Evolving of Logistics Companies after COVID-19

Logistics companies involved in the storage, flow & movement of goods have been affected by
the COVID-19 pandemic. Both within and across international borders, logistics companies
facilitate trade & commerce and help businesses to get their products to customers. It’s an
industry that’s had to rise to the challenge of the COVID, fighting hard against the distances that
have held people apart, doubling the efforts in connecting goods with people like never before.
Keeping everything connected as much as possible, and keeping the supply chains open to
maintain those connections, has been the main challenge.
Logistic companies connected the firms to markets by providing various services i.e. multimodal
transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, and inventory management. It is also observed
that pandemics boost digitalization in the logistics sector & as a result, today’s global value
chains require greater efficiencies in the transportation of goods between and within countries.
This can be achieved by firms those outsourcing their logistics activities to third-party logistics
services providers, especially those with integrated, highly oriented, strong data & digitalization
and end-to-end solutions capabilities. Companies have also made their logistics more resilient in
crises like COVID and other disasters by investing in digital technologies to track supply chains,
introducing digital inventory forecasting and dispatch and implementing comprehensive capacity
planning.
The impacts on freight capacity in three key global transportation segments ocean, land, and air.
 Ocean freight
In the first months of 2020 total container volumes handled at Chinese ports dropped by
10.1 percent. Considerable constraints are reported by Agility Logistics to ocean freight around
the world, impacting both key exporters like Brazil, China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and
Mexico, as well as importers like the European Union & USA. According to DHL weak demand
affected the routes between Asia and Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
 Land freight
Unlike sea and air transport, land transport has generally remained available (Completely
or partially) globally as roads are operational, except in the countries which are under severe
lockdowns, according to Agility Logistics’ tracking tool. Due to the additional demand for the
services through roads trucking capacity getting strained, especially food and medical supply
transportation increased under lockdown. COVID-19 has led to an exponential shift in consumer
demand away from restaurants due to lockdowns & safety measures, food service and other
types of “food away from home” towards food consumed at home which also increase the
demand for land logistics. Other economic sectors that require land transport, such as
manufacturing, and construction, are generally not at full capacity because of lockdowns and
sensitive situations. Demand for rail services has also grown because of higher air cargo freight
rates, blank sailings, and longer transit time for trucks & sea shipments.
 Air freight
Volumes fell by 19 percent in March 2020 due to a sharp reduction in passenger flights
due to intensive lockdowns across the borders. The overall reduction in capacity is greater than
the net reduction in demand (which means demand is still higher as compared to capacity) which
supports higher air freight rates.
The response of logistic companies to the COVID-19 is the most important thing & it boils down
to two things, Ingenuity and implementation of new technologies. Both of these were necessary
for addressing & taking up the new customer demands and safety measures with the required
experience.
The first thing that logistics companies took into account was worker safety. Large warehouses
gave enough room for social distancing & it became obvious that safety gear was a must. Mask,
hand sanitization, and even hazmat suits have become a necessity in everyday shipping. Further
to this strict rules regarding illness and COVID-19 symptoms were put in place. Another safety
measure was taken regarding areas for shipment drop-off and pickup. Logistic companies
designed safe areas which made it easier to follow all safety protocols and ensure that all the
requirements were met.
2nd thing is the automation in the logistic sector which plays a vital role to evolve this sector
during COVID. Supply chains have been moving towards automation-driven efficiency & Now
it’s going to be even more critical than ever, and the push will be even stronger than before.

Through automation, route optimization and reduced errors are necessary in a world of local
shipping and freight costs. Now people are also realizing that they want flexibility in their work
as the work from home mentality has spread across our workforce. So people want to have
flexible work shifts, which means robots can step in to perform on-demand tasks.

Logistic companies have implemented automation throughout the supply chain which leads to a
new type of roles and titles for the workforce as this automation free up time and space on the
road and in distribution centers.

Here we can see the automation impact on the logistic sector which helps to evolve after
COVID-19
 Improve visibility
Now clients are looking for end-to-end visibility and transparency more than ever &
automation helps to improve the real-time visibility into operations. It provides logistic market
information (Border crossing time of Truck), inventory, demand forecasts & capacity constraints
both internally and externally for better & quick decision making.
 Increase flexibility
Logistic companies also looking for ways to repurpose assets, inventory and capabilities
to meet increased demand and act responsibly.
 Communicate effectively
After the COVID-19 regular, clear and effective communication across the whole
logistics system is essential. Logistic teams proactively engage with other supply chain
functions, suppliers/carriers, customers & remote workers for effective communication.
 Support the workforce
Companies looking to address the mental and emotional health and well-being as well as
the physical safety core workforce & extended logistics workforce. Ensuring strict compliance
with all health regulations, such as social distancing in canteens & workspaces and wearing
masks. Various logistic companies segregated shift schedules and warehousing locations for safe
distancing & also entertaining paid sick leave and financial relief for impacted workers. To
decrease the physical interactions with each other many companies have set up the systems to
arrange contactless deliveries.

The Introduction of sustainability is another important thing to consider after COVID & logistic
companies take steps to improve supply chain sustainability. Using supply chain measurement &
management tools to track records to find critical issues & areas of improvement within the
whole supply chain. The people are now more health-conscious & also highly concerned about
green environment which is only possible by identifying the sustainability goals & objectives,
and a plan to achieve, also create a sustainable policy for supplier & customer as well i.e. it could
be waste disposal, energy use, pollution etc.

There is no doubt or ambiguity that the COVID has tested the resilience and flexibility of
distribution networks and logistics operations worldwide at a maximum level. Use this time of
disruption to reset, rethink strategies and renew logistics and supply chain management for the
benefit of businesses. However, radically changing the existing supply chain is not as easy as it
may sound, creating a robust and secure supply chain will still need to balance the demands for
cost efficiency for competitive freight rates. In a nutshell, the logistic sector is at the edge of
adopting automation solutions, skilful resources, and advanced infrastructure, which in
upcoming years will help in streamlining logistic operations & providing the best services in
terms of quick deliveries and competitive freights.