The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on the Grocery Supply Chain

LIGHTS-OUT LOGISTICS & THE FUTURE OF SUPPLY CHAINS

Will companies involved in logistics and e-grocery industries adopt automation strategies in response to COVID-19, and will they see productivity and profitability gains that they otherwise wouldn't have experienced?

Imagine a warehouse full of produce, but no staff driving back and forth on forklift trucks, no-load handlers examining products and picking items onto pallets, no electric light even – there’s no need for light here – just sky-high racking, shuttles, lifts, robots, conveyors and autonomous vehicles choosing their own paths through the darkness, self-navigating with laser guidance systems, detecting obstacles and moving silently past them.

This is not some futuristic scene from a science fiction movie; this is Lights-Out Logistics, and it is here now.

Through the darkness, a solitary light is being worn by a maintenance worker – looking more like a cave explorer than an electro-mechanical engineer.

How did we get here and why?

By way of example, we explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on grocery supply chains, some of the measures that have been taken, and what can be done moving forward.