Transportation bottlenecks snarl inputs to food supply chain
Truck driver shortages, port personnel health checks and other transportation snarls related to the containment of the coronavirus are keeping grain and other commodity supply chains from flowing normally, even as grain is in abundant supply worldwide.
The impact of the disruption has led to a hike in prices for some basic food ingredients and is likely to hit the developing world first and hardest, according to a report from the United Nations, which was published on April 3rd, as irrupted and delayed supply chains lead to untenable price swings. The swings may also eventually hit economies too, especially if logistics infrastructure is compromised by the virus according to the report. There could already be signs of these price increases with Canadian durum wheat priced at a three-year high and rice export prices also being at a six-year high.
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Amazon to suspend delivery service which competes with UPS and FedEx
Amazon will suspend its delivery service that aims to compete with UPS and FedEx in the United States. The online retailer told customers that the service, Amazon Shipping, will be paused starting in June, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the change. The reason the company is suspending the service is because it needs the people and capacity to handle a surge in its own customer’s orders.
Amazon Shipping is currently available in a handful of U.S. cities and handles non-Amazon and Amazon marketplace packages. “We regularly look at a variety of factors across Amazon to make sure we’re set up in the right way to best serve our customers,” an Amazon spokesperson said when confirming the halt in the service.
The company is currently having to deal with a surge in demand in the U.S., where the majority of residents are under stay-at-home order in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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DHL provides critical supply chain to support the manufacturing of ventilators
DHL Supply Chain has announced that it has joined VentilatorChallengeUK, a consortium of businesses including Rolls-Royce, Ford, Airbus and UK-based Formula 1 teams including McLaren, to deliver at least 10,000 new ventilators to the NHS. The company will manage the inbound supply chain for two workstreams of VentilatorChallengeUK, which is speeding up and increasing manufacturing of approved ventilator designs.
The aim of the challenge is to create a supply chain from scratch to handle 3.2 million parts to build new ventilators. The operation will include the collection of parts from a new supplier base, as well as handling, storage, order pick and kitting, and delivery to final manufacturing locations.
Separately, DHL will use its existing manufacturing logistics facilities and teams, who are already experienced in managing complex and time-critical manufacturing supply chains, to support Dyson in the final distribution of its new ventilator.
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Have a lovely and safe Easter weekend!
