UPS Leverages New Strategy to Take on Covid-19

In the wake of the pandemic and its aftershock, UPS CEO Carol Tomé discussed how the company overcame these hard times with new changes.

Tomé stated that supply chain experts need to move from “Just-in-Time” inventory distribution programs to “Just-in-Case” worldwide distribution strategies. Like most companies and shipping carriers, UPS was hit with the supply chain crisis and labor shortages. With over 540,000 worldwide employees, UPS was still able to deliver more than 1 billion COVID vaccines at a 99.9% on-time rate using sensors on every package.

To help combat the challenging situation, Tomé made serious investments to support UPS services and employees. She stated that UPS workers are the “secret sauce” of the company. Her first act of order included providing supplies of personal protective gear to UPS employees, hiring 40,000 additional workers, and providing a raise to workers. The new strategy helped UPS not only survive but thrive in these unprecedented times.

To learn more, please continue reading here.

Walmart Expands with Their New GoLocal Delivery Service.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for fast delivery as shoppers are looking more into online shopping for their essentials. In August 2021, Walmart announced GoLocal as their new same-day delivery. This service competes with companies such as DoorDash and Instacart. The key difference is that GoLocal focuses on delivering orders made on their clients’ apps rather than having their own customer-facing platform.

GoLocal is going beyond just food orders. Walmart is not limiting itself to just one vertical. They have partnered with Home Depot as their first retail client and Chico as its fashion client. Their goal is to extend their services to any size of local business to help strengthen tier relationships with their customers.

For more information, please continue reading here.

Freight Pricing Increases as the Vaccine Mandate Goes into Effect

On January 15th, 2022, Canada required proof of vaccinations to cross the border. With this new rule in place, it can slow down the supply chain industry even more as border agents are required to turn away unvaccinated truckers.

According to the American Trucking Association, an estimate of 50% to 60% of U.S. truckers are vaccinated. The new rule is causing major concerns on large companies as all truck shipping is getting disrupted and causing a domino effect on all their orders. Canada’s largest trucking firm, Bison Transport Inc., is set to lose 10% of its freight capacity with many of its drivers opting out. To help solve this problem, the company promoted an increase in wages and offered a C$2,500 (around $2,000) signing bonus. The shortage of global containers and workers is already delaying shipment. Now with the shortage of truck drivers, the situation will slow down transportation of freight, making the situation direr, and increasing the price of goods.

For more information, please continue reading here.