Luxury and leisure supply among nations will be diminished for time to compensate for the losses incurred during COVID-19. There has been a global demand for health and FMCG supplies like hospital supplies, gloves, sanitizers, vaccinations, perishable food products, particularly in financially weak economies.
For buyers investing inland to create large warehouses, this is the time to reconsider the old ways. Instead of smaller and numerous warehouses and storage facilities will be required to strategically distribute and survive amongst the population if an area comes under a lockdown situation. There will not be a high investment in the logistics sector, in fact, more in the technology segment. As the situation mellows down there will be investment opportunities to completely utilize the potential of emerging trends.
The pandemic has uncovered the weakness of stretched-out and complex worth chains to production disturbances, especially in the East Asia Pacific locale. As a response, many of these stock chains may shorten or diversify through dependence on alternative partners or intensified efforts to bring home strategic value chains. The shortening of supply chains may profit nations with capable manufacturing sectors and useful exports policy to partially substitute China over the medium term. There may also be a trend towards placing extra warehousing capacity or dry ports near demand centers to shorten the time to get goods to market.